Maah Daah Hey weekend

Brief run down....Only the GREATEST mtb trip I've ever been on!!!...great riding, and even better company, thanks Kim, Chad, & John!....I was/am in the best biking shape I have ever been in......Kim & I arrived at Bennett Creek appox. 3am in the morning, set up camp and enjoyed(?) the hollowing coyotes, if you like looking at the stars you couldn't ask for a better place!! We found out after the fact that a new Bennett Creek Loop had been completed last fall and is not on the maps yet, the company that built it said it was by far the most trecherous section of trail they have constructed....Jennifer M.from Dakota Cyclery said it is her new favorite riding spot on the trail(Loren is back in Medora, riding bike and driving shuttles....recovering quite well!).

We rode Bennett Creek to the MDH and up to, and past China Wall.....Kim did as I predicted in the last post, she ROCKED the Maah Daah Hey Trail!! I Loved riding the fixie, set up a nice spinning gear, 32x21, and cleaned everything, so I was pretty happy! The day was warm, but we had a nice breeze so the temp. felt much cooler.
We packed up and met up with Chad and John, also riding 29ers, at Magpie campground Sat. evening, met two guys loaded with panniers doing the whole trail, also scam'd some firewood from the horse people, must have been a dozen of 'em, so lots of fresh crap on the trail, also met a group riding the trail using the shuttle service provided by DC.....very busy camp area.....around 10 am we rode out to Devils Pass and beyond, enjoyed a leisurely ride back, stopping a couple of times to relax in the shade and enjoy the view, and what a view it was ;o)....got pretty hot that day, not much of a breeze either. We packed up and headed to Medora via an exploration of the back roads.....absolutely worth the extra time, we had to drive the truck through the Little Missouri River....stopped and took a dip in the river, so refreshing after a day of biking in the hot temps!
We visited Elkhorn Campground just to check it out, then hoped we'd find our way to a main road, see, the map we had didn't show where all the roads went, so we 'explored'....eventually my sharp eyes spied a fading sign that said I-94 15 miles....fun times were had by all! Met up at the Medora Campground with Chad and John and set up camp for the third time, we were pros by this time. Enjoyed an evening of bs'ing and Guinness!, got up early & prepared for another ride...The 4 of us headed towards the Buffalo Gap Trail and then decided to just ride to Sullys Creek, etc.....found some looooong decents, crossed the Little Missouri River 4 times FUN!!....We explored a bunch of trails. We tried the Pitchfork Fondue Monday evening, YUMMM, nothing like a deep fried steak!...after three days of camp food it felt good to eat a prepared meal, drank some wine, and again, enjoyed the view/scenery....such a beatuiful area!
The best three days of riding I've ever had on the Maah Daah Hey Trail, not to mention Kim, who riding platform pedals, did awesome!!! She easily would have ridden me into the ground had she been on any of my previous MDH trips, watch out boys, there's a new sheriff in town! Both Chad and John mentioned that they were VERY impressed with her riding ability! The fixie Monocog rode like a dream, LOVE the 29 inch wheels! Thanks to C & J for letting us share the campsite and their company. BTW, Guiness and hotdogs make an EXCELLENT breakfast! I've never drank more and rode harder...must be the fixie!