Miles to date: 1,659.8
We’ve arrived in Bismarck ND, which means Leg #3 of our journey is complete. And what a tremendous finish it was to what was a difficult stretch. If you tuned in yesterday, you know we stopped short of our initial planned finish to Hebron. Part of that thinking was because the wind was finally projected to be favorable today. It was nearly too generous.
We covered 79 miles today in just over 4.5 hours, averaging 17.3 MPH. When I started planning for this journey months ago, I figured we could do 12.5 MPH, so today’s performance was a beautiful surprise. We also set a new Pilgrim land speed record of 45 MPH; impressive for a bike carrying 60+ pounds of gear.
We stopped for lunch in New Salem, home of the world’s largest Holstein cow. Salem Sue is 38’ tall and 50’ long; she overlooks I-94. While it would’ve been nice to get a closer look, we were glad to be on Sue’s backside on Old Hwy 10.
With 10 miles to go, we noticed another biker paused on the street ahead of us. As we approached I realized it was my friend and former neighbor Lynn Beiswanger who had come out to meet us. Because of the previous night’s storms, there were lots of branches down on the path we would’ve taken, so Lynn wanted to provide a safe escort to his home.
We’re staying in Bismarck with Lynn and his wife Carol; we used to live across the street from them in 1999-2001 where our daughter Sarah was born, but now we just exchange Christmas cards. When I moved here I was 32 and I started training to run the Chicago Marathon. Lynn (15 years my senior) said he might want to do that; a few months later we were crossing the finish line within two minutes of each other. Lynn still has the celebratory sign that Carol made.
The other day Two-pan Chew asked Geeto if we go to the bar every day; his response, “Usually twice a day.” In most of these small towns, the bar/restaurant is the only option for a prepared meal. And, sitting at the bar is where we find the best opportunity for interaction with locals or other travelers. In some of these locations, it’s easy to imagine scenes from the “Wild West” when we saunter in from our steeds covered in trail dust to meet the wary gaze of other patrons. But before long they become friends and we become legends (well, in my mind we’re legends 🙂). So, it’s not that we’re drunken sots, we’re just looking for a place to recuperate and converse, and the bar is typically the best bet.
Note: I learned last night that Carol Beiswanger (our wonderful hostess) biked up the Burning Hills Amphitheater sidewalk three weeks ago! That means Geeto was the second and I was the third person to ride up that sidewalk. Lecy was 4th; Carol kept him off the podium.
Today we have a day off. I’m heading for a massage shortly and probably a nap this afternoon. We had ice baths in the Beiswanger’s tub last night. I hope when we’re back on the bikes Wednesday it will feel like day 1 all over again. Our plan on Wednesday is a little uncertain. At a minimum we want to make it 79 miles to Napoleon; over the next 6 days we need to make it 468 days to Minneapolis (78 miles per day average).
For the addition to playlist today, in honor of our elder (and more fit) statesman Lynn. He still runs half marathons, and at age 69 he bought his first mountain bike that he races regularly. He’s an inspiration and seems to know and influence half of the city of Bismarck. Older Guys
In my off day, I don’t plan to post another entry; I’ll be back at it Wednesday night, hopefully from Napoleon or east.
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