Day 18 – When it rains…

eseidman1
Aug 1, 2016
4 min read

Date: Friday, 29 July 2016

Time on Bike: 4:54:19

Total Travel Time: 8:40:44

Miles Covered Today: 60.92

Total Trip Miles: 1,131.5

Average Speed: 12.3, Maximum Speed: 34.9!!!!

From: Hazelton, ND

To: Somewhere on HW 139, west of Mandan, ND

(Uploaded from Dickinson, ND on 1 Aug 2016)

Threatening skies this morning… but cleared up nicely! On Interstate 94 going east.

Got out really early for a change… for us! In the car before 7:30 AM and on my bike by about 8:30 AM!! It helps when we only have about a 45-minute drive to our starting point for the day, Hazelton, ND.

I see that two Northern Tier cyclists were camping out at the park where I was starting my day. I was tempted to say hi, but let them sleep! Bunny hung back to let Woz run around but quickly ended their playtime when a crop duster started flying overhead in the next field!

A fantastic morning ride on HW 83 that goes north-south. Had I cycled it yesterday, I would have been eating a stiff wind from the north. But this morning, barely any wind at all.

Weather was fantastic! Cool temperatures, a straight road, and a nice smooth shoulder. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Sent Bunny to Moffit just 13 miles north of me, but nothing was there. As I pulled up to the Moffit Road where I need to turn left, a van with a tandem bike slowly passes by. It goes another 100 yards, pulls a u-turn and slowly drives back towards me.

I point to the left to tell him he needs to turn on to Moffit Road (assuming he is following the Northern Tier Route as well). He rolls down the window and asks if I need anything. Tell him I am trying to catch up with my wife & suggest he get off the road so we can talk.

Come to find out Ken is driving the sag wagon this morning with three friends heading our way on bikes. We talk for a bit and I get a text from Bunny that a cyclist riding a recumbent is also coming my way.

Patty rolls up and we all start talking at the same time. Patty did the original bike cross-country trip back in 1976, called BikeCentennial (the organization now known as Adventure Cycling).

I say goodbye & continue west on Moffit Road and find Bunny pulled off to the side parked at the entrance to a farm. Not an ideal place to break, but the best she could do!

Ken soon pulls up and I do the introductions. I needed to head out and keep cycling. Too long a break and my legs get stiff! I left Bunny & Ken at the entrance to the farm.

And soon passed by the rest of Ken’s party, all going the other way (west to east) of course. I see Arlene & Steve and yell Happy Birthday to Arlene. Ken told me that yesterday was her birthday! And I then see Lynn cycling my way. She stops and we talk a bit. Now I am finally starting to see Northern Tier riders!!

I head on but they all stop where Bunny & Ken are parked. Bunny gets more bike talk than she bargained for I bet!!

From left to right: Arlene, Ken, Steve, and Lynn

I have a short uphill section and soon after see another cyclist coming my way. I cross over the road to force him to stop! Bruce is cobbling together a cross-country trip as well. He tells me he did 160 miles in one day!!!!!! He adds it was with a big tailwind, but holy shit… 160 miles!!! You da man Bruce!

I am still peddling west on Moffit Road and I hear Bunny coming up from behind honking hello. I figured she had taken another route as I hadn’t seen her pass me earlier. Come to find out she was hanging out with those damn cyclists!!!

Perfect place for a break. And I needed one!

Bunny returns to the hotel in Bismarck and will wait for me to call her to pick me up. Want to push as far west as I can today.

I start to get close to Bismarck, where we actually have been staying for three nights already! But this is my official arrival by bike. I hit the Lewis & Clark Trail!

Got my first bee sting of the trip!

A big downhill into the city. I like that!

I am on a bike path for a while,

Cross the Missouri River

And take my last break of the day at a golf course west of town. I want to push past Bismarck at least to Mandan, ND.

I called Bunny to pick me up somewhere west of Mandan on Business 94 (as opposed to Interstate 94). But Business 94 turns to HW 139 and there is a little confusion. Find Friends app saves the day again. Bunny & Woz arrived and picked me up at what Bunny calls “JR’s ranch”!!

Stop by WalMart for some essentials. Woz always gets a lot of attention!

A short drive back to the hotel. Glad it is our last night there. Dirty, dirty! Bunny found a nearby laundromat. Boy, they have gotten expensive! I hang up my cycling clothes… looks like a hotel room from the Tour de France!