Author: Deb

Riding Stats #1

Riding Stats #2

Accommodations

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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.

Riding Stats

Accommodations

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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!

Riding Stats

Accommodations

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After coming off of yesterday’s high and waking up as a guest in Assumption Abbey this morning the day presented as a bit more of a challenge.

Although we only planned for half the mileage, the entire day we rode through headwinds, hills, huge rumble strips on I-94 east and a gnat festival in which we were the main attraction. 🙄

To be honest it wasn’t all that bad, it’s just that it was juxtaposed with the most perfect day yesterday.

After morning Mass at St. Mary’s we had breakfast with Fr. Claude, a retired 93 year old Benedictine monk who was as much entertained by us as we were with him. We could have chatted with him all day.

We packed up, received a blessing from Fr. Odo, and headed toward Taylor. The all-out headwinds started immediately.

Outside of Taylor the moving gnat festival began. Our faces, arms and legs already covered with sunscreen made a cozy resting place for the gnats.

We pushed on to Glen Ullin and were hungry, thirsty and wind beaten. It’s a small town with some nice gas stations and an awesome park but nowhere to eat. It was too hot to get food out of our pack. We just needed prepared food, shade and something cold to drink.

And guess what? Turns out Western Coop Credit Union was having an Open House with baked beans, grilled burgers and brats, lemonade, cookies and chips. They invited us to lunch so we bee lined it to the chow line. Very tasty meal and very nice folks. Now I know why North Dakota is called “legendary”. It’s because their hospitality is indeed legendary.

After lunch and snapping a few pics we headed toward I-94, 12 more miles of all out head wind, rumbles and hills. At one point I had to make the decision between riding over a dead skunk or the rumble. Rumble it was.

Since strong storms are predicted this evening we are staying at an old school motel ($62/night). It’s very clean with an old style room phone and chairs you can sit out front of your room and watch the storms roll in.

We are planning to ride through Bismark tomorrow and it looks like a scenic bike trail goes all through the city. I’m pretty stoked for that!

In case you are wondering about how the camping for cash challenge is going or our total mileage, click here to access our Google sheet.

And oh yes… today is the FIRST day I forgot to do planks and pushups so I guess I need to follow through.

Hoping for some tailwinds tomorrow!! #norumbles

One more bit of info. The purple fields we captured in pics and vids aren’t wildflowers at all but instead, alfalfa. And the yellow fields, canola. Just an FYI. And I saw my first field of corn today. I feel more close to Indiana than ever. ❤️

Riding Stats

Accommodations

Route Tracker

Yayyy we finally rode a hundred miler! There were a couple days when it was within our reach but it slipped away. As you may recall we have our 100 mile challenge going so we were especially pleased.

A century ride, a new state and a new map. Plus we had a real salad for lunch, as we were treated by two ride angels, Tom and Chris.

We finally finished about 8:00pm and were welcomed by Fr. Odo at Assumption Abbey where this Benedictine monastery radiates the ministry of hospitality.

Thanks Fr. Odo!

And Fr. Claude you made us laugh! Yes Jim there are some Notre Dame fans here!

Although I don’t normally single out vids I thought these two were worthy of doing so.

Here’s Tom and Chris Hong (excuse the orientation of the vid) as they mix the dulcimer and mandolin. Yep they’d just finished mountain biking and stopped into the bike shop in Medora shortly before us. Here’s what we walked into:

If anyone wants to know how to power through 3,000 feet of elevation increase, 100 miles on a heavy bike with about 40 pounds of gear pizza is the answer.

When we finished the day before in Wibaux the only open restaurant was the Tasty Hut. We both bought pizzas but Tom saved some of his and put it in a to-go box on the back of his bike. All day long he kept snacking on it.

This was such a full and eventful day and Tom has thoughtfully articulated it. Grab your fave bevvie… maybe even a cinnamon roll, some popcorn or beer nuts – you will need a bit of time.

From Tom:

I have to confess that I am a bit anal. Not in a bad way, but in an organized way. I like to get up in the morning, get our chores done, and get on the road towards our destination. I like the feeling of accomplishment of crossing the finish line and a job well done.

But several times this trip I look back on the day and noticed I might have cut that conversation a little short or did not stop to take that picture just to keep going and meet that goal. Each morning I start my first 10-15 miles with prayer. I have been ending these prayers asking that I can slow down and smell the roses and keep the spiritual antennae up for opportunities God has given me during the day.

Today God definitely answered my prayers. I had just finished my prayers when Gay approached riding westward following the Lewis and Clark trail. We had a great conversation. I didn’t cut it short and listened with total interest as he told us about his ride, retirement, etc.

A mile later here comes another rider, Danny who was also riding westward. Once again I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about all his experiences and he told us about the abbey he stayed at in Richardton.

A few miles later we entered the town of Sentinel Butte and we roll up to the gas station and look into the front window to see a group of locals sitting around the table drinking coffee. We walk in and Rick pours Deb and I a cup of coffee. He had homemade cinnamon rolls with homemade icing to spread on top.

We grab a seat join and into to the conversation. Another great opportunity to smell the roses and a great conversation with the locals. During our conversation we discussed BoMF and St. Vincent de Paul. Marceola reached into her purse and handed me a $10 bill. 😁

We ride out of town and a few miles later on top of a butte I look up and see a cross out in the middle of nowhere. Right then I get this wonderful feeling and it hit me that God is talking to me with these wonderful conversations I have had this morning. The remainder of the day was just more of the same.

We ride into Medora and want to stop by the bike shop that multiple people mention is super cool. We walk in and a couple, Tom and Chris, are playing music 🎶. Deb has a nice conversation with them while I add some air to our tires.

Later we were having lunch in Medora and Deb mentions if we ride to the Abbey we would be close to 100 mile ride. That would be another 52 miles from that point. We look for our waitress to settle our bill when the couple we met at the bike shop comes over and tells us they paid our bill. From that point on I can’t believe the energy I had.

As we rode into Richardton at mile 98 I felt like I could have ridden 50 more 😁.

Sometimes it takes time to strip off the layers that have been built up over the years. I lost a lot of those layers today I believe this is the true beginning of my bike ride today. I am typing this while sleeping in the Abbey.

I can only imagine what tomorrow will bring. 🙏🚴‍♂️🚴‍♀️