by Greg | Jul 11, 2019 | Training
The above farm was just a few miles outside Dickinson, North Dakota. Ten miles down the road from this farm, I stood looking out at the magnificent grandeur of “Painted Canyon!”
To go from lush green farmland to a miniature “Bryce Canyon / Grand Canyon” in less than ten miles is astounding. The Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the Painted Canyon will rank towards the top of my favorite attractions on this incredible Journey. Below are a few more photos of the Painted Canyon because I can’t possibly convey the beauty of the area in words alone.
I talked to the park ranger for a few minutes and she said, “Oh, you should see this area in late fall, or after the first snowfall! It is even more breathtaking than what you see today.” I told her Alaskans don’t really enjoy traveling to places even colder than Alaska, but maybe someone reading this post will find the courage to visit ND in the winter.
I can’t believe I pedaled across North Dakota with just one day of bad headwinds, and I actually had to wear my jacket most mornings to ward off the cold. Today was my first day of 90 degree temperatures, but I will take heat over rain/wind any day! Years ago, when we briefly left Alaska for a few years, Missoula, Montana was our home! When Anita wanted to return to teaching after Jeremy was a few years old, she just couldn’t get a full time teaching position. Teacher turnover in Missoula is, and was, almost nonexistent. So we decided to head back to Alaska and the North Slope Borough School District. We both were offered teaching positions in Wainwright. If Anita had been hired in Missoula way back in 1980, I am 99.9% positive we would still be living in Missoula today. So to return to Montana is like coming home to me. I look forward to meeting old friends John and Barb Alonzo and revisiting our family home in beautiful Missoula. (The last time I visited Missoula and drove by our home “Up Miller Creek” I couldn’t believe how big the tiny ponderosa sapling had grown since our Michelle planted it when she was in first grade.) As you can probably tell, I love Montana just about as much as I love Alaska!
And now the story behind my Brooks saddle. I won’t bore you with all the details, but for the past 200-300 miles I have been hearing a “creaking/clicking/grinding” noise when I pedal real hard. I investigated and up until today had not found the cause for the noise. Today I stopped early in Glendive and gave my bike a through checkup. (No bicycle shop in Glendive.) I discovered, quite by accident, that the tension bolt on my Brooks saddle is cracked and the threads are stripped. The tension bolt helps keep the leather stretched, which gives the saddle the strength to support my weight. If the bolt breaks, the saddle fails and I don’ carry a spare bicycle seat. I called a bicycle shop in Great Falls and they might have a replacement bolt which would solve my problem. Glendive to Great Falls on my planned route is four to five, 70 mile days, and tons of stress on the tension bolt each day.
This Journey is not about a destination, the number of days riding, or even the total distance traveled throughout the Journey. All Journeys should be filled with surprises, unexpected encounters with people and places, and even problems to solve. I just can’t chance having the seat bolt break in the middle of nowhere and no way to fix the seat. So, I am boarding a Greyhound Bus at 4:30am tomorrow morning, traveling to Billings, picking up a one-way rental car, and driving 235 miles to Great Falls. “Wisdom triumphs over Pride” is my motto for the next few days! I feel terrible that am “cheating” by driving instead of biking, but…. If my Brooks saddle can’t be fixed, I’ll buy a new seat and head west on Monday or Tuesday. (The bike shop mechanic told me they sponsor a 100 mile “Fun Ride” every Sunday, so I might just complete my first century ride on Sunday to make up for my “cheating!”
Forrest Gump: Momma always says, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get!” Well a cross country bicycle tour is pretty similar to a box of chocolates!
Smiles, hugs and thank you to all my family and friends.
Greg, “Seatless in Montana!”
T-Rex smiling for my photo! The Glendive Dinosaur Museum was AWSOME!
by Greg | Jul 9, 2019 | Training
Diana, my grandson Jack’s awesome 1st grade teacher, gets the Super Star Farmer award by identifying the yellow crop featured on my last post, canola! As I ride highways and rural roads on this Journey, I am “blown away” by the vastness, incredible beauty and diversity of this our fabulous country of ours. In just the last two days I rode through fields of soon to be golden wheat, bright yellow fields of canola, and today acres and acres of alfalfa and grazing cattle. Most of us, myself included, don’t realize the impact American farmers have on our lives.
Last night my life was once again impacted by a delightful couple, Pat and Margaret, owners of The Rock Roof Inn in Glen Ullin, ND. This fine couple has lived, farmed, raised a family, taught school and provided travelers like myself with a comfortable, cozy “room away from home,” for most of their lives. Pat, who will soon turn 90, worked the family farm for most of his life and Margaret was always been by his side. Since my wife Anita comes from a family of Kansas wheat farmers, I asked Pat a lot of questions about wheat. He called it their, “cash crop,” but they also raised cattle just incase the wheat crop failed. Pat told me that for the first three years after they were married, their combine never cut any wheat because the wheat crop dried up! Imagine, no income from your “cash crop” for three summers, newly married and no outside income. I could go on and on with stories shared by both Pat and Margaret about life in rural ND, but it would take way too long. This morning I ate a delicious breakfast, watched the local weather channel, said my goodbyes and started pedaling west. I am once again blessed to have found yet another example of what I call Givers in Pat and Margaret.
The weather took a turn for the worse after leaving Glen Ullin, but not before I took the above photo. The Burlington Northern train is almost a constant companion on my travels across ND. Grain, freight, tanker cars, and coal are headed in all directions throughout the day and night. After this photo, the wind and rain started because I think Mother Nature once again decided that Alaska Greg has had it way too easy crossing ND. It took me four hours to cover the last twenty miles to Dickinson, ND. Oh the joys of touring on a bicycle.
I just had to post a photo of “The World’s Largest Sandhill Crane” with my trusty mode of transportation next to the crane. In just the last few days I have experienced the largest buffalo and sandhill crane statues, and when I get to Glendive, Montana, I hope to explore the Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil museum.
Take care and tomorrow is hopefully my last day in North Dakota.
Greg
by Greg | Jul 6, 2019 | Training
I-94 or County Road 39 from Jamestown to Steele, ND? As I ate a delicious slice of homemade banana bread, plus my usual of hard boiled eggs, cereal, juice and coffee I pondered which highway to ride the 65 miles to Steele. I chose “Big boy highway” over rural farm road with the potential of encountering over protective farm dogs. Also, if I got “smooched” by a big truck I would never know what hit me and depart doing what I enjoy. On the other hand, I would probably survive a dog encounter, but the bite would be painful, the recovery long and painful, and my journey would be over. So I-94 was the choice!
ND is FLAT, but for a biker that is a good thing. In the above photo, looking East, you can just make out I-94 which was my highway of choice for today. When I stopped to take this photo I noticed my Garmin 520 cycle computer indicated an altitude of almost 1,900 feet. With a slight tailwind and temperatures in the low 80’s I barely noticed the climb. (Or it might be that after almost 2,000 miles my quads are a bit stronger than a month ago.)
At one point I came upon a herd of cattle just standing still, eating grass and looking totally bored with life. For some reason I hit play on my iPhone and the song “Knee Deep” by the Zack Brown band started playing. Believe it or not, the cows immediately looked up, started wildly swinging their tails and I am sure I saw a few trying to dance. I slowed down to observe them more closely and I truly believe hearing Zack’s “Knee Deep” brought some joy to my new bovine friends. I gave them a loud “Moo” and got back to pedaling. Crazy, but true story. (If you have not heard “Knee Deep” or “Toes” by Zack Brown, find the songs on iTunes and enjoy. I promise will see why ND cows love to hear a bit of rock n roll as they munch and crunch.)
One huge benefit of riding I-94 is the beautiful rest stops! Highway developers place the rest stops about 30-40 miles apart, which is super for travel by car, but for a biker that is about one rest stop per DAY. The above was at about mile 45, so a perfect place for me to visit with fellow travelers, eat a snack and drink a bottle of water.
At mile 63 I came upon this gorgeous view! I have no idea what the yellow crop is, but it is the first time I have seen anything as pretty as the above. (The flowers were not sunflowers, but someone reading this post will hopefully know what grows in ND and is yellow.)
Short post today, but “Have WiFi, will post!” (Anyone remember the below TV show?)
Bismark, ND tomorrow!
Greg
by Greg | Jul 5, 2019 | Training
I had a “slacker” day today and stopped in Jamestown, ND after only 42 miles. Actually the short day turned out to be an awesome tourist day! The above scene intrigued me for some reason and the rest of the day was filled with similar, tranquil scenes all along the rural highways of North Dakota. I pedaled most of the day on July 4th, was passed by a vehicle maybe once an hour, and didn’t see anything except birds and cows. What a special day I had just riding and thinking happy thoughts of my Mom and past 4th of July celebrations.
There has been so much rain in this area that even the cows have a hard time walking through what is normally a dry area. The tiny calf on the right was floundering in the mud and water, but luckily mama cow came to the rescue. I love animals, except snakes and mice, but I wasn’t about to wade in to save the calf.
North Dakota has two types of bicycle trails. The above county road was straight, flat, with little or no space next to the rumble-strip white line, but did have stunningly gorgeous scenery. The other type,
is straight, flat, with tons of space next to the double white line, stunningly gorgeous scenery, and plenty of loud, yet courteous, trucks and vehicles. North Dakota is one of the few states that allow brave, or crazy, cyclists to travel alongside “the big boys!” Today I chose rural county highway 22 instead of I-94, but after a “Dogkota” day like today I may decide to ride with the big boys tomorrow. Today I encountered four very ferocious farm dogs that truly believed highway 22 was their property to protect. I have pedaled my bicycle past literally hundreds of farms so far this summer and today was the first time I have been attacked by a farm dog. My guess is North Dakota farm dogs do not approve of the music I am playing on my iPhone. No Peter, Paul and Mary, Pavarotti or Sarah Brighton when I am in “Dogkota” farm dog territory! For the rest of my time in ND, I will either ride I-94 with the big boys, or play “Old MacDonald,” “Baa Baa Black Sheep,” or even “Baby Shark.”
When I am pedaling all day long for 6-7 hours, I love imagining what the area I am currently pedaling through looked like 100-200 years ago. Today my thoughts drifted to the buffalo that roamed in this area of the Great Plains. You can imagine my surprise when I rolled into Jamestown and discovered that the National Buffalo Museum is located in Jamestown. What a fabulous learning experience for this enlighten former teacher. The museum was filled with artifacts, photographs, indigenous tribal exhibits and a short movie detailing the history of these magnificent creatures. What a fabulous few hours I had wandering around the museum AND visiting the world’s largest buffalo sculpture! So cool!
Right next door to the buffalo museum I found a Louis L’Amour museum. I love reading Louis L’Amour western novels almost as much as Lee Childs’ Jack Reacher novels. Good guy helps someone in distress, defeats the bad guys and the good guy always “wins!” Anyway, it was so much fun reading all the information about Louis L’Amour, learning all about his life in Jamestown and getting a list of all his books! Wow, what a fun filled, educational and throughly delightful day in Jamestown, ND.
I promise this is the last photo for this post. On the “About” section on my webpage I included an example of my bicycle card. (I give one of my cards to people I encounter on a daily basis.) “Faith, Family & Friends” is the logo for this Journey and today I rode past the scene below! My Mom would have said, “Neat, neat, neat!”
As always,
Greg
by Greg | Jul 3, 2019 | Training
I will explain the details regarding the group joining me for my ride into North Dakota, but first a few photos of scenery along The Lake Wobegon Trail. I made a last minute change to my route, but it was one of the hardest decisions I have had to make on this journey. Unfortunately I will not be able to visit with my good friends, Steve and Diane Norlin, who live in Pine River, MN. Twenty-six years ago when I did this same ride, I came back into the US from Canada a bit north of Steve and Diane’s home and was able to surprised them by “dropping in” for a visit. The length, beauty, location, and solitude of the Lake Wobegon trail, which is south of Norlin’s home, was just too hard to pass up this year. I am so bummed I will miss spending time with Steve and Diane, but so far my “spur of the moment” decision have worked out. We’ll see this time if I chose correctly.
Above are just a few examples of the beauty all along the Wobegon trail. The last photo is a seemingly endless field of corn. The photo was in “pano” mode, but it doesn’t come close to capturing the grandeur of this one field.
“E-I-E-I-E-I-O and on his farm he had…”. Well certainly not cows and pigs made out of milk cans and water tanks. This random collection was just off the trail in a very small town, population 26.
The sign on the railroad depot reads “Memoryville!” Someone built this authentic example of an early American town right beside the trail. Unfortunately nobody was around to give me access to the property, so I took a few photos and cycled on towards ND.
As I rode into Fargo, ND this afternoon my new best buddy, Ms. Google Maps, guided me through town and right by this memorial. As a young boy growing up in Albuquerque, I loved baseball more than peanut butter, apple pie and that new thing called television. Baseball was my life, and nothing could pull me away from playing everyday, all day long. My boyhood idols/heroes were Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle who both played for the NY Yankees. One day I would imagine myself as Roger Maris hitting a home run and the next day I would be Mickey Mantle hitting a homer with Maris on base. Oh, the memories the above memorial gave me today are priceless!
Tomorrow, July 4th, would have been my Mom’s 94th birthday! She truly loved being a “4th of July Baby” and couldn’t get enough of all the festivities associated with “Her” birthday. (Her Dad actually wanted to name her Liberty Bell Williams, but her Mom said, “NO!”) The American flags lining Roger Maris Drive would have put a huge smile on her face, even though she probably didn’t have any idea who Roger Maris was.
Now, the rest of the story! I enjoy riding solo, except for when my son joins me, but today I rode all day with a group! I can’t remember all the names, but for sure there was a John. Also, four men from Alabama, a Gambler, someone leaving on a jet plane, a man from Folsom prison, a lady named Lucile, another lady who was “Up” all day, some guy who had a pet dragon named Puff, a Grandma who only talked about her feather bed, a man from a west Texas town of El Paso, a boy named Sue, a little girl who said her Mom was at a PTA meeting regarding her behavior, a man wearing leather boots instead of Roman sandals, a man who said he saw a horse drinking a beer, a really Crazy lady named Patsy, and even a guy who said his name was Nessun Dorma! I’m sure there were plenty more in the group, but together we completed about 60 miles, despite blowing in the wind.
I am sure after reading the above nonsense all of you think I have been riding way too many miles and have lost my mind. No, I just needed something new and exciting. So I plugged my iPhone into an external battery, cranked the volume up as loud as possible and listened to trashy country music for 60 miles. I also listened to Pavarotti, Israel Kamakawiwo, Kathrine Jenkins, Neil Diamond, Gordon Lightfoot, Tennessee Ernie Ford, James Taylor and many more artists! Oh well, another pure cyclist “Bites the dust!”
Happy 4th of July! Please be safe, enjoy family and friends, don’t drink and drive, eat a lot of hot dogs, apple pie and corn on the cob, watch “A Capital 4th” on PBS, and watch fireworks either in person or on TV!
Greg
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