Day 47: Spearfish, SD to Leads, SD

July 15, 2023

31 miles

1,641 miles so far

Today’s route took us on scenic HW14A through Spearfish Canyon and called for 3,000 feet of elevation gain over approximately 30 miles. Anticipating that the climb would be similar to our climb through Ten Scleep Canyon in Wyoming, we planned a shorter day.

Perry at the Two Wheeler Dealer bike shop in Spearfish had suggested that we consider taking Hanna Road, an alternate route that would save us some elevation. While Hanna Road was part gravel, he thought our bikes could handle it and that we would enjoy this route which was beautiful, followed the Spearfish Creek, and got us away from the traffic.

Today we were very determined to get a much earlier start to beat the weekend traffic and the higher winds forecasted for the afternoon. We succeeded in hitting the road by 6:30am. As we were climbing through the canyon we saw some cars parked off the road and what appeared to be a group of mountain bikers just getting organized. Then we saw one of them waving and shouting out, “Kevin, enjoy Hanna Road! Keep pedaling!” It was Perry from the bike shop.

At Cheyenne Crossing we stopped at the historic Cheyenne Crossing Stage Stop for brunch. From there we detoured onto Hanna Road which was paved until the last two miles or so but had some steep climbs. Overall, it certainly was relaxing, quiet and scenic. We then had a trek through the woods on foot which was an adventure in itself, but as promised we eventually popped out onto the bike trail which was very nice and took us right to our destination for the day, Carsten Cottages in Lead.

We enjoyed the afternoon watching the llamas in the field behind us and planning the logistics for the next several days. Judging from the photos on the wall in the bathhouse, the Cottages seem to cater mostly to bikers riding Harleys heading to nearby Sturgis rather than those riding Surlys, but they welcomed us nonetheless!

Today's route and elevation