I recently was invited to join a local bike shop that had organized a bike tour to the Black Hills of South Dakota. Someone had dropped out and they were looking for another rider. Evidently a bike mechanic, Jason Kingsbury, use to work for the shop here in Omaha and moved to Rapid City where he is interested in starting a bike touring service. We were to be his first tour group.
I have been to the Black Hills a few times during my life. The earliest was as a 6 year old boy on a family vacation. I remember that my grandfather had just passed away at the early age of 52 and that my grieving grandmother joined us on the trip. Now at the age 52, I was bicycling over those same roads, past the Dinosaur Park, reptile gardens, wind cave, up the Needles Highway, past Mount Rushmore, Sylvan Lake and Crazy horse.
All in all, the 17 of us rode for 5 days averaging 80 miles a day. The longest day was 105 miles out to Devils Tower in Wyoming; it was also the hottest day hitting nearly 100 degrees f. Devils Tower is our nation’s first national monument. Its steep granite walls are a special place for me, one of my best friends from high school, Steve Michelson, and I climbed to the summit. Steve died last year in a car accident. I wanted to pay tribute to him so I brought along a photo of our climb those many years ago and placed it at the bottom of the tower with a note to a climber to take it to the top and place it on the summit.
Yesterday, I received an email with a video attached. The video was shot on top of the tower and showed a climber placing the photos of my friend into the metal tube that held the names of successful climbers. I think Steve would have approved.
I am sure that Steve would have appreciated that a fellow climber took his photo to the summit, I like to think my grandfather would have been interested in my bike ride, although having to explain to his South Omaha packing house buddies why his grandson wears spandex bibs might prove to be a bit tough!
Many of us enjoy working out at the Wellness Center in the various classes, such as the Group Ride that I instruct at 5:30am on Mondays, our rewards for such hard work comes not only from being able to enjoy a healthy lifestyle, but also is evident when we venture outside to pursue athletic challenges, like riding and reminiscing in the Black Hills.
Life can be short, enjoy the ride!
Mick McGuire
Alegent Health Lakeside Wellness Center
BTS Group Ride Instructor
For more information about riding in the Black Hills contact Jason @: crazyspokecycling@gmail.com or on Face book @ crazy Spoke Cycling Adventures.
