Day 10 – Gackle, ND to Kathryn, ND

Distance 59

Total Distance 486.70

We had another thunderstorm move over us last night.  It put us on quite the light show. We awoke to a beautiful morning, had breakfast and then drove to Gackle, where I started from on Saturday.  It was only 40 miles away, so didn’t take us long.  The road I had to ride today was fairly flat and perfectly straight.  Not too much navigating was required today.  It was however a nice ride.

In Gackle the map read, “Limited services for the next 78 miles”.  And there really was not much of anything.  It got to about 85 degrees and due to the rain last night, was very humid. As I would ride, the perspiration doesn’t disappear like it does in Idaho.  We must be getting further east. I found a nice lawn to stop and have lunch under a tree.  I was hoping no one would come out of the house asking what I am doing there.  No one did. 

We are camped in the middle of nowhere at a campground called “Little Yellowstone”.  I don’t know why.  It is a nice camp, but nothing like Yellowstone.  We have no phone service or internet so are forced to watch a movie again tonight.

View of the 60 miles of straight road ahead.

The dreaded North Dakota rumble strips.

There are a ton of these marsh lands along the way.

Days 8&9 – Napolean to Gackle, ND and a Rest Day!!

Distance 40.2

Total Distance 427.7

Well, to put it in Lyle’s words, I wimped out. ☺ I knew Friday night that things were not going to be good and they weren’t. The wind was blowing 18 mph from the southeast at 7:00 in the morning.  I got up and got breakfast and all and decided I would give it a try.  I told Lyle when he got things ready and left to make sure he stopped when he passed me to see if I would change my mind on how I would do the day. I was probably about 10 miles down the road when he passed doing my best and getting 5 mph out of the bike.  The wind was getting worst and it wasn’t hard for me to make up my mind. I was supposed to only have a 40 mile day today but the remaining 30 miles at 5 mph was not something that I wanted to even attempt.  Lyle hauled me to Gackle, the City we were to end in and I rode the opposite direction.  I guess that is the benefit of having the motorhome.

We checked out the campground in Gackle and it was not attractive at all and didn’t have any facilities, so we decided that I would just ride back to Napolean and we would spend two more nights there as Sunday was a scheduled day off.  That is what we did and it was a great ride back.  There was a portion of the road on the way back that I had to head South and it was crazy how hard it was to stay on the road.  Especially when a vehicle was passing and I needed to get over.  Heading West, there were times I was already going 25mph and I could still feel the wind at my back pushing me.  I would never have made it going the other direction and Sunday we are supposed to have these winds back again.

We got back to Napolean and had a lazy afternoon.  The campground here is quite full and is right next to the City pool.  I think everyone was here to enjoy the pool and the weekend, but because of the weather, they didn’t open it.  Some pretty disappointed families.  We watched a movie tonight about Teflon.  Lyle brought a bag full of movies, so we will never run out of something to watch.  Ate dinner at the diner again.  I had a small pepperoni pizza.  It was good.

Today is Sunday and I feel a little lost with no riding and not a whole lot to do.  I studied the Sunday School lesson this morning, which was nice, but can only do that for so long as well.

We had quite the storm move over us in the middle of the night.  It was raining, blowing and giving quite the light show.  It didn’t last long, but was fun to watch. There are tree branches all over the place today from the wind.  The wind is not blowing as hard as yesterday, which is good.

Not much to write since we are doing nothing.  I do have a Zoom meeting with my Sunday School class pretty quick, so I need to get ready for that.  My body is enjoying a no bike day and tomorrow winds are supposed to be back from the west.

It has been a lazy day.  I guess that is what it was supposed to be.  There is not much to do in this town, so spent it reading and watching a Survivor episode.  Lyle and I went to the restaurant in town and got us a burger and shake this evening and making preparations for tomorrow.

These threshing machines are the Dinosaurs.  Trip Advisor has this sight as the #1 Napolean attraction. 🙄

They are actually kind of cool.

I always like old houses out in the middle of nowhere.  I just wonder who lived there and what type of a dream they were after.

There are actually a lot of small lakes in this area.  It looks like they can get high enough to cover the road in areas like this.  The asphalt just ends and you cross this dirt roadway.  Look at the waves from the wind.

An unharvested field of corn.  I wonder if it can still be harvested and how long they can do it.

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.

View at the beginning of  the day

Mark from Indiana

View from the road.  It is green everywhere.

See the corn growing?

McKenna Lake coming into Napolean.

Downtown Napolean.

Day 6 – Hebron, ND to Bismarck, ND

Distance 71

Total Distance 316

I don’t think that I got much sleep last night. First of all I was worried about getting the RV fixed, second, we had trains going by 50 ft away until about midnight and third, we are in central zone now and I needed to get up at 6:00 local time and get going which is 5:00 time that I am used to. 

Anyway, I did get up at 6:00 with no alarm and got on my way.  It was a little chilly out, but a nice still morning.  I rode about 20 miles down the road before Lyle came by to pick me up and we loaded the bike and headed to Bismarck to see if we could get the RV fixed.  We got to the dealership at 8:15 and they took a look and said that they would be an hour fixing it.  That lifted a great burden and we just looked at the store and RV’s for an hour and things were fixed.  Lyle and I took wagers on how much it would cost and both of us were in the $300 range and it only cost $160, so I was thrilled.  They fixed things to where that stuff wasn’t hanging so low, and that made me feel even better.

While there in Bismarck, we visited McDonalds for breakfast.  The place was open to order and we did so and sat down to eat and were told that we still couldn’t eat in the dining room. That was ok, we just went out and had breakfast on the outside tables. That McGriddle was great. It seems its easy to forget about this pandemic while I’m out here.

We then traveled back to where he picked me up and I continued my journey.  I was thinking that I only had 50 some miles to ride today, but on my spreadsheet I was looking at the map number and not the mileage.  It turned out to be 71 miles today with an average speed of 12.1 mph.  The wind was pretty much out of the southeast at 15 mph all day and that slowed me down.

Had to ride quite a few miles on the interstate again today.  A few days back when I said there was not too much traffic, that is not the case now. The interstate was cement and the traffic was thick and noisy.  It was nice to get off.  I guess on the flip side, the side roads were a lot more hills. I am realizing, just like in most places I have ridden, North Dakota is not flat. ☺

We are staying in a nice, big campground tonight on the south of Bismarck along the banks of the Missouri River.  I was surprised how big the river is this far north.  Had a hamburger helper dinner again tonight.  I hope Lyle is not getting sick of much the same. 

It is quiet, I don’t have anything to get up for (except to ride another 60 miles). I think I should sleep well tonight.

These pictures are out of order, but I'll explain:

Missouri River coming into Bismarck

World's largest Holstein Cow in New Salem.  It is ND dairy country and their mascot.

Just the typical view of ND so far.

Always nice to have a bike path.  Coming into Bismark.

Day 5 – Medora, ND to Hebron, ND

Distance 74.6

Total Distance 245.1

One thing that has been nice so far is the weather predictions have been right on.  Wind blew from the south today at a pretty good clip.  For most of the day it was blowing right into my side.  That slowed things down quite a bit.  I averaged 13.2 mph.

Pretty ho hum as far as the scenery today. I don’t think that I took any pictures that you can enjoy.  The terrain was up and down all day long and it was a lot of miles.  With the wind, I think it did me in somewhat emotionally.  It seems on trips after you have ridden three or four days straight your body starts to say, “What are you doing to me?”.  I think my body is rebelling at the moment.  The wind did shift to come from the Northwest later in the day and that helped me to get the last miles in.

You can see what type of country we are now.  Oil businesses all over the place.

I don't know what this is.  It is on a trailer??

I thought this storm was going to get me this afternoon, but I guess I am too fast. 😉

This was on the road as I entered Taylor.  It would spin with the wind with lawn mowers, bicycles etc on it.  Fun.

Pretty nice church for a town of 700. Richardton, ND.  There is a nuns monastery there.

We had a little accident with the RV tonight.  This city that we are in has no RV park, but they gave us permission to stay at their city park.  We felt that we can just use the RV for water and restroom etc, but as we were pulling through a gutter to park, the back plumbing on the RV hit the road and broke off.  I have been spending the night trying to find a place in Bismarck, ND to get it fixed and the worry is they won't have the right parts.  I guess worst case, we will have to stop using the facilities in the RV. Kind of messed up my night, but it's just a problem that needs fixing.

Got into a little rain this morning.  It didn’t look like it was going to last that long, but is was a cold rain and I think it was just following me down the road.  I finally had to stop and put on my rain jacket.  I was having to ride the freeway at the time and this sweet lady pulled over and asked if I wanted to get out of the rain and ride with her down the road.  I had to turn her down, but I thought that was great.  I remember once I was in Wilmington, North Carolina and it just started pouring.  I was with Bill from Michigan and we had to pull over due to worry over cars behind us being able to see us.  We stood out in that rain for an hour and not one person stopped to see if we needed help.  That is why I think this lady deserves a few gold stars.

Well, I think I am going to get up early and take off riding so I have time to try and get the RV fixed, so good night.

Day 4 – Glendive, MT to Medora, ND

Distance 65.5

Total Distance 170.5

I feel like I say this every time I do a trip, but this blog tends to be the same, day after day.  Sorry about that.  A great day of riding.  I started the day riding the interstate.  It was the route that had to be taken due to no other roads, but I think in the past, I have only had to ride about 10 miles of interstate.  Today it was probably 25 miles all together.  It was some on and then off and then on again.  Tomorrow will be much the same.  There isn’t much traffic on the interstate, however. Mostly trucks.  I am amazed at how few cars there are.  When I was off the interstate, I was on a road that followed pretty much the same course.  There was no traffic on it.  I was probably passed by three cars all day.  It was so nice.

I went through some interesting towns today.  They were old and seemed to have a lot of history in them. I et some interesting people that were fun to talk to about the little towns.  Mostly they said it was hard keeping people there.  The young just have to move away to find work. We are in Medora, ND tonight which is a little town at the gates of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  I was hoping to get the ride done in time to go see the park, which we did do.  I didn’t think that the park was as impressive as most of the National Parks I have seen.  It was pretty, but much of the ride along the roads I traveled today looked the same. This park is the only National Park named after a person.  It is to display the badlands of North Dakota and Theodore Roosevelt actually came here to hunt bison and loved it so much he bought ranched in this area and spent a lot time here.

The scenery today was just wonderful.  I am really enjoying the beauty of this area. Yes, the wind was at my back again today.  My average speed was down to 15.2 (which was fun to ride).  I think tomorrow is going to be a wake up call for me.  The wind is supposed to be changing direction.

As I mentioned, we are in North Dakota tonight.  It was amazing to me how things changed from one state to the next.  It seemed the cattle ranches disappeared and dryer looking hills appeared.  I stopped for lunch today just after entering North Dakota and really was missing my past riding companions, Tim and Nancy.  It was always nice to know that they were there as we rode each day and to talk as we would eat lunch and see things. It feels a little different by myself.  It is good I have Lyle to meet up with.  Being completely alone would be kind of a bummer.

Some pictures of the ride today:

And of the Park:

And the moon tonight!!

Day 3 – Circle, MT to Glendive, MT

Distance 51

Total Distance 105

Another Great night.  It cooled down a bit more and made sleeping a bit better.  It was great to wake up and see the wind blowing from the Northwest.  Just like it was supposed to.  I did get a little earlier start since we didn’t have to travel, so breakfast was done and I was on the road at about 8:30.  All the climbing was in the first 20 miles or so and there was not much at that.  There was a decent wind ant my back and I again averaged 15.7 mph for the day. 

It was a different day for scenery.  It was just green rolling hills with cattle all over the place.  It was really pretty, however.  There is something about the landscape here that is quite unique.  The hills look like softer dirt and eroded with the rain and wind and it is just beautiful in its unique way.

As I mentioned, once I climbed all that needed climbing today, it was quite straight and slightly downhill.  When I was just right with the wind, I would easily move at 20 to 22 mph.  I don’t think that I have ever had as much distance with sustained speeds like that.  It was just fun to ride.  I am knocking on wood, because I know the day is coming that the wind will be just that much against me.

I think I rode for 25 miles with train grain cars parked along the road.  It was crazy.  They looked fairly new and all.  I don’t know if it seasonal, this Covid thing or the trade war.  Anyway, they just went on and on.

I was done riding slightly before 12:00 noon.  There really wasn’t anything to stop for along the way so the day went quite fast.  I spent the afternoon working.  That’s crazy, isn’t it?  This Covid thing has put me behind at work and I wasn’t caught up with everything when I left and still feel like I need to get a few things done while I am out here. It was a good afternoon of things.

Crossing the Yellowstone River.  Now just for pedestrians and cyclists.

Yellowstone River.  It looks to be quite high.

Lyle and I took off about 5 to visit Makoshika State Park.  It is a really cool place if you are ever around here.  There have been many dinosaur fossils found there and the formations and geology are fascinating.  It was well worth the $8 to get in and take a look.

The rock on the underside is a softer rock and wears away more quickly, with the harder rocks resting on the tops.  It is crazy looking.  It looks as though people laid those rocks on top.

We went out to a local café that was close.  They were actually allowing sit down seating, which was nice.  Tables were spaced well and you had to ask for everything.  No salt & pepper etc at the tables.  Had chicken fried steak and it was delicious.  Too full now.

Hope you are all well!!