Day 63: Fargo, ND to Arthur, ND

July 14, 2008

37.93 Miles, 2:57:48 Ride Time, 12.80 Average Speed, 21.42 Maximum Speed

Yesterday had been a long, strenuous day, and with the exception of a 3:00 AM leg cramp which I vaguely remembered the next morning, I slept soundly.

I was in no real hurry to get out today, since I needed to visit the bike shop in Fargo, and it didn't open until 10:00. By the time I got dressed, drank the rest of the half gallon of chocolate milk I'd purchased yesterday evening, answered some emails, and watched while the hip bald girl at the bike shop put on my new tire and chain, it was noon - my latest start ever.

It continued to be extremely flat as I left Fargo, and with the wind behind me as I headed North, I was flying. Too soon, though, I turned West into a hot headwind. I could deal with it, however - it was nothing approaching the dire wind of a couple of days ago. If that happens again, I'll probably take the day off.

For most of the morning, I didn't see much of note, except for a crop dusting plane that would appear intermittently. It was mostly just flat farmland. I did encounter three young male Eastbounders, but they didn't stop and talk. That's actually a pretty shocking breach of protocol - unless the weather or traffic conditions make it difficult, the unwritten rule is that if you meet another loaded touring cyclist, you stop, if only briefly, and exchange information about what's ahead. If those guys keep that up, they might regret it eventually when they don't learn of a road or bridge closure (or of a nice free place to stay) ahead of them.

It was 2:30 when I arrived in Arthur (pop. 402, "Small Town, "Big Heart"), the first town since Fargo. I stopped for lunch at Kelly's Cafe, where I was the only customer this time of day. As I spent 45 minutes or so lingering over my cheeseburger and fries, I began to consider abandoning my original plan to do a seventy mile day. I had only done half that, but it was hot, getting late, and I kind of liked the looks of small Arthur.

Almost everything in Arthur - cafe, bar, grocery, city hall, health club, drugstore, community center - is under one roof: "The Arthur Mall." As I walked around the mall, and talked to the friendly people there, I decided to stop for the day.

I quickly found the park with the help of Peggy, who interrupted her walk to welcome me to town. The park, abutting a cornfield, was, like everything else I'd seen in Arthur, modest but nice - clean, apparently mosquito-free, and with a nice pavilion under which I could set up the tent. I got set up, then walked back to the Arthur Mall where I had a shower at the health club (impressive for such a small town - there was even a racquetball court), and bought a few groceries at Mary's Market. Mary's Market is just like a modern supermarket - shopping carts, aisles, a dairy section, etc. - But in miniature form. Cute.

In the common area of the Mall was a shelf of books that apparently comprised a very casual town library, a PC, and a few tables, upon one of which was a half-worked jigsaw puzzle. Arthur is apparently the kind of town where you can leave your jigsaw puzzle unattended, without worrying about hooligans messing with it. I was so charmed with the whole scene that I bought an "Arthur: Best Little City in North Dakota" T-Shirt.

Later, after washing my cycling clothes, and hanging them to dry on my bike (tacky but practical), I had dinner at the cafe, then walked back to the park, where I listened to music on my iPod and watched the sun set. (No internet available in Arthur, but that's OK - too much connection with the outside world would have distracted from my whole Arthur Experience.)

A nice day, which reminded me why I'm doing this trip.

Today's ride: 38 miles (61 km)
Total: 4,552 miles (7,326 km)

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