58 miles, 2005 feet climbed
We’ve been gradually coming down from the mountains, so to speak. Across most of Wyoming and the first day in South Dakota we were hanging out at about the one mile elevation mark. Today in Wall, we ended a little below 3,000 feet. With “only” 58 miles to ride, we loaded (luggage) later than normal and headed off. The only possible complication was late afternoon thunderstorms, which were late in coming but pretty impressive at 8:30 pm or so.
The day wasn’t as easy as we thought, however, as we encountered what staff calls South Dakota rollers–climb a couple hundred feet, descend, and repeat, repeat, repeat. We still made it in with plenty of time to sample Wall Drug, the main attraction around here. One of the tests of situational awareness is how far away from Wall you notice your first Wall Drug sign on the highway. That can be hundreds of miles.
