July 15, 2008
Day 64: Arthur, ND to Binford, ND
84.40 Miles, 6:10:13 Ride Time, 13.68 Average Speed, 33.17 Maximum Speed
I rode away from Arthur at 6:30, before anything was open, thus missing my chance at having lunch, dinner and breakfast at Kelly's Cafe. Well, there's always time for that years from now, when I retire to Arthur, quite possibly my favorite town of the last two months.
It was twenty easy miles to Page (pop. 225 - "Plenty of Possibilities!"), where I stopped at the cafe to eat a hearty breakfast, and eavesdrop on the farmers that always gather at these places. While I ate, I looked out the window and observed a pickup truck stop in the middle of the street. The driver got out and walked away. Was he broken down? Apparently not - in a few minutes he returned and drove away. Later, I saw another driver do the same thing. Apparently, it is the custom in Page to park in the middle of the street. Seems odd, but who am I to question the ways of North Dakotans?
Outside the restaurant, as I prepared to ride away from Page, a cute old lady rode up on an old, but well-maintained blue Schwinn. "Your bike's fanicer than mine!" she said. While we talked, a friend of hers walked up, and asked her how she knew when to change (one of the three) gears on the bike. "I don't really know; I just do it when I feel like it", she said. Hey, that's my approach, too!
Energized from my omelet and pancakes, I quickly rode through Colgate (nothing there), and Hope (pop. 303 - notable for the smiley-face water tower), and watched while the sky grew dark and it sprinkled rain briefly.
I passed a road sign, "Luverne: 12, Sibley: 14", was reminded of the old TV show "Laverne and Shirley", and then, for the next ten miles, couldn't get the irritating "Laverne and Shirley" theme song out of my head. Damn it!
Other excitement during this stretch: Many, many small black bugs became trapped in the sunblock on my arms, legs, and especially face, which I hadn't shaved in five days now (I had contemplated growing a beard, but became alarmed when I noticed how much of it was coming in white - I definitely didn't want to go for a Kenny Rogers look, so the beard was coming off at the next opportunity). Also: During one of my (mostly fruitless) photo-taking stops, I had trouble unclipping the right shoe, and discovered that I had stepped in chewing gum somewhere. Irritating, but it gave me a good idea for a practical joke when I get home.
It rained briefly while I stopped in Cooperstown (pop. 1,053), the biggest town I had seen since Fargo. I liked the looks of the place, but it was too early to stop for the day, so after an email and water-bottle-filling stop at the friendly library, I moved on.
The sun was out now, and the terrain became less flat and more rolling as I headed toward Binford (pop. 201). I got to town about 3:00, and found the park, where an old man apparently working there in some (semi-official?) capacity told me to set up wherever I wanted, and not to worry about the posted $5 camping fee. I set up the tent under a picnic shelter, as is my preference, showered, got rid of the by-now intolerable beard, then explored the town, which was not a time-consuming process.
This is what's in Binford: A bar, a cafe, a grocery/hardware store, a senior citizens center, three (!) banks, something called "Beavers Place", and, of course, the huge grain elevator that looms over everything.
After making the trip up a dirt road to a small hill, which is the only place cell phones work in Binford, I had dinner at the cafe (excellent), signed their log book (the last guy wrote about about people parking in the middle of the street in Page!), then returned to the park.
The evening passed fairly quietly, although the teenage girls playing volleyball near my tent got a little rowdy at one point, and after an apparent sand-flinging incident, two of them ran screaming past me as I looked on, amused.
Another great day - I'm really liking North Dakota.
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Today's ride: 84 miles (135 km)
Total: 4,636 miles (7,461 km)
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