Day 65: Binford, ND to Minnewauken, ND

July 16, 2008

92.71 miles, 6:43:46 Ride Time, 13.77 Average Speed, 30.80 Maximum Speed

It looked rainy when I got up this morning, and I was in no real hurry to get back on the road, so I stopped for a leisurely breakfast at the Binford Cafe, where I had the BEST breakfast of this trip - Mexican omelet, hash browns, buttered toast, pancakes.

It did start raining while I ate, so I hung around for a while, and, as is my habit in these places, listened to the conversation of the farmers at a nearby table. They spent ten minutes discussing how a field of flax can, from a distance, resemble a lake, and then another ten minutes about the customs in Norway, where one of the men would soon be making the annual pilgrimage to his homeland. So much like a real-life "A Prairie Home Companion."

The rain stopped, so I headed out. The terrain continued to be rolling - more interesting than the extreme flatness around Fargo. I kept seeing signs for Lutheran churches, which I would have liked to check out, but the churches themselves were always a mile down a gravel road, and after so many miles without a flat tire, I've become paranoid about getting one, so I've been avoiding gravel.

I stopped in tiny Pekin, where there was no longer a grocery store, and even the bar wasn't open yet. I did go in the post office, where I chatted with the locals for a while and answered the now-familiar questions, including the one I'm most weary of: "Aren't you afraid to be by yourself?" The people in the post office mentioned the "two girls", fellow westbounders I've been hearing about, who might be two hours, two days, or two weeks ahead of me. Sometimes it seems that, as with distances, the local people on the route have a different relationship to time than I do.

After a few miles, I entered the Spirit Lake Sioux Indian Reservation, where I would remain for about fifty miles - most of the rest of the day.

Not long after entering the Reservation, I went a few miles off route to stop in the tiny community of Tokio (no population listed), where I had trouble finding the store; a couple of helpful Native Americans helped me find the place, which required riding on two different gravel roads. While I was there, the sky grew dark, the wind picked up, and it started to rain, although it wouldn't last long.

As I continued on around Devil's Lake, the traffic got heavy. Why? The Sioux Tribe owns and operates a casino on the lake. Curious, I stopped at the casino, and the attached hotel. I briefly considered stopping for the day and getting a room, but I was put off by the negative atmosphere of the place - there was a stench of desperation, generated, I assume, by the presence of all the compulsive gamblers gathered there. A crazy woman was hanging around the lobby, making unwanted conversation with everyone in the place, and when she sidled up to me, I decided to make my escape.

I rode into a severe headwind as I briefly went South to skirt Devil's Lake, and then passed Fort Totten, a poor-looking reservation town, where, for a few miles, I encountered glass and broken beer bottles everywhere on the shoulder of the road. Pretty sad.

By the time I exited the Reservation, the sun was back out. I rode into Minnewaukan (pop. 318), another nice little North Dakota town, where I decided to stop for the day. When I arrived at the town park, I found four other cyclists, Eastbounders, already there. They were Dan, Deb, Don and Dutch. I had an enjoyable time talking to them, especially Dutch, who is apparently a master at scoring free places to stay indoors. He had some good tips - I wish I'd met him before I started this trip.

After I showered and got the tent set up, I rode to the town grocery with my laptop, and sat at a table and used the store's wireless internet connection. What a cool, laid-back place - the lady who owned the store told me to get what I wanted to eat and drink, and we would just settle up later. The store was obviously the community gathering place; several people came in and out, and while I sat there, a lady came in, got a frozen DiGorno's pizza off the shelf, baked it in an oven near where I sat, and then sat down at the table to eat it. We talked for a while, and she gave me some of her pizza.

I'm loving these friendly little North Dakota towns.

Afterward, I went back to the park, talked to Don and Dutch for a while (Dan and Deb were already in their tent), then got ready for bed as I tried to avoid the mosquitoes, which really were horrible.

Today's ride: 93 miles (150 km)
Total: 4,729 miles (7,611 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	2
Comment on this entry	Comment	0