Month: July 2018

From Tom:

Gratitude was the theme for me today. As you know by now, I start my first 10-15 miles having an out loud conversation with God with my prayers for family, friends, special intentions, and more. During my prayers I always pray for my work, RND Group. I am so grateful to work for a company that encourages me to take time off for this wonderful adventure.

How blessed am I? I was thinking today that my 12th anniversary with RND is coming up in a couple of weeks and it got me to think of gratitude of everything that has happened in that 12 years.

I met the love of my life, my best friend, and she said “yes” to marrying me
Deb has made me feel there is nothing I can’t accomplish!
With marriage came four more beautiful children in my life (and two grandchildren 😁)
I ran the first marathon of my life, followed by 50 more in 50 states
The adventures are more than I can count
My children have grown up to be more than I can ever imagine
I am so grateful to have the health to ride my bike across the country

I could go on and on for a long time of gratefulness, but here is today’s ride.

We woke up in the bunkhouse, made coffee, packed up, said our good mornings/goodbyes to our new friends as we all ventured off on our bikes in different directions.

After riding a couple of centuries back to back, we decided to keep today’s ride a bit short with a destination of Osceola, 55 miles away. We can control our distance, but we can’t control the wind. Most of our ride was dead south and we saw the flag blowing from the south before we ever pulled out of the bunkhouse driveway. We chugged along mile after mile against the wind. Our legs were ok at the beginning, but the wind just wears on you over time.

We stopped at mile 25 at noon at a bar and grabbed a couple of chicken wraps with French fries and tater tots for Deb. Not too anxious, we jumped on our bikes and ventured on with 30 miles to go. The next 11 miles was dead South and “just suck it up” time. 😀😀😀😀.

With eight miles to go and with a bit of a lead on Deb, I rolled into Shafer and there was a saloon and I was totally out of water. I walked in to the saloon to fill my water bottle, and walked out with a couple of ice cold Summer Shandys.

Needless to say, the Debster was pretty happy for the attitude adjustment waiting for her on the front porch 😀🍺. Let’s just say the last 8 miles went a lot better as we crossed the Wisconsin border with 2 miles to go to our destination of the River Valley Inn.

We checked in, showered up and headed next door for a well deserved dinner. We came back, spread the maps out to plan our next few days after throwing a load of laundry in. Right now, I am typing up this blog and Deb is now folding the laundry 😁👍

We are looking forward to Church tomorrow morning with a Catholic Church within walking distance from our hotel 😁.

Well, signing off for the night.

#acaNoTier Sauk Centre to Dalbo, 100 Miles | Another Century, This One Not a Gimme

We were still celebrating our second century ride of the trip from Pelican Rapids to Sauk Centre when we decided we’d shoot for another century the following day and ride to Dalbo, Minnesota for our last night in Minnesota.

Yep it was a stretch goal since it’s a bit challenging to ride two 100 mile rides in consecutive days, the winds were not in our favor and it was a bit hotter. But… it was a stretch and those are the most gratifying goals to hit.

We got up with the sun at 5am, quickly packed up and decided to get breakfast on the road. But that wasn’t before serving as a breakfast buffet for the campground mosquitos as we did our planks and pushups before leaving. Little pests!

By 6am we were back on our fave Woebegone Trail that was an offshoot of the Central Lakes Trail.

By 9 am we had 15 miles under our belts, tires pumped up, breakfast at Charlie’s Cafe and we even were able to get to Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Freeport, MN.

We said goodbye to trail cycling a little east of Bowlus and alas returned to the road.

Tom found a place to get a haircut and decided to go “all in” or rather “all off” and requested a “1” all over. He is even faster now with that extra weight dropped and improved aerodynamics.

We could tell when we were getting close to a new town when grain elevators, water towers or a clump of trees appeared. We were clicking off the towns until Dalbo but still, with heavy bikes, loaded bags and a headwind every time we turned south, it wasn’t a gimme.

We saw two cyclists from England riding coast to coast in the opposite direction, Alb and Bod and we stopped to chat. They confirmed our goal and said, “Oh you don’t want to miss the Bunkhouse.”

Per the usual we never know exactly where our campground or hostel is located. We were wondering if we’d missed it when Tom said let’s go up one more house. Sure enough we spied the sign for Donn’s Bicycle Bunkhouse.

And it did NOT disappoint. There is everything a bike traveller would want. You can tell it’s a passion for Donn and Sherry. Their home, the property and the hostel are indescribably hospitable in impeccably clean.

Bunkhouse bunkies included Dan and Emily, westbounders traveling from Boston to Banff, and Roger and Kyle eastbounders like us on the Northern Tier route. Then Doug showed up while he was out on his 170 mile ride. He decided to stay the night too. All good peeps!

In fact, The Bicycle Bunkhouse is so comfty and clean we might do first AND second breakfast here.

Looking forward to entering Wisconsin tomorrow!

#acaNoTier Pelican Rapids to Sauk Centre, 104 Miles | Ding Ding! Ring that Century Bell Again!

Yep we did another 100 mile ride today!! The morning started with 25 miles on rural rollers and a sweet tailwind. We’d planned ahead to snag a second breakfast in Fergus Falls.

You don’t stop in a Minnesota town named Fergus Falls without getting second breakfast at The Viking Cafe.

We sat at the counter since it was packed and got to talking to Ed at the counter – he asked what kind of bike Tom rode. When Tom said an REI Co-Op he looked puzzled. He thought we were riding motorcycles. 🤣

We’d planned on staying at a Warm Showers but since the winds and riding conditions were so favorable we decided to try to power through and ride a century today. Plus we were very well rested from our day off on July 4.

There are multiple conditions that make for a good ride. Today we experienced them ALL. After Fergus Falls we were on a bike trail. All. Day. Long. That meant not using our mirrors, yelling “car back” or even turning on our blinking lights. #bikenirvana

Plus there was a steady tailwind, flat terrain, no traffic and multiple small towns to stop for Paydays and ice cream.

We met Steve who is in training to ride around Banff soon with VBT. We chuckled at the saying on the back of his jersey, “Keep Calm and Cycle On.” Go Steve!

With just 15 miles to go we met a family at the best place to get ice cream in Minnesota.

Ya know ya think ya might be doing something extraordinary until you meet a guy like Eric who rode a 36″ wheel unicycle 150 miles from Houston to Austin in two days. #stellar

We are camped in a beautiful city park right by one of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes.

Tomorrow we are actually setting our alarm clock for 5am in hopes of getting an early start to reach Dalbo which is 106 miles away. This would be quite a stretch goal for us as we rode 100 today and the riding conditions won’t be as favorable. But… nothing ventured, nothing gained.

And there is a cyclist bunkhouse that is supposed to be a “must see” so we are motivated.

And oh yea… this happened today – let’s call this not a milestone, but a “smilestone”.

We really need a refresher Arthur Murray dance lesson. It was a sweet emotion hitting this mark but seriously we need some choreography help.

Last but not least, happiest of birthdays to our darling Annie! 💓

If there are issues watching the vid, click here to watch today’s video ride recap on my YouTube channel.

#acaNoTier Rest Day in Pelican Rapids | Half Way Point In Numbers

Riding Stats – None!

Since we are pretty sure we are going to hit the halfway point of our bike trip today we thought it might be fun to put together some random numbers and share.

Let us know what ya think!

#acaNoTier Fargo to Pelican Rapids, 60 Miles | Should We Stay or Should We Go?

Hummm where to begin…

The morning started with waking up in my sister’s cute little camper, both warm and dry.

We were exceptionally grateful since another wind storm/thunderstorm rolled through the night before in Fargo.

We knew rain and wind was forecasted so we quickly packed up and decided to get coffee and a breakfast sammie on the road.

The big question… should we stay in Fargo or go? We decided to stay – for a minute. And then we went.

Something about the way ACA connects alternate routes and maybe because neither of us are navigation aces (especially me) we set out on a path that led us to backtracking three miles (total of six miles) out of the way.

That wasn’t the funniest part. We stopped for breakfast at a gas station and people kept saying “storm’s coming, be careful” – which we already knew. So when we were taking off we began in the wrong direction… in the rain.

We will pretty much always take that gamble. If it doesn’t work out there is never a blame game. We decide together and if we are all in, we are all in.

Welp… the rain and the head wind came like I’ve never seen it. Tom was ahead of me making progress and slowly pulling away but I had my bike in granny gear pedaling with all my leg strength and only getting 4-5 miles an hour out of it.

Coincidentally I was in my fifth decade of the Sorrowful mysteries (the crucifiction). Talk about a great way to focus on y’alls prayer intentions. I was on total focus while getting beat up by the storm.

I could see Tom stopping ahead. The wind and rain were just pelting both of us.

Just where Tom stopped there was a Catholic Church on the right, St. Cecilia and a C-store on the left.

The church was locked but the store was open. We really needed some shelter and food and relief from that pelting rain.

The clerk said there was a tavern around the corner. We were open to drying out and some food but when we walked out of the C-store the rain had stopped.

What to do? Stay at the tavern for food and to dry out or go and push on to the city of Downer (yep that’s actually the name of the town) about 10 more miles.

Deciding together we opted to bike to Downer where there was another tavern to get food. In these little towns it’s most always a c-store (convenience store) or tavern for food options. That’s it. No Panera bread, no salad bars and definitely no Starbucks for bento boxes.

We straddled that storm front for 10 miles but no more rain. The cross wind however was a nice little foreshadow of how the rest of the day was going to go.

We came out of the Downer tavern to sunny skies and WIND. And it wasn’t a tailwind.

We rode strong cross winds and head winds the rest of the day. It was pretty exhausting for me. Tom was also working hard to power through.

We arrived in Pelican Rapids, a small lake community that earns the title of having the largest pelican in the world. The video looks like the icon is hurling but it was due to an unintentional camera angle.

Other highlights of the day included entering Minnesota, our fifth state. Unfortunately no state line pic was doable because of the storms.

We also saw a herd of bison and a shoe fence that fancied every type of shoe apparel on its fence posts. If you’re not sure why just google it.

We are taking an official rest day on July 4th due to more rain in the morning, headwinds and increased lake traffic in the area.

We did a little route planning in the city park with our C-store purchased coffee on our day off and have figured tomorrow we will reach our half way point. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Since we have cycled the Michigan UP before and the official NT route takes us through Indiana we’ve opted to take the ferry out of Manitowoc to Ludington and then take the Erie Connector to get back on the Northern Tier route.

We are hoping to get an early start on July 5th with no decisions as to whether we should stay or go.

God Bless America 🇺🇸…. and add to it, God Bless the World. 🌏🌍🌎

More tech issues 😫 click here if having trouble viewing video.

#acaNoTier Enderlin to Fargo, 56 Miles | Fab Fargo

We were remarkably lucky in that my sister, Jane and her husband Mike were on their way back from Yellowstone National Park and were traveling through Fargo when we would be. A rendezvous was planned!

But first we had to ride the 50 plus miles to get there.

Most of the ker-chunk was replaced with nice road surface but no shoulder. Because there was quite a bit more traffic, we ensured our tail lights were flashing brightly and even affixed our bright strobe front lights to the back of our bikes to make sure we would be easily seen.

But that’s not all… anytime there was an oncoming car and a passing car approaching at the same time we drove off the side of the road in the dirt and gravel to avoid getting hit or causing an accident since there was no shoulder. Let’s just say our day started with 30 miles of off roading. #safetyfirst

But it worked! We arrived safely to Kindred where we stopped for lunch and met Scott, a high school Biology and Chem teacher from Illinois. He gives “riding to the ride” a whole new meaning as he is taking part of the Lewis and Clark trail and riding to and from RAGBAI and then some. It was a lot of fun to chat with Scott and pick his brain about gear and new destinations. Coincidentally he came from Lindenwood where he camped the night before and we were meeting Jane and Mike.

We arrived to our campground just in time to watch Jane and Mike pull in. They’d stopped at the store for food and bevvies. They got the camper parked and set up in no time. Tom did some bike maintenance and cleaning while I went through my bags to see if I could drop any weight for the second half of our bike adventure.

Sad to say a few things didn’t make the cut for the second half: the camp cutting board, spatula, an extra pair of gloves, undies and my beloved camp chair. Yes I love it but by the time we finish chores in the evening we usually climb into the tent. Not needed. Less weight. Wonder if that will help me keep up with Tom. Probably not. 😕

Best part of the day though was enjoying the fabulous meal Jane cooked up for us. Fresh fruit and cheese and crackers as an app and then grilled chicken, peppers and pineapple served up with baked beans and an enormous salad with real lettuce – (not iceberg) yayyyy!!

We finished up the night with a slumbie in their camper and lucky for us because it stormed again last night. We were all comfy cozy in the camper while the wind, rain, thunder and lightening carried on outside.

It was fun catching up on all the family and home news. We went our separate ways but it sure was great to see them! Thank you Jane and Mike!

Looks like the next couple days will bring headwinds and some rain but… today we enter Minnesota, our fifth state!

#acaNoTier Gackle to Enderlin, 78 Miles | Kla-chunk

From Tom:

This blog is going to be rather short and maybe a bit boring.

If you like 79 miles of a total straight line and with about half of the ride with your hands/wrists/shoulders/butt going kla-chunk, kla-chunk, kla-chunk every 20 yards as you pass over big cracks across the road, then this ride was for you.

We woke up our usual 5:30am, got dressed, had oatmeal/coffee and were on our way east to a destination of Enderlin, 78 miles away. The map says no services for the next 78 miles, so we were prepared to not have our favorite second breakfast 😔.

We breezed through the first 40 miles and came up to a sign that says Marion, ND 1 mile south. We looked at the map and it showed population 153. We ventured that way in hopes of a possible convenience store and get off the bike for a bit. When we arrived there was a store, but not open. ☹️.

We did find a very nice shaded park and grabbed some crackers, fig newtons, and carrots and Tom enjoyed a good pear.

After a short catnap it was time to get back on the road. Fifteen miles down the road we came across a brand new gas station/convenience store. An oasis in the middle of our ride 😀. Bugles, cheese/salami for the Debster and a bag of salty peanuts for Tombo. We washed these snacks down with an ice cold Gatorade.

We had 23 miles to go and we were both kind of ready to be done. Elton John and Supertramp can only carry you so long on a long mundane ride. We wrapped up our last miles and pulled into the outskirts of Enderlin where our motel was waiting. No camping or Warmshower options in town.

We got showered up and walked into town for a well needed meal at the only restaurant open called Trio. It looked like it might have been a biker bar and after entering the front door, we confirmed that. We got 20 feet into the joint and a guy asked me if that was my wife I was with. After, I acknowledged “yes”, he said I was a very lucky man, because she is gorgeous. Since we are “bikers” we fit right in 😀🚴‍♂️🚴‍♀️.

Deb enjoyed a burger with saracha fries and Tom a chicken sandwich with fries. We also enjoyed a appetizer of Jalapeño Cheese curds. Of course they didn’t come close to Big Lug cheese curds back home.

We wrapped up our evening up with a brief review of the remainder of our maps to Bar Harbor to get lay of the land. We have some decision points when we leave Fargo on Tuesday.

Well time to call it a night. We are looking forward to entering Fargo and camping with Deb’s sister, Jane and her husband, Mike who will meet up with us on their way home from Yellowstone.

#acaNoTier Hazelton to Gackle, 66 Miles | Prairie Dinosaurs, a Turtle Rescue and More