One final loop around the city. Which direction to go? Easy decision: clockwise – to avoid riding UP the switchbacks – and the same route we took the last time.
I found one more viewpoint of upper Falls Park.
23 miles again today. We’ve ridden five out of the last seven days for a total of 124 miles = the most/week so far.
We met the tour group at Covert Artisans Ales and Cellars at 1 pm.
We sampled one wild sour beer called Blackberry Crumble and a “rainbow sherbet” seltzer called Project Inclusion.
A short walk to Ode to Food and Drink
to try Chislic – a South Dakota specialty, pronounced chiz-lick – or fried red meat served with a Thai pepper peanut sauce and a ghost pepper sauce plus a delicious white sangria with peach schnapps.
Dana, the owner of Sioux Falls Food Tours did a great job of sharing stories about the city and some of its history.
Stop #3: Monk’s Ale House.
Mashed potato pizza and ..
a hummus platter.
A short walk to R Wine Bar.
The R is for Riccardo who came over to our table to share a bit about his history – he came to America from Italy when he was 5 years old – and how the restaurant came to be. Fascinating.
Pasta pomodoro with meatballs and paired with the perfect red wine.
Final stop, dessert at Prairie Cocoa and Confection.
This was called Strawberry Hot Chocolate.
This was the best food tour I’ve taken so far. Great food, everything timed well, restaurants ready for us with very prompt service, a few chef or owner visits, excellent guide. Dana leads 4 different food tours during a month. Great job Dana and Sioux Falls Food Tours!
Monday August 2. Dani, Kathy, Cheryl, Leo:
Friday August 6. Jonathan took this picture of Barbara, Cheryl, Jane, Dani, and Leo:
Saturday August 7.
We left early, after a big rainstorm last night. Riding clockwise on the main trail this time. North of airport, a small plane landing:
Because of the heavier rains last night, the Big Sioux River was running faster:
We rode on the west side of the river as far as we could, not the main trail, more in downtown. We thought we’d seen the best part of Falls Parks but were pleasantly surprised to more great views upstream.
As we rode through the Levitt at the Falls (an outdoor concert venue), the band performing a free concert at 10 am was warming up. We rode right past the front of the stage and felt like we got a brief mini-concert. The saxophonist sang special lyrics for Billie as we left. Apparently she was “dancing” on her bike.
After our usual rest stop, we continued on the west side of the river to Fawick Park. Just in case I never get to Florence Italy to see the marble version …
David, a full-size bronze replica.
We continued down the west side of the river until Cherry Rock Bridge.
I extended my ride a bit by crossing over Cole’s 1906 bridge and riding to Dunham Park then back to the turn off to the RV park which meant today’s ride was 25 miles. And … I rode 100+ miles this week.
Without showing you the map again, we rode the spur and turned right, going 19 miles counterclockwise around the loop. Why? Today we will climb the switchbacks up. Tomorrow, we get to go down.
Rest stop, slight right, up the ramp, sharp U to right and … you know where we are, right?
North of the airport with a small plane landing:
And back to the RV park. 23 miles.
Sioux Falls is the site of the largest annual exhibit of public sculptures in the world. Each spring new works are installed on loan from their creators. The public is invited to vote on their favorite. There are more than 60 sculptures to visit. The biggest cluster is on Phillips Ave between 9th and 12th Streets. You can see all of them at this website: sculpturewalksiouxfalls.com
My favorite was Cherry Tree made from found items: rebar, red marbles held in place with the curled tines of forks, the leaves are stainless steel spoons.
Fresh Take on one side ..
but as you walk up the sidewalk, you see this:
We had lunch at
The Q Burger – excellent!
Today we rode the same spur in and turned left to ride north around the airport and back to downtown.
Country clubs on the left and right:
The bridge took us to the other side of the Big Sioux River:
From the northern end of the trail, a glimpse of the airport in the distance:
Across the Big Sioux River again:
At the top of a switchback descent (which we will climb on our return trip) to cross the bridge (and river) as we head toward Falls Park and downtown:
Falls Park is a must-see in Sioux Falls.
Same perfect turn-around point as yesterday!
Several times a day, fighter jets (not sure what to call these fast/LOUD airplanes) take off in 2s or 3s, fly around, and land. The South Dakota Air National Guard station is located at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport.
From the main trail, this is the spur across the bridge takes us back to the campground. Some maps call it Skunk Creek.
Where Cherry/Skunk Creek flows into Big Sioux River:
Great ride. 26 miles.
A 19-mile loop surrounds the city. Our RV park is about 1/2 mile from one of the spurs – on this map, that spur is left center more or less:
Today we explored the spur which ended at Legacy Park.
At the end of the trail, the next extension is under construction.
Back along the other side of the creek.
We met Cole at this bridge built in 1906. He and a friend had been collecting artifacts.
After crossing the bridge we turned right on the loop and headed downtown. Many parks were linked via the trail.
The Arc of Dreams sculpture over the Big Sioux River in downtown Sioux Falls was our turnaround point.
28 miles!
Sunday July 25. Barbara and Cheryl met up with Jonathan who had ridden with a trike group.
Monday July 26. Dani, Rich, Kathy, Leo, Cindy, Jane, Cheryl:
Tuesday July 27. Jonathan, Leo, Cindy, Cheryl, Dani, Barbara:
Wednesday July 28. Cheryl, Kathy, Barbara:
Thursday July 29. Jonathan took this picture of Jane, Kathy, Barbara, Dani, Cheryl:
Jonathan, “It takes a village … to fix Jane’s flat.” What a great group of cycling friends!
Friday July 30.
Again, we didn’t have far to go, so we left at check out time, more or less.
Goodbye Iowa:
Hello Sioux Falls SD. There are almost 30 miles of bike trails here + other interesting things to see. Our RV site is also close to the bike trail so there won’t be any loading of bikes onto Versie (tow car) and driving somewhere.
arletelouise 