Day 45 Rapid City to Hill City

 

Day 45 Rapid City to Hill City

     I rode my bike from Rapid City to Hill City which is nestled in the Black Mountains.  It is a beautiful region populated with kind and caring people.  It is also up a significant incline.  I missed my electric bike as I pedaled up a 40 mile climb.  The scenery was wonderful. 

     I decided to spend two nights in a motel in Hill City and plan out the next three weeks of my trip with some detail.  I also wanted to bike up to Mount Rushmore unencumbered with my heavy bike cart.  The Michelson trail is a 70 mile bike trail which runs north and south along the western edge of South Dakota.  It offers spectacular views of the unique geology and forests of the region.  It also has a spur which will take you up Mount Rushmore. 

     The region has many museums and historical markers which offer competing narratives of the events which have shaped the region.  The trail passes through the towns of Custer and Crazy Horse and eventually leads to the town of Hot Springs. 

      At the hotel I had conversation with the manager about the social and economic forces which have shaped the region.  She was very nice to me and was eager to speak about the concerns which were pressing on her consciousness.  She had always lived in the region and did not feel a strong pull to travel great distances.  When I asked her what her hopes for the near future of the country, she responded “I would like to live in a place when I am not made to feel ashamed for being white, heterosexual American”.  When I asked her “Do you feel ashamed now?”  She looked at me with incredulity and responded “everything I read, hear, or see is intended to make me ashamed.”  As I cycled up to Mount Rushmore I was wondering how such shame might be lifted.