Our Dakota trip had to pivot a bit on day six as we woke up to rain showers, and cycling in the rain is not our cup of tea. After many early mornings, we chose to sleep in a bit, and after getting Kate to the airport, we headed out to see what Rapid City, SD, had to offer. First stop, of course, was coffee.

As our Airbnb was close to downtown, within walking distance, Tammy and I searched for a unique shop for our morning fix. We found a small shop with a cool vibe and even cooler name… Speed Goat Express Coffee. We just had to pay them a visit. It was a very unique place, with a varied collection of local coffee creations as well as many options for breakfast and lunch. Leave it to me to have my first tamale at a coffee shop. The decorations in the shop were fun too, see pictures 🙂

As we finished our stop, the sun began to peek out, which led to us checking out more of downtown, including the many local shops. It was nice to work our way around the town, talking to locals, and learning about the history of Rapid City. Of the more unique stops was a toy store, but not ordinary toys, Who’s You House, with a feel similar to my retail days with Learningsmith. Many of the educational toy brands were the same brands we sold nearly 30 years ago, and still popular with children. Although updated with new content, there was Brio and K’nex as well.

We explored more, focusing on the many statues situated on the street corners. It seems Rapid City is nicknamed the City of Presidents, and the city has embraced that name after a local man noticed people interacting with a temporary statue of Abraham Lincoln outside the Hotel Alex Johnson. After many years and lots of planning, this spark of an idea has come to life. Each true-to-life statue has a QR code that directs you to an audio tour, or if you would rather, a reading tour. Each statue is unique, showing the personality by way of additional persons or things included with the likeness. More information can be found at the link below:

https://www.visitrapidcity.com/blog/post/how-a-big-idea-created-a-monumental-experience

Fun fact: All statues match the height and weight of the president, except for William Howard Taft, whose statue was slightly slimmed down to make it more affordable.

As the day began to wind down, we found a local place with outside seating for dinner, Firehouse Brewing Company. And afterward, we passed by Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory… then immediately went inside for some treats. Yum!!

Our seventh and final full day had us driving to Deadwood, SD, to ride on the Mickelson Trail. As a rails-to-trails project, it runs for 109 miles, from Deadwood to Edgemont, SD, on a crushed gravel hard-packed base. There are over 100 old rail bridges and 4 tunnels on this trail, and some of the best natural scenery we have ever seen. It’s just beautiful. When planning this trip, the name struck a chord, and when looking it up, this trail was on a 2013 list of the world’s top 10 bike rides.

The day and the ride started sunny with only a few clouds in the sky, but as we got to mile 17 or so, the wind was really picking up, and the sun had hidden itself behind the clouds. However, the ride did not disappoint, each corner showing the beauty of the Black Hills with the sky as their backdrop. Such fun.

There was a slight hiccup toward the end of the day, and it showed why both Tammy and I prefer pavement over crushed gravel to ride on. We were riding electric touring bikes with gravel tires and disc brakes, much different than our traditional road bikes. Coming down a steep descent with a tight corner, Tammy’s front tire slid and she went down, hitting the gravel hard, and the bike landing on her ribs. After catching her breath and taking a bit to evaluate herself, we finished the last section and returned our bikes. Just for precaution, we went to the local ER for an X-ray, and fortunately nothing was broken, but she is now doing physical therapy to gain movement and strength in her rotator cuff.

We still had fun even with her fall, and continued to enjoy the scenery as we drove back to our Airbnb, albeit with Tammy’s arm in a sling for the next few days.

Full album of pictures: https://photos.destinationsawait.com/Rapid-City-and-Mickelson-Trail