Gillette – Gav's Cycling Adventures

Gillette to Spearfish

Jul 10, 2022gavscyclingadventures

Thursday 30th June to Saturday 1st July – Stages 48 & 49

Thursday 30th June – Gillette to Devils Tower National Monument.

We were up & on the road by 8.30am, as we were hoping to arrive early enough at our accommodation to enable us to have a look around Devils Tower, made famous by Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster – Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

It took about 5 miles to cross town & make our way onto deserted roads & along the way we saw our first piece of industrial architecture in the form of the Black Hills Energy Complex. It seemed a big coincidence to see this the day after reading about Powder Basin’s supplies of low-sulphur content coal!

We were soon following the course of the Donkey Creek & a railway line from the Black Hills Energy site on Highway 51. As we crossed a bridge I was pleased to see a train on its way towards us on a separate line. Little did I know that around the next corner in Rozet, we would pass a railway siding where thousands of locomotive engines were lined up, one behind the other. There wasn’t any freight, just engines!

I did some research after today’s ride to find out why – in the region of 40% of all the coal produced in the USA is from Wyoming & the majority of that passes through Gillette. However, the USA has finally re-joined the Paris Agreement on climate change & as it starts finding & using cleaner & cheaper sources of energy, there is less need for coal.

Donkey Creek is where all the spare locomotives are ‘parked’ – as recently as 2020, over 2,500 locomotives were mothballed here. There looked to be even more there now. This will have serious ramifications for Gillette – it’s still the coal capital of the USA, but that may not be the case for much longer. The largest coal mine in Wyoming is 90 SQUARE MILES in size & the coal is near the surface, so it’s mined by trucks with shovels so big, a US size family car would fit inside it!

Like so many towns & cities before it, Gillette needs to re-invent itself, but that won’t be simple or quick to do.

Continuing along the deserted 44 (it’s a frontage road for the I-90), we were hopeful that the small town of Moorcroft might offer up a coffee option. When we pulled up at Donna’s Diner we knew we’d hit the jackpot – home-baked fruit pies served ala mode were on offer. I chose the cherry pie & Sean went with the blueberry option. It was absolutely delicious & made up for the barren days since our stop in Boulder (on our way to Helena)!

As we left Moorcroft, we saw our first sign for today’s main event – a mere 31 miles to go. We passed farmers working hard in their fields, as they baled up the hay. At Keyhole Reservoir, I was expecting the green fields in the photo to be under water. As we circumnavigated the lake, the road took us up & down gentle rollers, which created a photo opportunity!

We still had a couple of 20 minute climbs ahead of us & the first one came into view soon enough. We were still skirting the edge of Black Hills National Forest, which offered us some protection from the mid-day sun. The climb up to Carlile would take us up to the plateau where we’d get our first long distance view of Devils Tower.

We were still 10 miles away from the National Monument & for the next 6 miles it hid from view, until we turned onto Wy24 & climbed a short, but steep hill.

Our accommodation this evening is being provided by Julianna & we met up with her at the Devils Tower View, where I had a big slice of lemon meringue pie. We then rode back to our tipi lodging where we dropped off all our kit & set off so we could explore Devils Tower further.

To reach Devils Tower, we had to descend for about a mile, pass the Trading Post, show our pass at the Entrance Gate & then climb a twisting 3 mile back road up to the Visitor Centre, which offered up big vistas of the Belle Fourche river valley below.

Devils Tower holds special significance for Native Americans & stories have been passed down the generations. Two young boys became lost trying to find their way across the giant prairie & they realised they were being tracked by Mato, an exceptionally large bear. Soon the bear was upon them & they dropped to their knees, praying for the Great Spirit to save them.

Suddenly the ground beneath them rose up, lifting them high on a giant pillar. The bear continued to try & catch them, getting onto his hind legs & scratching his claws down the pillar. Mato couldn’t catch the boys & he eventually retreated, tired & exhausted. The story ends with the boys being carried back to their village on the wings of Wanblee, a giant eagle.

As we walked round a 1 mile paved path at the base of Devils Tower, we spotted a climber in the shadows, who was rappelling his way back down. You can see him more clearly in the 2nd photo.

When we completed our walk, Sean went to the Visitor Centre & called me over, saying there was a snake in the eaves! A Bull Snake was trying to get into the roof to hunt the bats that were in there. However, that required the snake getting close to a birds nest with eggs in it – the parent bird wasn’t happy with this & kept attacking the snake & pecking its head!!

Descending back to the Entrance Gate we also passed a Prairie Dog city – they were all calling to each other & keeping an eye out for predators.

I stopped for a few more photos on the way back to Devils Tower View, where we stopped for fish & chips, washed down with a beer! It had been a long day of cycling & walking around the Devils Tower, but it was also an epic day out.

It wasn’t over yet, however, as we still had an evening in a tipi to look forward to & we also met Sue, who had travelled from Kansas City. I really enjoy meeting people & sharing our experiences, as it really gives an insight into how people live. Sue was planning to visit Devils Tower in the morning, then explore further afield from there.

There was a also a stunning sunset to enjoy, as the moon rose to take its place.

Stage Stats – 72 miles, 3,176 feet of climbing. A big day of cycling, followed by a couple of hours exploring the Devils Tower. We didn’t experience any Close Encounters!!

Friday 1st July – Devil’s Tower National Monument to Spearfish Campground.

We were up & on our way by 8am – our plan was to cycle 11 miles to Huwett & have breakfast at Red Rock Cafe. On the way I took a few more photos as we said goodbye to Devils Tower & headed along the Belle Fourche valley. My first thought was that I recognised the rocks colour from previous cycling trips to Utah & Colorado.

We had the road pretty much to ourselves as we made our way up & down small rollers on the way to Hewett – a feature of every town is that the City Limits sign includes the size of the population & the town’s elevation. Recently the numbers for the population have been small, while the elevation numbers have been big!!!

Red Rock Cafe was recommended by Julianna (our tipi hostess) & it delivered a great breakfast! While we were eating, Sue (who we met last night) came over & said hello. She’d got up early, driven to Devils Tower, walked the paved route & driven on to Red Rock Cafe too! We also met Rudy & his wife, 2 Dutch cyclists who were riding East to West – in a really uncanny twist of fate, Annmarie (who I met on a US cycling trip to Yellowstone in 2010) had hosted him at the very beginning of his adventure! I only found this out a few days ago when Annmarie got in touch!!!

Leaving Huwett, we were climbing for the next 90 minutes, slowly at first as we continued along the Belle Fourche valley, then we had one final look back to Devils Tower over 20 miles away.

After a short descent, we hit the main climb of the day, which went on for about 40 minutes & hit 10% near the summit. I was hoping for a sign at the top of the climb, but I was disappointed! Close to where the 3rd photo was taken, we learned about the first official government expedition to the Black Hills, led by General George Armstrong Custer. The expedition had more than 1,000 men to scout for a new fort location – the presence of engineers, geologists & miners indicated that recording the topography, geography & location of gold deposits were other important goals.

The expedition’s discovery of gold led to miners rushing to the Black Hills. This was a breach of the Laramie Treaty, which in turn resulted in the Sioux Indians defending their lands. The Sioux defeated Custer in the Battle of the Bighorn in June 1876. In 1877 the United States officially confiscated the Black Hills lands from the Sioux, the legality of which is still being disputed in the courts.

Dropping into Aladdin, we stopped at the General Store (the best preserved of the remaining 5 mercantile stores in Wyoming – opened in 1896) for coffee from a pod machine & a processed slice of banana bread. I wasn’t a big fan, but I had to check it out to know for sure that it wasn’t my thing.

We took Highway 111 & headed south, passing a number of ranches & farmsteads with customised gates & signs. We continued to climb (it was beginning to feel as if the whole day was one long climb!) through farmland, with occasional stands of trees – on the far side of the road the soft, sandy soil was being eroded away, as the grassland binding it together had been removed.

As we reached the I-90, we took a small frontage road that took us through Beulah, home of the annual Test Fest – yes it’s a Rocky Mountain Oyster festival, where humans eat bulls balls & it’s an annual June event!!!

Beulah also marks the last town on the I-90 on Wyoming, as the border with South Dakota is just along the road. Spearfish City Campground was now less than 5 miles away, but first we rode along a road on the edge of town where almost every residential property had flowers in the garden – my favourite example is below. As we entered the City Park, we passed a couple of people fishing in the creek that ran through the centre of the Campground.

We were quickly checked in & wasted no time getting our tents set up. I then set about charging up my tech – phone, laptop, power bar & Wahoo, so I can document my adventure.

While we were charging up our gadgets, we met Don (for the next day we called him Gus by mistake – luckily he already knows before he reads this!!). Don is now retired & spends a proportion of his time exploring the world on 2 wheels & has been to places as diverse as Germany, Norway, Denmark, Patagonian region in Chile & the USA of course. His current trip started in Astoria (Oregon) & is likely to end in New York, but it’s all open to change. We’re currently on a similar route & schedule, so we hope to meet Don again in the next couple of days.

While we were on our way to dinner in town, we got caught in a flash storm – the skies changed colour. the skies opened & for the next 20 minutes we were trapped under separate trees as the rain absolutely bucketed down. Ask Mr Google to look up Derecho for even more extreme examples of these types of storm in South Dakota – they saw green skies.

We finally made it to dinner at Nonna’s, where we both chose pasta courses & washed them down with a cheeky beer to toast another 3 days of glorious riding. Tomorrow’s a rest day, so it will be interesting to see how we cope with 3 nights of outdoor living on the trot!

Stage Stats – 66 miles, 3,133 feet of climbing. It felt like we were climbing all day as we crossed the state line from Big Wyoming – to the Great Faces, Great Places of South Dakota.

Saturday 2nd July – Rest Day.

Our rest day started with a walk to the laundromat to wash our cycling kit & off-bike clothes. We then strolled into town & stopped at Uncle Louie’s for breakfast, a 3 egg omelette, toast, juice & coffee.

On the way back to my tent I bumped into Kari from Rapid City, who was camping with her children for the weekend. Stella, her 7 year old daughter was having trouble with the stabilisers on her bike, so I was able to help them sort the issue out & ensure that Stella could continue on her bike ride! This is one of the very few things I can fix & it felt nice to finally be able to help someone else after all the assistance I’ve already received.

We caught up with Don this morning, he’s setting off later today & planning to stop at Trailside Campground tomorrow evening – he gave us the details & we’ve booked a couple of pitches there too.

We picked up dinner from the local grocery store & got about halfway through eating it before an evening storm threatened for the 2nd day running – luckily it didn’t come to anything! As I was washing up my bowl & cutlery, I met Gary & Denise from Wisconsin – they were due to visit the UK this year, but a combination of the war in Ukraine & rising Covid numbers in January meant they’ve had to delay their visit. Hopefully they will get to visit Cornwall & London next year, as well as take their cruise. I really enjoyed spending 30 minutes with Gary & Denise.

At about 9pm Alex from Colorado Springs came over & asked if we fancied joining him for a beer – it would have been rude to refuse! We spent a couple of hours enjoying Alex & Mary’s company (& beer!) – they shared some great ideas on places to visit when we get a bit further East. I’m pleased that I remembered to get a group photo of us all -thanks Chloe for taking the picture.

We headed for bed about 11pm, as we have another big adventure planned for Sunday.

Greybull to Gillette (The Best A Man Can Get!)

Jul 7, 2022Jul 8, 2022gavscyclingadventures

Sunday 26th to Wednesday 29th June (Stages 45 to 47).

Sunday 26th June – Greybull to Tensleep, Leigh Creek Campground.

After a continental style breakfast at the motel, we were on the road by just after 9.30 – this was the first morning it felt hot from the moment we set off. Right outside our motel some top quality murals had been painted on the Elevator Buildings. Leaving town on Highway 20, we crossed the Greybull river before heading in the direction of Basin. The surrounding landscape was fairly barren, with the snowy peaks of the high mountains just visible in the far distance.

As we exited Basin we took a left turn onto a small two lane road – this was another Adventure Cycling Association recommendation that would ensure we saw no roadworthy cars for the next 45 minutes, although we did see a classic car at Lewis’s Place!!! It also gave me an opportunity to get in some Hay Bale Surfing practice & looking at the photo I still need quite a bit more training!!! Eight weeks of cycling has certainly reduced my flexibility in my lower back & hamstrings.

As we reached Manderson & crossed the Bighorn river, we watched a boat heading upstream & pull in by the boat launch point. They’d spent an hour or so fishing further downriver – it didn’t look like they’d caught anything. Within 5 minutes we were in the wild wilderness, with nodding donkeys off to the left & right of us, while directly ahead was a shimmering heat-haze.

There was no protection from the sun & we were also getting slightly concerned about our water supplies, as we hadn’t seen anywhere to top up ou 3 bottles & the water was starting to get warm & a bit unpleasant to drink.

The Nowood river snaked its way across the valley floor, resulting in pockets of green verdant pastures every now & again, before we were plunged back into prairie & brush. It was hot enough that regular applications of suntan lotion were required – on one stop I managed to find a slightly arty photo opportunity.

Eventually the Nowood river joined the larger Bighorn just before we took a right turn along County Road 43 1/2 – the roads were becoming ever more remote & the views were beginning to grow larger, with the red, yellow, purple & grey bachdrops.

Remember me mentioning it being hot & us not finding anywhere to re-fill our bottles? Well, we were now carefully rationing our drinking to ensure we could make it to Tensleep, the next place we knew there would be supplies. This also required us to ride slightly slower, so we could manage how much we sweated – we weren’t in any danger, just facing a minor inconvenience! In the end it wasn’t a problem, as Nathan from Bicycle Adventures was providing support to a private cycle tour & he pulled in as he passed us.

We chatted for about 20 minutes & he kindly topped us up with water, as well as giving us an ice cold coke – a real treat on a baking hot day! We shared a few cycling adventure stories & he told us about some of his European trips. Once again we’ve been introduced to the generosity of the people we’ve met. I dropped him & his tour company a thank you email a couple of days later, when we got back to civilisation.

As we set off again, our spirits were lifted, in part by Nathan’s generosity & in part by the coca cola! The 5 miles into Tensleep (population 246), passed in a flash & we stopped to stock up on supplies for our camping dinner this evening. Tensleep was an American Indian rest stop & is so named because it was ten sleeps from Fort Laramie in one direction & Yellowstone in the other.

Leaving town we picked up new tarmac as we joined Scenic Byway 16. We continued for about 8 miles, as we climbed the shallow, lower slopes of the Powder River Pass – the big climb is tomorrow!

Leigh Creek Campground is a National Forest site on the old road. We were hemmed in on all sides by the imposing ancient rocks & valley walls. We quickly set to work on getting our tents pitched, so we could relax & enjoy the late afternoon sunshine.

The creek is filled with run-off from the snow some 5,000 feet above us – we had our very own ice bath on site!!! We tucked in to a dinner of very average shop bought sandwiches, breakfast bars & a bag of crisps. We don’t always eat like kings!!!! Tomorrow is due to be another long day in the saddle, so we retired to our tents early to recover.

Stage Stats – 62 miles, 2,411 feet of climbing. A hot day in the saddle, rounded off with an ice bath for our feet.

Monday 27th June – Tensleep, Leigh Creek Campground to Buffalo via Powder River Pass.

We were up bright & early with the aim of being on the tarmac by 8am. A couple of different events impacted that plan, when first of all I found my tyre had gone flat overnight. Pumping it up appeared to resolve the issue, although as I found out later it hadn’t!! Secondly, after only 1 mile of tarmac, the old road turned to rough gravel & stayed that way for the next 7 miles!!!

As you might have noticed, in addition to the road being on gravel, it also rose at a steep gradient (7% plus for most of the 7 miles) – it took us 1 hour 45 minutes to complete the 7 mile stretch on gravel!!! At times we could see across the valley to the new road as it hair-pinned its way ever higher. The stunning views helped to take our minds off the slow progress, but it couldn’t take away the feeling of the power being sapped from our legs.

I’d been able to better cope with the gravel, but the roles were instantly reversed when we finally joined the new road & its pristine tarmac. We’d researched where we might be able to stop to replenish our water bottles & we stopped for the first time at Boulder Creek Campground to fill all 3 bottles – we’d run out in less than 2 hours of riding!!!

This was also where I had my only moment of self-doubt on the adventure to date – we were 9 miles into a 21 mile climb, all of it over 5% & the sheer scale of what remained hit me hard. After 2 minutes of feeling sorry for myself I stood up & said to Sean “I need to get going now, otherwise I may not get started again”.

The views were stunning as we continued through the forest & passed Meadowlark Lake, but the gradient didn’t get any easier!

After another 1 or so of riding we saw what we knew would be the only coffee & cake stop opportunity of the day. We had a coke, coffee & cake – I made the mistake of asking for my cinnamon bun to be gently heated up…… it came out looking like it had been nuked!!! It was so bad I wasn’t able to finish it & that’s never happened before!!! On a more positive note, the coffee was nice & we managed to fill up our 3 water bottles again for the final push to the summit.

The summit was still another hour away – when we finally made it to Powder River Pass at 9,666 feet above sea level, it had taken us 4 hours of climbing to cover the 21 miles. When we rode through Tensleep at the bottom of the climb yesterday, we were at 4,205 feet above sea level – it really is a monster of a mountain!

At least it would all be downhill from here, so we had that to look forward to – although, I was slightly troubled that Sean could ride in my slipstream without any difficulty!

All became clear a few minutes later as my rear tyre became spongy! That instant remedy this morning was no such thing, I had a puncture & it needed to be fixed now. After my practice in Yellowstone, I had the tyre off, a piece of debris removed & the innertube replaced in 15 minutes & was feeling good about myself.

Until 10 minutes later, when I got a 2nd puncture on the same back tyre! I eventually found another nick in the tyre & scratched out a really small piece of glass. I was out of inner tubes, so had to borrow one from Sean (& a gas cannister). While all this was going on, a Department of Transport lorry started honking its horn at us as it descended the mountain – it was painting the white lines at the side of the road & had no intention of stopping!!!

Although we moved my stuff as far out of the way as we could, the lorry kept on coming & sprayed small amounts of paint over my bike, helmet, rucksack & panniers as it continued on its way. I can’t repeat my comments, but they were Anglo-Saxon in origin!

We also found out that there were 5 short, sharp, steep climbs to be endured on the way down too!

Suddenly the road opened up in front of us with enormous views across to Loaf Mountain, Bighorn Peak & Darton Peak. They tower over the valley below. Finally, after just over 6,000 feet of climbing & 6 hours of tough cycling, we could make out the town of Buffalo below us. It would take us less than 30 minutes to cover the final 10 miles, in sharp contrast to the 2 hours 30 minutes it took to climb 10 miles!

Today was a truly epic day out & was what I was hoping to experience when I originally planned our Coast to Coast Adventure – sometimes though you need a little bit of time to really appreciate what a great day it really was! Today was one of those days & my moment of self-doubt is now far behind me.

Stage Stats – 58 miles, 6,070 feet of climbing. Our biggest day of climbing to date as we crested the monstrous Powder River Pass!

Tuesday 27th June – Rest Day.

Our Rest Days now have a familiar pattern to them – enjoy a bit of a lie-in & then have breakfast, before heading out to get the laundry done. We only have 3 sets of cycling kit, so every 3rd day is laundry day! We’ve also had to be frugal with the amount of off the bike clothing we brought – 2 pairs of lightweight trousers, a pair of shorts, 3 tee-shirts, 2 long sleeved tops, 3 pairs of socks & boxers. Not much for a 6 month adventure!

I needed to get a new tyre, innertubes & gas cannisters. A quick look at Mr Google told me that I needed to visit The Sports Lure, as it eas my best chance of getting what I needed – my tyre had done 7,500 miles, so I’d got my money’s worth from it. I was directed to the workshop where I met Helene – she found a similar tyre & fitted it for me, as well as sorting me out with innertubes & gas cannisters.

While Helene was doing all the work, I got out the way & found a coffee shop & tucked in to a peanut butter & chock chip slice! When I returned, Helene had replaced the tyre & I was good to go. Once again I’d met a kind & generous soul who had taken pity on me & helped me out of a tight spot.

Helene – Thank You so much for your kindness.

While I was in town I took the opportunity to have a stroll round & see the murals & sculptures in the historic district. The remainder of the day was spent planning the upcoming routes & also writing my next instalment of our adventure.

Wednesday 29th June – Buffalo to Gillette (Stage 47).

We were on the road for 9am, after a breakfast of cereal, yoghurt & toast from the hotel. Today is all about getting to Gillette in the shortest distance possible. We had two possible routes, one was over 90 miles long, through remote & deserted backroads. The second option was to cycle on I-90 from Buffalo to Gillette, which is 70 miles with a single stop for water.

There will be no services other than this single rest area. We would prefer a 3rd option, but of the two we have, cycling on the Interstate is the least bad & is allowed as far as I’ve been able to establish. We took a final look behind us to Powder River Summit, before setting off for a 66 mile ride on the Freeway.

We chose to enjoy today regardless of the somewhat limited opportunities to take photos – there were still great views on offer, the road was very quiet & we were in good spirits!

At the 30 mile marker we reached the rest area – we took the opportunity to top up all 3 of our water bottles, as we learned about the history of the Powder River Basin. For example, it produces 1/6 of the world’s power, due to it’s low sulphur coal reserves which are shipped around the world.

We also learned that the Hole In The Wall hide out of Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid was on the Middle Fork of the Powder River. This is in addition to the lesson we learned yesterday – Powder River Pass is a high mountain pass!!

Someone spotted our touring bikes & came over to talk to us – he only stayed 5 minutes, didn’t give us his name, but did seem excited when we explained we’d been in Jackson a few days ago, as that’s where he’s from & he used to train on Teton Pass when he was younger.

We crossed the Powder River almost as soon as we re-joined I-90. The only potential cloud on the horizon was the real cloud on the horizon – rain looked imminent! We chose to ignore it & enjoy the downhill parts of the ride instead.

At least the cloud resulted in temperatures falling by a few degrees, which ensured we had enough water to comfortably complete the riding on the Freeway. We’d had a tailwind for most of today’s ride & it was also relatively flat – we were checked in to our motel by about 2pm. We only realised how lucky we were 30 minutes later, when large hailstones were bouncing off the car park floor. If we’d had headwind or crosswind today, we’d probably have still been riding when the storm struck.

We decided to pop out to a local Italian restaurant to toast our good fortune today & to ask for more interesting views tomorrow!