| CYCLING TERM DEFINITIONS:
Confused by the lingo you hear when talking about biking?
SINGLE-TRACK: A single dirt path or trail, 4 inches to a foot wide, usually made by cattle, deer or elk. Trails to try: The Big Hill Trail System, The Centennial Trail, Deerfield Trail No. 40, Deerfield Lake and The Lake Loop Trail, The Eagle Cliff Trail System, Old Iron Creek Road , Lookout Mountain , Little Spearfish Trail, Old Baldy Trail, Crow Peak Trail, and my one of my favorites, Tinton Road 's Single-track Trail
TWO-TRACK: A dirt path or trail, usually made by a vehicle, with two tracks where tires have left their mark. Each track is usually 4 inches to a foot wide. Generally grass has grown between the tracks. Trails to try: The Big Hill Trail System, Deerfield Trail No. 40 near Silver City , The Eagle Cliff Trail System and Lookout Mountain's East side.
FOREST SERVICE ROADS: A dirt or grass covered path, wide enough for a vehicle, that was made for forest service fire prevention and maintenance. Can be a "two track" road.
LOG BRIDGE : A narrow bridge, made out of a wide tree. Trails to try: Deerfield Trail No. 40.
HIKE-A-BIKE SECTION: A section of trail too steep or rugged to ride, requiring rider to lift bike onto shoulders and hike over this section. Trails to try: Crow Peak Trail, Deerfield Trail No. 40 - Slate Creek Section.
SWITCHBACK: A tight turn in a trail that turns you back in the opposite direction you were originally riding (or close to it). Trails to try: The Centennial Trail, just south of I-90 at the Black Hills Cemetery .
ROLLERCOASTER: Quick up and down riding on smaller hills repeatedly, where your momentum can take you up the next hill without much pedaling, giving you the feeling as if you were on a rollercoaster. Trails to try: The Centennial Trail, just south of the Needles Highway .
RAILS-TO-TRAILS: An old railroad system turned into a bike trail, usually a great distance in length. Generally hills are not steep making it good riding for beginners. Trails to try: The George S. Mickelson Trail.
TRAIL ETIQUETTE
Most trails in South Dakota 's Black Hills are multiple use, so please use caution when riding. It is not uncommon to meet hikers, horseback riders and cattle while on these trails. While cattle will generally ignore you, horses are an entirely different matter. Most get very tense around bikes, and the best way to pass one is to get off your bike and walk slowly with the bike on the outside, away from the horse. Horses generally tend to calm down once they realize the strange thing coming at them is a person. Both the horse and the rider will appreciate it. Hikers too prefer to be warned that you're coming up on them. The silence in the hills is so calming, that it is very common to catch people off guard. When you spot someone quite a distance away from you, try to make some kind of noise - like a cough, that won't startle them, but will catch their attention. Then, as you approach, be sure to let the hiker know which side you'll be passing them on. Pets are allowed in the forest, but for the safety of the pet, yourself and those in the forest with you, it is best to keep them on a leash |
Spearfish Canyon
Deer Creek to Silver City
Crow Peak
The Centennial Trail
The Big Hill Trail System
Bear Mountain
The Badlands
Alkalai Creek
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