“It’sru gged.It’srem ote.It’sbeautifu l.”
T his year I pedaled ou t of M edora,N D at 4:30A M .R iding ou t of tow n to the trailhead in the dark freed m e from m y big city life I left behind the previou s day.I g rew u p in the cou ntry.I felt at hom e.M y desire w as to find that perfect spot to view and photog raph the su nrise. Few thing s com pare to being su rrou nded by m iles and m iles of land and seeing a perfect su nrise.M y effort paid off and I w as rew arded.A s the su n rose,the black landscape cam e alive.O rang e,g reen,w hite and blu e stim u lated m y eyes. T he fresh and w et g rasslands titillated m y sense of sm ell.T he w ind soothed m y ears and m ind.T he rem oteness com forted m e.I fou nd m yselfalone w ith beau ty allarou nd m e.
A few tips for those considering riding the M aah D aah H ey:
T his ride on the M aah D aah H ey w as special. A fter several hou rs of riding , I left recharg ed and w ith g reater clarity. I left long ing for tw o day end to end trip w ith a nig ht in the big cou ntry.M y 2010 fam ily trip can’t com e soon enou g h.
T he soilis not rideable ifit rains.B ring a slick set oftires or second bike to ride the road or g ravel.T heodore R oosevelt N ationalPark has a 40 m ile loop that is incredible and there are m iles and m iles ofg ravelroads to explore.
XXC SEASON ONE: ISSUE THREE
B e prepared.B u y a m ap from D akota C yclery and carry it w ith you . Plan for su b 10m ph averag e for the leng th ofthe trail Plan for lots ofw ater –T his land is cru shing and u nforg iving .T here are w ells bu t you need to have a plan for w ater ifyou are riding end to end Trailers are challeng ing du e to trailerosion.T he sides ofm ost trailers bottom ou t on the trailm aking riding even m ore difficu lt.
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