Pedaling Pilgrim Blog Home

Miles to date: 1846.1

Our earliest start so far. We were up before the sun and on the road before dawn’s first rays hit the pavement. The early morning is usually the calmest part of the day. Our objective was to bank as many miles as possible before the gusts began.

The wind never slept. Our tents were buffeted all night on the Slayer pasture. It was nice to cool us for sleep, but it was a bit antagonizing knowing we were headed into an east wind to start the day; a day planned for 92.7 miles.

We all slept well on the Slayer pasture: no ghosts or zombies creeping out from the ramshackle house, no visits by bovine denizens to make deposits around our tents, and no slayings by the Slayer family. But, we were awoken by a thunderstorm at 3:30am; there was once close-range crack of lightning, and the rain came down fairly hard for 20 minutes. It was exciting and seemed proper for stealth camping on the plains.

I used the last of our fuel to make some lukewarm coffee. I’m amazed how quickly the fuel has run out; on the Mississippi River three years ago, one small canister lasted 2 months, making coffee nearly every day and dinner at least 50% of the nights. Here, we’re only 24 days along and fuel is gone, though we’ve only used it 6-8 times. I’ll need to get more fuel as it’s the thought of morning coffee that keeps me regular.

Regularity was not a problem this morning despite the lack of porcelain. Geeto chose a “secret place” that he still won’t disclose, though he said it was near a big tree down the hill. (I don’t recall a big tree, and the hill seemed like a far walk.) Lecy warned me not to go to the far side of the house, as there was a fresh patty somewhere over there. So, I decided to take a closer look for a bathroom inside the house. I imagine someday someone will wonder how one of those cows managed to make a prolific deposit inside the house, and how could they manage the use of TP with those hooves?

To start the day, we had a 19 mile ride to Gackle. It’s the one town we saw today. One. It was a nice little town; we had lovely lattes and bagels at the coffee shop, then stocked up on snacks and water at the Co-op market (the little Walmart of the north, as the proprietor called it). We ran into Doug who was once a biker and knows the area well. He steered us away from the highways leading to Verona and instead suggested we stay north through Enderlin. He spoke with experience and knowledge of paved vs. gravel roads, and wanted to steer us clear of busier highways. We took his suggestion and we scrapped our Verona plans to adopt a new destination (Enderlin) and distance (96.7 miles). Feeling fresh and even more enthusiastic about our route, we pressed on. Unfortunately this meant we wouldn’t get to stay at the school converted to lodge, and we wouldn’t discover what happened to all the children who disappeared from Verona ND.

We returned to the road out of Gackle and Ride GPS said, “In 70.5 miles, turn right. A short time later, the wind increased, then, we finally discovered what it feels like to ride in the rain. After 20 minutes of downpour and wet to the bone – Hager: “Anyone else want to shelter under those trees and put on rain gear?” Lecy: “Let’s keep going… you got this!” Geeto: “We’re gonna ride until we’re dry!” So, poor pitiful me kept pedaling, more uncomfortable with my tail between my legs. But, the rain stopped after 30 minutes, and the wind picked up as the full sun emerged to dry us out…

…dry us out and join with the wind to beat the life out of us. After 50 miles we stopped for PBJ lunch in the shade of several straw bales. 50 miles in about 3.5 hours was a good pace, especially considering the wind. We felt good about ourselves, laughed a lot and teased one another. We called our wives and talked about how we’ve now learned how to live together and probably annoy one another less now than 3 weeks ago. Maybe it’s like the old saying: you can’t judge another man until you’ve ridden 1,000 miles behind his bike tire.

After lunch came a time we would like to forget. The wind grew to 25-30 MPH; it was sometimes head on, sometimes on our left. We battled only 2 hills, but both a mile long around 5% grade. The road was dead straight with much interesting scenery. In the front of our train, it was nearly impossible to hear much more than the howling wind. We lost courage and patience. It was such a beat down I forgot to eat my snickerdoodle that I picked up in Gackle. Then, with 6 miles to go, flat. We had one final rest stop and the gypsy picked up some form of puncture. (If you’re still keeping score at home – Geeto: 3 flats, Lecy: 4 flats, Gypsy: 5 flats.) Though Geeto could find no evidence of a flat when putting air in the tube.

We finally arrived in Enderlin. We went straight to the Friendly Tavern as it was after 5:00. Yesterday was the second day we haven’t had a celebratory day’s end beer, and tonight we felt we needed to be rewarded. We stayed for pizza dinner then dragged ourselves uphill for the 3/4 mile journey back to the Enderlin Inn (who doesn’t love a motel with brown bath towels?!?!)

Tomorrow, we’re taking it easy: 70.7 miles to Wahpeton. Tomorrow we will reach our halfway point to the Atlantic Ocean. The wind forecast doesn’t look great; so we’ll need to brace ourselves for the worst to happen.Day 26: Enderlin to Wahpeton

For songs… I need to add three:

1. In honor to the storm last night that had us wondering about the waterproofing of our tents (which was all good): Thunder and Lightning
2. Given my frailty with today’s rain, I fear rain in future days (though this was also exacerbated by Geeto’s back wheel throwing water directly at my mouth and eyes). As I just wanted the rain to stop today: Can’t Stop the Rain
3. Today was a hard day. My partners thought it possibly the hardest. The hills and distance you can see on the map ahead of time. The wind is an invisible enemy that seems to weaken you with body blows before throwing gusty haymakers. This made for hard times today: Hard Times

I hope tomorrow will bring more joy and easier riding.