Vacation Week Mountain Bike Ride

Well last weekend, I did not ride since we were heading to South Dakota for a week of vacation. We headed out on Friday morning with the mountain bikes in tow. The goal was to visit Mt Rushmore and see the sites in the area. The first few days were nice, highs in the low 80's and lows in the mid 50's. Tuesday and Wednesday were cold and rainy. Thursday was the day to ride. The rain stopped and the sun came out, and the temperature was forecast to be in the upper 70's. Vanessa and I woke up early, and got ready.

I was a little concerned about riding, the temperature was in the low 40's first thing in the morning. Since the only cold weather gear I brought was my light weight jacket, I expected to be really cold. We headed out and it turned out to not feel to bad. I guess Houston makes cold feel colder. As Vanessa and I headed into Custer, we passed the bank, and it showed a temperature of 39 degrees.

After a brief stop at the Mickelson trail head in town to pay our daily usage fee, we both headed east toward Custer State Park. As we left Custer, the trail was paved to the State Park. This is the only section of the Mickelson trail that is not a old rail road track. This section also had a few climbs that were short but much steeper than any of the old rail road sections. I climbed one which was 14% grade. When Vanessa got to the top, she decided to turn around. We were about a mile to a mile and a half out of town. I headed on to the entrance to the park.

At the park entrance I asked the ranger if the Centennial Trail was passable. Since it had rained all day on Wednesday, I did not want to ride the trail if it was wet. He asked another ranger station, but they had no reports for the day. So I decided to head off and attempt to ride up to the trail head and see for myself. My plan was to head up to HWY 87 on one of the gravel county roads, then pick up the Centennial trail head at the Iron Creek Trail Head. The gravel road was a bit on the wet side and I threw mud all over the bike. As I got into the park, the road was much dryer and did not stick to my tires as bad.

I found the trail, which crossed a grass covered field. No big deal, I will just head across it. Well, turns out that the grass hid the fact that the ground was wet and that there was water standing between the clumps of grass. Then as I got to the far side of the field there was a small stream to cross. I was able to walk across the field by staying on the clumps of grass. When I got to the stream I was able to move quickly and get across, but not before feeling a small amount of water dampen my socks. Now I was officially on the trail. Aside from the low area at the start, the Centennial trail was very dry and good to ride.

The trail was well marked and even had some nice climbs, decents, and over all a good ride. I stopped a few places to take some pictures. After climbing the first section I came into another grassy spot. As I entered the spot, I thought, I hope I don't see a buffalo while on the trail. Luckily, I did not. The trail had another climb and when I got to the top there was a big rock formation there. I did not see the exact direction of the trail so I stopped to scout it out. It was also a good time to catch my breath. I found the trail and walked the bike across the rocky double back to find the next section of trail. I took a few pictures.

The path ahead.

Just climbed this hill.

Look at the downhill section ahead.

Yeah!!!!!

Another stop to view the sites. Being that am from near sea level, this was quite a ride. How high was I? Bike computer shows 5444 ft. No wonder I can't catch my breath.


As I headed on down the trail I came to a break in the trail. To the left Legion Lake. To the right, keep following the trail. My plan was to head to Legion Lake then catch the road back to Custer. So off I go to Legion Lake. Little did I know that the path ahead was not rideable. The trail went up a 22% grade. So I got off and walked my bike. Take a look at the up hill section.

After getting to the top of this climb, it was quite fun heading down the other side. As I was heading towards the campsites, I saw the first person on the trails. We talked for a few minutes, then I headed along the road back toward Custer. I did stop at the sign for the divide in the park. My official altitude at that point is 5383 ft.


As I followed the road down the other side of the divide, I decided to see how fast I could go. I hit 40mph on the bike. That was quite a rush. At the entrance to the park I got back on the trail heading back to Custer. I did stop on the way back and find my 3rd Geocache. All in all, this was one of my favorite rides on the mountain bike. I want to head back to Custer State Park some time and ride some more.