September 17, 2022

While Belinda and Cathy are gone to the Badlands, they let us borrow their E bikes.  They are much heavier single speed.  We loaded the bikes in the truck and headed to a large parking area behind Lynn’s Dakotamart.  From there we can access The Mickelson Trail.  Mickelson Trail is actually the abandoned rail bed from the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad built in 1890-91.  The railroad ran from Edgemont to Deadwood and passed through Custer and Hill City.   After we unloaded the bikes we adjusted the seat height as best we could.  The girls are a little shorter than Nancy and I.  We  started on our way and headed toward Edgemont.  We rode a few miles mixing pedaling with the convenience of the electric motor.  We soon realized that the saddles on the E bikes were not very comfortable for us.  We rode a few minutes longer and decided to head back to the truck.  The trail is smooth and in some spots paved, at least the part we were on.  For us the two biggest downfalls of E bikes is cost and weight.  It was still a good ride with excellent weather and beautiful scenery.