H & B Souvenirs, Guns and Switchblades

We just passed Crazy Horse and I'm writing to you from the Custer Public Library.  We are staying tonight at Custer City High School, South Dakota.  Public Libraries are about the only place I can get to with a computer to do the blog so it has been a bit of a Public Library drought of recent.  And, there is always a time limit to sqeeze in emails and then shoot a quick blog entry so editing is not much of an option!

We ended our third week of cycling in a great location, the KOA at the foot of Devils Tower National Park.  And, there is basically only one thing to do there so we enjoyed hiking around Devils Tower, doing laundry and found a place to watch the World Cup (albiet it was in Spanish at a local Saloon).   About four of our riders are from The Netherlands so we supported them -- even though they lost to Spain 1-0.  

Yesterday we rode into South Dakota from Devils Tower (Wyoming).   It was a long 92 mile ride but the view was quiet spectacular as we rode through Spearfish Valley in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  Lots of rolling hills, rivers and forest.  We continued on throught the Black Hills today and rode from Leads to Custer -- 62 miles but lots of hills along the way.   I rode a good portion with Philippe, a semi-retired lawyer from Paris who has a great interest in American culture and a deep interest in the values of the American people -- he has even been riding with an American flag sticking out of his bike.  And, his wife is also a Librarian so it has been a fun to connect with him -- we had a good time hiking around Devils Tower on Sunday as well.  He is a walking encyclopedia of American history and culture. Later I connected with Chuck from Colombia, Missouri and we helped each other through some headwinds and hills to finish the day. The highlight of the day was riding bye the Crazy Horse monument.  Tomorrow we'll spend some time at Mt. Rushmore as we continue towards the Bad Lands.

After the Crazy Horse monument there was a store called "H & B Souvenirs, Guns and Switchblades."   I was sort of hoping for a coffee shop instead so we continued on to the town of Custer.   Well, my computer says my time is finished -- till the next public library . . . thanks so much for following along.   It has been an encouragement to see so many people that are behind us in this ride rooting us on.   Thank you, thank you.