Week 6

Day 36 Monday, July 5

Medora to Dickinson 

Up early again today and we successfully get on the road by 5:30. We are on our way and of course it’s uphill out of town. Why are so many towns down in a valley?!On the interstate again for the 1st half. We stop in Belfield at a Cenex for a bite to eat and some chocolate milk.

2nd half of the ride we ride on Hwy 10. Now the road is rolling hills and the gradient increases from that on the interstate. It warms up quickly but not as warm as it has been. We get passed by the Alpaca tour group sag. The group is also staying in Dickinson tonight - different hotel tho. We make it to our hotel in Dickinson around 10:30.

A much needed rest day tomorrow!

Day 37 Tuesday, July 6

Rest day in Dickinson 

Day 38 Wednesday, July 7

Dickinson to Glen Ullin 

No alarm today. I woke up just after 4 and tried snoozing some more. I got up around 4:45. We left the hotel around 6:40 with drizzle and temps in the 50’s. And wind of course. We started on I-94 for a few miles until the 1st exit where we got on Hwy 10. It’s not flat, but the hills aren’t bad today. My legs felt rested and my saddle sores are doing much better. I will never be comfortable on a bicycle seat for so many hours everyday, so for now, I’m at a good place. The drizzle makes everything hard to see, but I say hi to the cows and horses as they stare at us when we peddle by. Our first town is 21 miles and I think at about 8 miles I needed to go potty. I decided I could wait for the town (silly me) and am dying by the time we reach Taylor. Terry stopped to take a picture and I went on into town hoping to see a place with a bathroom open. Ross and Terry are both yelling at me from behind - turns out I missed the park with the bathrooms about 1/2 mile back. So happy for a flush toilet! Another 4 miles to Richardton where we take a break at the gas station convenience store. We decided to go back  to I-94 where we make some good time with Ross in the lead. I was able to stick with him, so Terry followed me. I can only do this pace so long, but was surprised to find out we had done almost 10 miles in an hour. Now the hills seem a little steeper, so I keep up on the flats but slow on the hills. We lost an hour today (central time now), so we got to the park to camp in Glen Ullin around 2. We shall see how the legs do tomorrow- it seems if I do well 1 day, the next day is slower.

And as for the pit toilets at this campground, not the best, but still thinking I like the campground better than the last city park…

Day 39 Thursday, July 8

Glen Ullin to Bismarck

We made it thru the night without the expected rain storm, so that was good. We didn’t set an alarm, so that was good. I had a street light shining in my side of the tent, so that wasn’t good. I had to pee in the middle of the night and kept waking up because my tent flap was open and we were expecting rain, so that wasn’t good. I finally got up at 2:30 and walked to the pit toilet to pee, so that was good and bad. I got back and closed the flap. Terry also closed his. It was very windy so I couldn’t get back to sleep. Starting the day tired isn’t good. We had to bicycle about 5 miles to get to I-94 and our route today seemed to have a lot of uphill. The rumble strip was in the middle of the shoulder, so I couldn’t take advantage of Terry being my wind block, as the wind was a strong side wind. It just wears on you after awhile. After about 25 miles, the rumble strip moved back to the edge of the road, so I could ride Ross and Terry’s draft for a bit. 

I’ve gotten to know the signs of when I need food or some kind of energy boost. If I pay attention to the signs and add some “fuel”, I can keep my legs rotating and make it to our destination. Today was a tough day with 60 miles, but I made it!! I will sleep well tonight!!

Day 40 Friday, July 9

Bismarck to Steele

I was so tired last night after not sleeping much the night before.  Storms were just rumbling in as we turned off the lights to go to sleep. So glad we were in a hotel. I slept really well and didn’t wake up until 6:30. We had decided that since it was supposed to be raining in the morning, that we wouldn’t rush. We got on the road just before 10. The ride today wasn’t too bad. It was “mostly flat” and the winds were ok for the 1st half of the ride. My knees and hip were bothering me a bit - I blame the weather. I did put a knee brace on one knee part of the day. The winds picked up for the 2nd half of the ride, but they were bearable. I took it pretty easy today with the 44 miles since tomorrow will be a 60 mile ride again.  Looking forward to another good nights sleep.

Day 41 Saturday, July 10

Steele to Jamestown 

Up at 5 today. My knees hurt when I went down the steps for coffee, but going back up the steps was good. I decided to take Aleve just in case. We pack up and get going just after 7. We are on I-94 today. The gradient isn’t too bad and there seems to be equal downs and ups. There’s very little wind when we start and I’m really hoping it stays that way. The first 15 miles go fast and I’m hoping the legs can hold up for the 60 mile day, but, it wasn’t meant to be. I had to slow my pace and refuel several times. We got in around 2 and staying at a hotel again is good.

Day 42 Sunday, July 11

Jamestown to Valley City

No rush to get going this morning since we had a shorter day planned. I got up around 6:45. We ate breakfast at the hotel and got going after a gas station stop about 9:15. No services on our route today so I was very concerned that in the 37 miles I might need to use a bathroom, especially after 2 cups of coffee 😬 But, there was no problem. 😊 We made fairly good time getting into Valley City around 1:30. My legs weren’t as tired as yesterday and the shorter miles was nice, but best of all, the wind was not a problem today!! We were planning on camping, but the city tourist campground sites that were available were in the sun. We decided air conditioning would be better than roasting in the sun, so AmericInn was calling us.  The name Valley City implies a valley - right?  It was a great downhill into town where we ate lunch and checked out the campground. I didn’t want to think about the morning when we would have to climb out of the city. But, since we decided on a hotel, that meant climbing to get to the AmericInn. I’m glad we did that today instead of first thing tomorrow! Hopefully there’s not more climbing when we leave!  We enjoyed the hot tub and pool - the 1st time since we started the trip. Other times when I’ve been feeling like hot tubbing, they were closed. Today was a great hot tub/pool afternoon! Hopefully my sleeping shorts which are doubling as my swimming shorts will dry by bed time!