Sunday Bike Ride: Terry Peak!

All sorts of South Dakota politicos are swarming the Black Hills this weekend for Monday's big buffalo round-up at Custer State Park. (Funniest photo-Tweet so far: Daugaard aide Tony Venhuizen comments on Lt. Gov. Michels's encounter with a donkey.)

Alas, Custer State Park is a little out of my cycling range. But I could almost see it from my cycling destination this morning: Terry Peak.

I went up Spearfish Canyon and Highway 85, then turned south toward a place called Frosty Meadows. I think that's Custer Peak in the distance, but those darn trees kept getting in the way. Time to climb!

Up Terry Summit Road, I found this sign that Governor Daugaard will surely want to remove. Either that, or he'll order the road renamed to Wiseguy Pass: three nice ladies from Rapid City pulled up in their Jeep to take the same picture. The Rapid City ladies also welcomed me to "the right side of the state." I politely acknowledged that this side of the state is quite beautiful.)

This sign should have been all along the two miles of mostly guardrail-less gravel that leads to the summit... with exclamation points!

But then there's this view from atop Terry Peak, 7064 feet above sea level, about 3400 feet higher than where I started my day:

Here's that view south toward the central Hills without the towers and guy wires:

Wow. Gentlemen (and ladies, too), if you haven't told South Dakota how beautiful she is, please take a moment to do so right now.

That's two 7000-footers down. Now if I can just catch up with Larry...