Win, Lose, or Draw

Another early night led to another early start. Last night definitely cooled off more than previous nights and I woke a couple of times kind of wishing I had my sleeping bag as an extra cover. However, I wasn’t about to dig it out at 1:30 AM. Instead, I shivered a bit before eventually falling back to sleep. I woke a few times after that and by 5:30 AM I pretty much knew I was awake for the day. It boggles my mind the number of early mornings I’ve had. Again, it would seem going to bed before midnight helps one to get up earlier. Who knew?

I packed up my tent, loaded my bike, and had a pseudo breakfast consisting of some dry Mini-Wheats and an orange. Side note: I love oranges – well, good ones anyway. And this was a good one. I’ve had far too few oranges on this trip … I can say that pretty confidently because I think I’ve only had three. Anyway, I was ready to go and on the road at 7:30 AM.

I’m not sure what time Alex was hitting the road but he too was planning an early start as there were some things in Bismarck he wanted to see and there were also reports of storms in the forecast for this afternoon. We both wanted to avoid those.

In case it wasn’t clear, the destination of the day was Bismarck, ND. About 75 km away. Or 45 of those miles they like to use around here. I do my best to do the conversions but all things considered I still prefer kilometres.

About 30 of those kilometres into my ride I crossed paths with another solo cycle tourist. However, there was no way I could stop to chat. Ok, technically there was a way but it really was a matter of bad timing. I noticed him as I was about a third of the way down a rather sizeable hill – a hill that generated my top speed of the day. He was at the bottom of that hill just starting his climb. Yes, I know … I just had new brake pads put on but had I tried to stop to talk I’d have needed new brake pads again. Instead, we waved to each other and continued our rides. I suspected he’d have a chance to stop and talk to Alex later in his ride.

My overall plan for the day was to get to Bismarck early, stock up on supplies, and then just go with the flow (i.e., try to get caught up my blog again). The getting to Bismarck early part was achieved very easily. I don’t know if it was the calm winds or the orange I had for breakfast or maybe a bit of both but the ride today was super easy. Sure, it was only 75 km but I (hmmmm … maybe I shouldn’t admit this) didn’t even stop for lunch … unless a few handfuls of salt and vinegar chips count. Either way, I was in Bismarck by 11:00 AM.

The stocking up on supplies didn’t go as smoothly as my ride although it’s not like there were major problems either. First on my list was fuel for my alcohol stove. I wasn’t completely out but it’s definitely running low. I typically get said fuel at MEC back home so I went to an outdoor store here. The store in question was Scheels. Anna, my Warm Showers host, had texted me the names of some of the stores cyclists frequently need and Scheels was among that list.

Sadly, Scheels wasn’t particularly successful. Actually, it wasn’t at all successful. The staff were all very friendly (one might say TOO friendly but I’m sure that’s just me) but the store didn’t have any denatured alcohol (or methyl hydrate as it’s called in Canada … or methylated spirits in the UK) so that was a bust. Also a bust was the bike service area. Again, nice people but just not the sort of expertise you get from a local bike shop. Of course, I somewhat expected that going in but I really didn’t think inquiring about a few spare bolts would be as challenging as it turned out to be. As such, I figured I’d seek out a local bike shop. But first it was off to meet my Warm Showers host.

After a brief navigational snafu (i.e., going to the wrong house), I arrived at my destination … just as Anna was arriving home for lunch. Perfect timing. She showed me around the house, told me of a couple local bike shops, as well as a grocery store and a few other options for the fuel. From there, she headed back to work and I headed off to do errands. Anna warned me to keep an eye on the weather as it seems hail is common in this area – especially with the recent heat wave. Just to clarify, apparently the hail they get here can be pretty intense. She said that people tend to replace their roofs every four or five years because of the hail. Hail that has been as big as softballs. Not golf balls (well, that too) but softballs. That’s practically a death sentence to get caught in that on a bike! I appreciated the warning.

My first stop was a bike shop. Actually, my first stop was because of a dog encounter en route to said bike shop. I was following the trail when an somewhat excitable German Shepherd-like dog noticed me. I quickly deemed she was harmless except for her excitability. Her owner clearly had little control over this pooch which was still young but probably not THAT young. Anyway, despite the owner’s repeated calls, the dog seemed happy to follow/chase/circle me as I continued along the trail. She was giving me a wide enough berth so I wasn’t too concerned other than if I DIDN’T stop I was reasonably confident the dog would’ve followed me to the Grand Canyon. Not such a bag thing but I figured that would make the dog’s owner a bit sad. So, I stopped to let the owner catch up. During that time, the dog and I had a little chat and we agreed it would be best if the dog stayed in North Dakota. The owner eventually caught up and we all went our separate ways. Bye bye puppy.

As for the bike shop, Larson’s Cyclery was much more successful than Scheels but, again, that’s not much of a surprise (or saying much). Within a few minutes I had not only been given a few spare parts but I was also given some tips about the next portion of my trip. The key message I took from it was, “Watch out for rattlesnakes.” Oh, good times lie ahead!

From there I was off to Runnings, a store with seemingly everything. Including denatured alcohol. I didn’t waste any time there even though I kind of wanted to look around … a lot. However, before I went into the store I could see looming clouds. Very looming. I was confident they weren’t looming with softball sized hail but now was not the time for browsing. I still had groceries to buy and Anna’s place was still a few kilometres away. Fortunately, the grocery store was close.

Once again I minimized my dilly dallying and grabbed some essentials. Those looming clouds were getting closer and I really preferred not to get soaked on the way back to Anna’s. By the time I got outside it was obvious it would be a race to the finish with the clouds. I’ll spare you the details but there may have been a few slightly illegal turns and a couple of less than ideal encounters with vehicles (although, they seemed to appreciate the race I was in). in the end I would call the race a draw. I know, I know … you wanted me to get soaked or pelted with hail. I understand. If it’s any consolation, I did get a little wet but managed to beat the downpour. And there was no hail. I was more than okay with that.

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing some laundry, looking at potential routes, writing blog entries, and other such excitement. Some of those tasks I did while sitting out on the back patio – sheltered from the rain. For a while it looked like the big downpour might actually bypass the area but then it very much did storm which made me feel even better about getting an early start today. The fact that it was a short ride didn’t hurt matters.

Unfortunately, tomorrow is looking to be a long day (both from a distance and a wind perspective) and if there’s another afternoon storm it’s doubtful I will be able to avoid it. But I’ll worry about that tomorrow. Seriously though, softball-sized hail! It’s the kind of thing you’d have to see to believe but I’d rather not see it … unless I’m well sheltered of course.

Today’s totals:
Distance: 85.13 km
Ride time: 3:49:23
Average speed: 22.26 km/h
Maximum speed: 52.20 km/h