The adventures of Curtis: Day 7 – Bismarck, ND to Napolean, ND

Distance 71.5

Total Distance 387.6

A beautiful day today. Even the locals were saying it was great because of no wind. I don’t think that happens much across North Dakota. The scenery was not much different throughout the day. Rode on backroads out through farms and cattle ranches. It seems that crops haven’t been planted here long. The corn is 3 inches tall and grain might be six inches. I did see some planting and spraying going on today. It looks like they use no till farming around here quite a bit. The corn was planted in between the rows they planted last year and grain was planted in the corn or grain stubble from last year. It looked great. I am sure it takes those GPS guided tractors to do it.

Started the day with oatmeal for breakfast and a PB&J packed for my lunch. When it gets lunchtime, if I have any other options, it seems I take them. I went through a town (Hazelton) at lunchtime and they had a Cenex convenience store, so I ordered a sub sandwich there with a chocolate milk. It was just what I needed.

It was another 70+ mile day. The 3^rd day in a row and I’m feeling it. The last 20 miles into Napolean, I was getting a little impatient from being on the bicycle. I hope rest tonight helps. It was hard to tell where the wind was coming from today. It seemed to be moving all over the place. I guess that is what a no-wind day feels like. The forecast is for 20mph+ winds from the east tomorrow and Sunday. Sunday I planned a day off the bike but do have 39 miles to go tomorrow, so I am hoping for the best.

Ate dinner at a nice diner downtown. Had a hamburger steak with a baked potato. It really hit the spot as well. This town is very impressive. I don’t know if I can remember seeing such a clean town. There isn’t garbage anywhere. The lawns all look taken care of and it is just nice. It is small. There are only about 700 people here, but they look to be very proud of where they live.

I am riding what they call the Northern Tier. Adventure Cycling Association has maps that will take you from Bar Harbor, Maine to Anacortes, WA. It is a pretty popular route for people to ride. Before today, I was surprised that I had not seen one other rider riding in either direction. I did run into someone today. Mark from Indiana. He is on his way to Glacier National Park and is writing a blog at kickupsomedust.com.

We are in a nice park tonight that is small, but well maintained. I think it must be run by the City and it is full. I guess it is the weekend. Well, can’t think of anymore, so see you tomorrow.