Tag: north dakota

Selby SD: The Selby Record

Posted on July 14, 2010December 5, 2014 by Rich

What a night! Bright flashes of lightening and rolls of thunder woke me up about midnight. I quickly secured the rain flaps of my tent, then lay back to watch the light show and see what was in store. The rains soon DUMPED on us. I lay semi-enjoying this, comfortable on my cushy mattress and in my dry sleeping bag and tent. Suddenly, though, I got real scared when it sounded like someone threw a softball onto the side of my tent. What? A tree dropping branches or watermelons or something? Then another and then another. Huge hits that threatened

Beaver Creek Rec Area ND: Another Oasis

Posted on July 13, 2010December 5, 2014 by Rich

I was up at 7am this morning but Randy stayed racked out in his adjacent room. I considered going out for breakfast but decided to wait for Randy’s company. For a while, I watched the tributes to George Steinbrenner being shown on the TV. Randy arose at 8am but did not want to get ready for riding, only to go get coffee. My cold symptoms were still nagging this morning (sore throat, a little light headed) but I actually also felt energetic and ready to go. But a solid breakfast definitely sounded good to me. I strolled next door to

Bismarck ND: Rain and Rollers

Posted on July 12, 2010December 5, 2014 by Rich

We both awoke fairly early to the spit of a light rain. Randy and I had always pitched our tents a reasonable distance from each other, but last night we’d pitched them a mere 8 feet apart or so. Randy was in a decidedly grumpy mood, stating that he was still really tired and that I had snored. I normally don’t snore, but I have no doubt that I did here, what with my cold and the extra fatigue from riding. I apologized and he said there was no need. He declined my offer of foam earplugs, stating that they

Don Steckel Boat Landing ND: The Long Way Around

Posted on July 11, 2010December 5, 2014 by Rich

Some patter of rain again last night but the Nemo tent performed nicely. The state park had been sufficiently quiet for a good sleep, but not a very good camping value. Besides the high cost, the restrooms were distant, the trash bins were distant, and the RVs (and their occasional accompanying nitwits) were not welcome campmates. At least the park had a nearby siphon water tap. I approached the tap with toothbrush in hand, lifted the handle and started pumping. To my dismay, I got no water, and trudged back to our breakfast table. Randy informed me that one simply

Pick City ND: Middle Chainring Day

Posted on July 10, 2010December 5, 2014 by Rich

We were both up very early and out of the park as promised. It was an easy choice to head back to Ebeneezer’s for breakfast. I again tried to recreate my beloved 2x2x2, this time with eggs, a slab of ham, and another humongous pancake. Good food here and great fuel for riding. Later, in the restroom, I took a lovely paper towel bath. Wasn’t so bad – I felt like I was starting to get the hang of this semi-hobo thing. We headed south on Broadway, and had to climb a big hill up and out of Minot. We

Minot ND: Camping OK or Not?

Posted on July 9, 2010December 4, 2014 by Rich

The earplugs worked great. I sort of heard the train whistles last night but wasn’t bothered at all by them. Randy mentioned that they were pretty bad. Many of the cyclists camping around us were up very early and bustling about, packing up tents and getting ready for the road. Randy and I were much more leisurely, and started simply by boiling up some water and making some tea, oatmeal, and Cream of Wheat, and kicking back. I found my instant Cream of Wheat not bad, but sort of gruel-like, even with sugar added. Needed butter, salt, something to make

Stanley ND: First Real Touring Day

Posted on July 8, 2010December 4, 2014 by Rich

My very first night camping in a very long time was actually quite nice. The Thermarest pad held tight and I was surprisingly comfortable on it. If there was any undue noise in the park at night, my ear plugs wiped them out properly. I had started out the night on top of my Marmot sleeping bag, but temperatures dropped to something around 50F, and I crawled inside the bag to find it really comfy and warm. A very brief rain hit us in the middle of the night, which woke me up. After securing the rain flaps, I sort

Williston ND: Redemption

Posted on July 7, 2010December 4, 2014 by Rich

Four hours later I was up and getting ready for breakfast, hoping to get over to the airport before they gave this seat away. Round 3 at the airport! I arrived at 7:30am, ran the (always insulting) gauntlet through security, and arrived at the gate around 8am. I was hoping that 3 hours would be sufficient to secure my seat aboard a Great Lakes flight. The gate agents were astonished that I’d gotten through security with my flight voucher alone (no boarding pass). One of the gate agents called me “sweetie” so I asked if it was OK if I

Limbo: Travel Day

Posted on July 6, 2010September 7, 2010 by Rich

Up at 4AM this morning in order to catch my 6:30am flight to Denver. Johnny and Colin were just deciding to go to sleep, so I decided to tap a sleepy Linda for the drive to the airport. I unexpectedly met my friend Rob Zienkewicz in the airport, and talked briefly about happenings at Viasat AMP. The delayed flight to Denver was cramped but uneventful. Although the plane landed late I still had 40 minutes to make my connection, and I already had a boarding pass and seat assignment, printed out the night before. Arriving at the gate to Williston,

Getting Ready: Training

Posted on July 2, 2010November 18, 2010 by Rich

In early May, my new Surly arrived, and I spent the next few weeks riding it with tools in hand, adjusting as best I could for optimal comfort. The horizontal tube distance on these Long Haul Truckers is unusually long for a given frame size, and I found it a bit difficult to strike a proper balance. In the end, my handlebar stem looked like the neck of an African tribal wife, but was comfortable for me. Met Jesse repeatedly for weekly breakfast rides, and also started doing all my errands on the Surly. I began to notice that the