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,--_. - , ;f eee ~ N - l\ l rw;~~~~iva#~~~259._8732) is the only outfitter Moab, Utah) offering five-day trips ($845) including meals a day and support. Bring your own gear, or rent bags, pads ($65 per trip) and bikes ($25 front 1"11'""",nc;irln $35 full suspension a day). For more information to owner Ashley Korenblat. the Badlands is best in the summer and fall The winters are brutally cold and windy, and the trail be too wet to ride in the spring. It only rains an of 15 inches a year but when it does, it often pours, I["ill,,",n!'!. sandstone and clay-into what the locals call 1.. ________ ..... ____________ ..... breakfast, lunch and dinner. Cowboy Cafe Now, if gumbo was as much fun to ride in as it is the trail-composed of highly malleable bentonite, your tires so relentlessly that, within minutes, your bike will be reduced to an immovable seventy pound mudsicle, which, depending on how far away the car is, might force the issue of bike abandonment. Sort of like the captain not going down with the ship. Locals staying off the trail when it's rained both because it's impassable on a bike, and slogging around it when it's wet makes a big huge mess. Summer riding across the Badlands, even in early September, can be hot. eat, the mountain biking would be pretty sweet. Unfortunately, this stuff cakes onto If you don't want your bones to wind up next to a cow carcass, a hydration pack is the to go. There is no water-except for the odd stock tank and the little Miz, which offers as much refreshment as the sludge at the bottom of a Turkish coffee. are several convenience stores in Medora, but for serious supplies it's wise to stock up at the supermarket 32 miles east in Dickinson. On the top of your list should be lots of bottled water, as the tap water in and around Medora is not very tasty. Be prepared for drastic weather nuctuations. Temperatures can be blistering hot during the day in the summer and freezing cold at night. For riding-extra layers, a hydration pack, patch kit, slime, extra tubes, energy drinks and bars. Bike rentals at Dakota Cyclery (888-321-1218) from Memorial Day to Labor Day. In the you're on your own. ' 9< ----- P ... 80._.., Medora Theodore Roosevelt National Park ~ Gnmf r.........., Campground camping to comfortable living all lie within two miles of the Maah Daah Hey Trail. Campgrounds, including Medora (800-MEDORA-1), Sully Creek (701- 623-4496) and Red Trail (701-623-4317), range in price from $10 to $24 per night. Hotels include, The Americlnn Motel (BOO- 634-3444, $97.90-$119.90), Rough Rider Hotel (BOO-MEDORA-l, $71-$83) and Alfred Sully Inn (877-800-4992, $35-$50). part while traveling in the Badlands, think meat. Although most menus do offer fish and chicken, there are no health-food stores or restaurants in Medora. Vegetarians won't starve-but they might get a little grumpy. Here are some ideas: The Iron Horse Saloon (701-623-9894) offers breakfast, lunch and Belfield. NO dinner as well as a lively bar scene with live music. Rough Rider Hotel (BOO-MEDORA-1) pretty much the fine dining in town for (701-623-4402) country cooking-breakfast, lunch and dinner. Badlands Pizza Parlor (800-633-6721) has a bar and features live music. 701-225-5151, www.fs.fed.uslrl/dakotaprairieimedora Theodore Roosevelt National Park, 701-623-4466, www.nps.govllhro The North Dakota Department of Tourism, 800-435-5663, www.ndtourism.com Medora Chamber of Commerce, 701-623-4910 The Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation, BOO-MEDORA-l, www.medora.com