Category: Cross Country Cycling Tour

Cycling tour and preparation.

Day 24 – Erskine

Day 24 – Erskine, Minnesota (Monday, May 25, 2015)

Memorial Day!

As I was eating my lunch in Grand Forks I met a nice group of people who were curious about my bike. It turns out they just came back from a memorial day service. One of the men with a perpetual smile stopped by as he was leaving and gave me an American flag. He talked about his brother, a gym teacher who lived in Perth, Australia, and biked 10 miles to work everyday. He continued “he’s been in a lot of accidents”,”his helmet has saved him”,”he was hit by a car mirror and had to get his hip replaced”.  He introduced himself as Winston, proceeded to spontaneously pray for me then left.  I get that he thought cycling was dangerous but he was a selfless pastor’s soul.  What would become of the likes of him if there was no Christianity?

I gave my flag to Ralph the Trek (as you can see in the picture).  I was told he was made in America like Lance Armstrong.

For the record; the wind was mostly in my favour today until I approached Mentor.  ‎

When I arrived at Erskine I met a gentleman who was struggling to embed memorial plaques in a brick sidewalk. He looked old enough to have retired so I assume he was a volunteer. I enquired about places to stay.    He enquired about my trip. I told him that I was crossing the country going east. He said “then you’ve gone through North Dakota?” with a smile, slightly derisively. I asked what’s wrong with North Dakota and he said “it’s flat.”  I guess he figured I would have noticed the difference between Minnesota and North Dakota but I didn’t. I told him I had seen “flat” since Calgary and hadn’t noticed a big difference in North Dakota. He claimed that Minnesota has forests and told me I should see them in the 200 miles or so.  I guess there will always be rivalries.

As a result of the conversation I was satisfied that Erskine was as good a town as any to settle for the evening.

I had an early supper at a pub where everyone was singing along with the jukebox including the bar tender. I did my laundry and met a elderly lady preoccupied in her cleaning.   We chatted a bit, she complained about people leaving their clothes in the dryer, and I told her I was travelling to St. John’s. I think she got it confused with some place with a similar name in Minnesota.   She ended up helping me push the right buttons on the dryer as I attempted to explain Canadian geography.

I set up my tent at the campground by the lake aptly named “Lakeside Campground”.

Day 23 – Larimore

Day 23 – Larimore, North Dakota (Sunday, May 24, 2015)

I think Coriolis stopped working. The weather men all say that it’s a high pressure system and shrug. Ya right!   There are only two possibilities for an east wind three weeks straight:

(a) Someone did something to Mr. Coriolis
Or
(b) the world stopped spinning which doesn’t happen often.

Well the sun came up this morning thus my conclusion.

I got up reluctantly at 6:30am this morning, shook the due off my tent, packed up, and found a spot at a table at the corner store to eat my muffins. I didn’t feel much like eating, so I left some of the sugary cinnamon buns, and got going.‎

I had a late “second” breakfast at McDonald’s squeaking in just before they started serving lunch. I had two pancake meal thingys, an orange juice (more sugar) and a coffee.   I had trouble eating it all but downed most of it.

For the record… I stopped in at Lakota for a beverage break and chatted with Ann before taking off to Niagara, my intended destination.

I arrived at Niagara and found a quaint little hamlet that was generally well maintained. I called a bed and breakfast and was told that they don’t open until June.   The man, who was pleasant enough added “this is North Dakota.” like it was an irrefutable natural law. (It is as clearly understood as the one that prohibits voting for a black president although nothing is ever written. Someone should tell them that even the written natural laws are being revoked.)‎

While I was standing there with my bike wondering what to do a kindly old patriarch and his family drove by in a brand new four door pickup truck and asked me with a baritone voice if he could help. (He sounded like he could be a preacher.)  I told him all I needed was somewhere to setup my tent. He generously offered – anywhere – I am not sure if he owned the town. And then I added “a public washroom would be nice.”. At that point he reneged on his offer and directed me the Larimore. “It’s just 10miles down the road. They have a rest area there.” Like he walked there everyday! I should be careful not to scoff.  Perhaps he did. It’s still prairie farming country.

What was I to do?

So here I am at the rest stop on highway #2 at the exit for Larimore. I’ve set my tent and will be eating my camping meal. Although it’s not the most private place it’s pretty nice and so far it’s free. I am pretty sure it wasn’t intended for tenting.  Who’s going to tell me to leave?

Day 22 – Leeds

Day 22 – Leeds, ND (Saturday, May 23, 2015)

I had relatively good, consistent wind from the south by southwest and made good time.

I left Minot at 7:15am. I stopped at Rugby for lunch a bit after noon.  Apparently I passed the middle of the continent today in Rugby.   There was a big sign making the proclamation.  Now I start going down hill!  Unfortunately by my calculation I will have gone halfway in another 700kms.

I stopped at Leeds at 2:30pm and decided to have a turkey wrap at the road side joint (I was suspicious of the hamburgers). As I was eating a man a little old introduced himself. He said he recognized me right away as the cyclist; skinny, eating healthy food (only by random coincidence), and my apparel outrageous apparel. He had met a lot of cyclists passing through from all over the world. Apparently he and his wife had set up a spot at Knox for long distance travelers. It was too bad I had already passed Knox. I told him that I would mention the place if I met anyone going west.

I decided to stay the night at Leeds. This was a day that I would have liked to go farther but Devils Lake was 30 miles more (50 km). I still feel that if I stretch the distance on one day I may feel tired early the next. The distance to Churchs Ferry would have perfect except there didn’t seem like there was much there.

I am pitching my tent tonight. It is 6:50pm. With the sun still bright in the clear sky the tent is too hot to settle down.

I found a few things loose on my bike.   One of the bolts and a spacer for my front rack came loose and was lost.   I replaced the bolt with one of the spare bolts. The spacer will be difficult to replace. Another bolt came loose that was used to fasten my rear water jug.   I will have to be more careful and check all the bolts regularly.

I have to look at the map for tomorrow.   I will have a strong head wind after about 10am. I planned to make Niagara ND tomorrow (80 miles) but if the wind isn’t too bad I may see if I can camp adjacent the highway near Larimore (93 miles.)

 I think Leeds is a typical American prairie town. I have an impression that the American towns are more prosperous. Stores, restaurants and accommodation are cleaner and better maintained in North Dakota along Highway 2 at least. The whole economy where I’ve been is based on some sort of farming.

I think there is a high premium on “large” genes.   It might have something to do with three or four generations of farming in tough conditions. None of the locals here were shorter than 6 feet.  I am speculating here… the runts all ran away and ran the banks in Chicago. Who know’s they may have found Steinbeck’s Kate. Then their offspring caused the market crash of 2008.  Voila – the genesis of two new species – evolution!

Day 21 – Minot

Day 21 – Minot, DK (Friday May 22, 2015)

Three weeks on the road!

I left Bowbells about 8am and arrived in Kenmare at 10:30am to have my breakfast staple; two orders of french toast and hash browns.

My direction was mostly south and again I ended up facing a strong head wind. I was disappointed with my progress.

I aimed to have lunch in Minot but I didn’t arrive in Minot until 2:30pm. By then I was desperate for something to eat and ended up at a Burger King while I got my bearings. I needed something at the bike shop and dropped in at Val’s Cycles to pick up a new chain.

I’m disappointed I will be staying in a hotel. Ann told me to ask around for a place to pitch a tent.   I think there is quite a low likelihood of finding a campground in the middle of an urban area but I guess it’s worth a try.  She also scolded me for being such a whimp and not going 24 km further. She was right on both counts.  I need a firm itinerary now I’ve left my original intended course.

BikeTracking, BikeRoute

Day 20 – Bowbells

Day 20 – Bowbells, ND (Thursday May 21, 2015)

I took down my tent, packed up and was on my bike by 7:15am. I stopped down at “Sista’s” restaurant for french toast and discovered that the service hadn’t got any better overnight.

I had a second breakfast in Estevan in good time at 10:30am.  Although there were “local” choices I picked Dairy Queen. I wanted to count on quickness, cleanliness and a smile.

I crossed the border into North Dakota at North Portal SK at about 1:30pm.   The border guards were good guys and were curious about a crazy old man riding across the country on his bicycle. They asked what I had in my panniers and I made the mistake to list my food items. Apparently my rice was not allowed into the US and was confiscated.  Who would have thought?  My wife Ann packed that rice. It was healthy nutritious brown rice. Don’t tell Ann but I didn’t like that rice. It made eating my camping meal a chore and I am glad it is gone. Now I can go and buy some white rice with impunity.

It may be important to note that the stretch of east bound highway on number 5 doesn’t have much of a shoulder.   Typically the shoulder would be described thus from right to left: there’s a white line, then about 12 inches of a rumbles strips, then a strip of about 4-10 inches of good pavement intended for bicyclists like me, then about 4 feet of gravel.  The strip of good pavement for bicyclists varied in width depending on the whim of the highway builders. On highway 5 to boot here is one lane of traffic in each direction with a speed limit of 65 miles per hour.

There a number of things I learnt when riding on a narrow strip of pavement:

  1. You get better at riding in a straight line.
  2. Your grip gets stronger.
  3. Rumble strips act like brakes.  (So does gravel)
  4. Livestock trucks push the most wind.

I gave up travelling on this thin strip of due to difficulty and decided instead to use the road when there was no traffic. I started thinking that avoiding Ontario’s highways north of Lake Superior by traveling in the US was a dumb idea.

Luckily the traffic was sparse, the drivers gave me the next lane (when they could) and the highway improved significantly to 9 feet of paved shoulder once the highway headed south to Bowbells.

There are no campground in Bowbells.  I am staying at an acceptable motel with a shower, laundry and a bed. Isn’t quite as good as the tent but it will have to do.

BikeTracking, BikeRoute