2 Lefts

"Oh! Poor North Dakota!" the postal worker said to us a few days ago when we mentioned where we were heading next. Several people have told us that there's nothing to see in North Dakota. From what we've heard I was expecting North Dakota to be a barren hellscape but it's actually quite pretty. Gently rolling grasslands with the occasional patch of corn, soybeans, or sunflowers, small lakes and ponds dotted about with a variety of birds enjoying them. I can only conclude that those who knock North Dakota have never seen the regimented and unimaginative cornfields of Indiana and Illinois. This stretch of North Dakota is sparsely populated and yesterday's ride involved 75 miles with no services. We stocked up at the gas station in Enderlin before setting out. The cashier's eyes grew wide as we made multiple trips from the aisles to the counter, creating a mountain of chips, cookies, granola bars, and water. Duly loaded we headed west. The weather was hot a...

Two mornings ago we woke up in the city park just outside Fergus Falls with shortcuts on the mind. The Adventure Cycling route we usually follow is very good, but sometimes a pruning is called for. We took a quiet highway out of town. A lot of roads we travel are like this one. Supplanted by the interstate, only occasional local and commercial traffic rumble by. We saw a "Road Closed" sign up ahead, but how closed exactly? When we got there there was an enormous trench where the road once was. No good for a car but no big deal for a bicyclist and we looped around on the shoulder to continue. Our first break of the day was at a picnic spot right next to an enormous sculpture of a prairie chicken. The chicken must have given us his blessing because on our next stretch we were absolutely flying. The tailwind rocketed us into Barnesville for lunch at a place called the Purple Goose. In the bathroom they had a poster about life lessons we can learn from geese. Their pizza was ve...

Just as we were wrapping up our evening in Bowlus, Minnesota, a truck came rampaging through town spraying what looked like smoke from a unit mounted in the back. It claimed to be protecting the good citizens from mosquitoes but it could have been the guberment spreading mind- and body-altering chemicals. Mike thinks he is now able to become pregnant. The last two days of riding have been fairly uneventful. This section of riding has been 104 miles on paved bicycle trails and has made a nice change from riding with motorized traffic. Minnesota truly is the land of 10,000 lakes. We have seen perhaps 50 of them. There have been a lot of grasshoppers around that jump off the bike trails as we approach. Last night we camped at a small campground a couple of miles off the route. Our preference is to find lodging close to the route. Every mile off route adds up - 2 miles back from the campground in the morning plus 2 miles to the next campground in the evening means 4 miles of extra riding...

Yesterday we took a day off at the Bicycle Bunkhouse. Over the last ten years or so Donn Olson has converted a former dairy barn on his property into a bicycle hostel. There's a kitchen, a common area with comfortable chairs and table, a television, bathroom and shower, several private rooms, and a loft with a large shared area for sleeping. And wifi too! Staying there is entirely free and there are suggested donation prices for the food Donn has purchased and stocked the kitchen with. (Extremely affordable.) While we were there we spent time with Andre, a cyclist from Montreal who had just retired and was riding across the US. I installed a new front tire, Rach cleaned up her bike's drivetrain, we ate pizza, browsed the internet, read books, and took it easy. Rach also set up the tent in the former hay loft and glued the seams that were letting stray drops inside during rainstorms. Here's hoping it does the trick the next time we're camping in a downpour. We traded...

Yesterday was the day of memorable breaks. Our first stop yesterday was at a coffee shop in Prescott, Wisconsin. Mike had two doughnuts (observe the correct spelling, Americans) and I had a giant cinnamon roll. Then we pedaled another 10 miles or so before stopping for a Belgian waffle at a bike shop in Afton, Minnesota. I think all bike shops should serve waffles. I was in need of a new tyre (this spelling is for you, Sheila!) but the shop didn't have any good options so we moved on to the next town, Stillwater, and visited their bike shop cum restaurant. They also didn't have any suitable 26 inch tyres, nor could they offer lunch since they were just wrapping up their breakfast service at 1 pm. A mile or two took us into downtown Stillwater, which was a bustling place. Some locals later referred to it as "the Minnesota Riviera". There seemed to be several hen parties (bachelorette parties) going on and many tourists gamely trying to continue their vacations despite ...

Thursday was largely uneventful. As bike tours go, that can be just fine. Take a few breaks, eat some snacks, watch the miles roll by and cook dinner at the campground when the riding is done. Yesterday is where the stories happened. It was peaceful, cool, and clear when we woke up and began to ready ourselves for the day at the "Kruger Management Unit" campground. (Quite a name huh?) We had veered away from the Mississippi at the end of yesterday's riding and now traveled down quiet country roads with ambling farms on either side. About ten miles in, the sky began to look dark and brooding. Thankfully we were headed away from that direction and comforted ourselves with the idea we might escape. As we finished riding past fields of corn on top of a ridge we caught an astonishing view of a town called Lake City below us. The hills parted and we looked down on the river and expanses of lush, green trees. We rolled into town and took shelter underneath a picnic shelter...

Yesterday we pedaled alongside the Mississippi River for much of the day. The route took us up a few hills and between many more. It always feels like cheating when you can see a hill coming but somehow manage to skirt around it. We got an early (pre-8 am) start in order to make it to the post office in New Albin during its business hours. Mike had ordered a new jersey and new shorts to be shipped there. We made it well in time and - after some hunting around the back - the post office lady located Mike's packages. Alas, the awesome shirt Mike had picked out was a little too small but the shorts will be fine. We searched for lunch and wifi in New Albin so we could decide where to stay that night. Wherever we stayed would be where we spent our rest day so the stakes were high. We settled on the Pettibone Resort, located somehow in the middle of the Mississippi River. First we entered Minnesota then pedaled just over the Wisconsin border to reach the campground. Today has involve...