We have been incredibly lucky to come into an area of the country that is so immensely beautiful and this day’s ride was a definite affirmation of this area’s beauty. We rode through the Black Hills today and there is nothing but beauty in the area. The two immense down hills (7% grade for 3 miles each) more than made up for the serious uphills that we had (which I have been getting much better at and am actually enjoying now).  The group was again slow today which at one end of the spectrum allowed me to enjoy the scenery but exposed us to the day much more than we needed to be. This especially proved to be problematic when we got into the 20 mile gravel section. With that area we needed to move fast and not absorb every pebbles shock. However we took a lot of shock which tore us up an our tires.

However, it turned out a good day given the scenery and fun riding in sections.