South Dakota

I rode through South Dakota as part of Ride America South to North, my 9-day ride from the Mexican border to the Canadian border.

The entire RASN route.

I've been wanting to ride in the Rapid City area for a while now, and part of the reason I chose to ride from El Paso to North Dakota instead of starting in California or Arizona was because this route took me through the Black Hills. That turned out to be a good decision!

Day 7 was the most important day for this post and the most scenic day of the whole ride.

Strava Link: RASN Day 7

The route itself was pretty good, though there were a few minor adjustments that I would have made. If you want, you can easily ride on the Mickelson Trail for 100 miles. I don't know about the whole trail, but the section I rode had great scenery and was doable on a road bike with 25c tires. 28s would be better if you have them. 

You could easily spend a week or more here just riding around and exploring. There are so many different roads and they all look awesome on Google Maps. Also, get on Strava to "Segment Explore" and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Thanks for the memories, South Dakota!