Day 106-110: Jordan, Glendive, Richardton, Bismarck, Gackle

Day 106: Winnett to Jordan, 78 miles

Day 107: Jordan to Glendive, 120 miles

Day 108: Glendive to Richardton,ND, 130

Day 109: Richardton to Bismarck, 80 miles

Day 110: Bismarck to Gackle, 99 miles

Day 106: 6/26/14

I had a great nights sleep at my no joke $39.00 hotel room and left at 10:00 a.m. Just in time to ride down to the Kozy Korner Cafe to watch the U.S.A v. Germany game. The tv was on the bad side of the cafe which technically wasn't open at 10:00 but the old man and woman that were running the place let me set up a table in the bar in front of the tv so that I could eat my breakfast and watch the game at the same time. It was a pretty sweet setup if I do say so myself.

I asked the old guy, who was wheeling around an oxygen tank as he was taking orders if I could get a refill on my coffee and he looked at me, took a huff from his tank and said, "I don't care. It's right over there. Go get it yourself!", and pointed behind the counter to the coffee pot. I then asked for some half and half and he pointed over to the fridge. I got the picture after that and from there on out made myself at home behind the counter as I got my 3rd, 4th and well you get the idea refills.

During the game I also kept checking the weather, as it was not looking too good, outside and it was on and off raining the whole time and the pattern didn't change when the game ended. I hit the road around noon full and happy that even with the loss to Germany we made it to the knockout phase of the World Cup with my rain at the ready for the impending rain.

The section of Route 200 from Winnett to Jordan was a very pretty 78 miles through pasture lands and farms with little traffic. However, it was also without any towns or services... I got rained on pretty hard early in the ride and then after about 2:00 p.m. I made it the rest of the ride into Jordan without getting wet again. I was able to see the storms and the storm clouds brewing on all sides of me and yet I was able to keep dry. Winning!

Jordan was another tiny town with a few bars, a grocery store and a post office and I was all set to throw the tent up in the town park when a woman came up to me at the market and started asking about my trip. After a few minutes of talking, and her making the decision that I wasn't a deranged psycho-killer she offered me laundry, shower, a nice home-cooked meal with her and her family and most importantly a dry place to sleep with a roof which I quickly accepted.

A fantastic end to an already good day!

Day 107: 6/27/14

I was on the road riding by 8:00 a.m. after breakfast in Jordan facing another long stretch of no services, no towns, no nothing except for grass and cows. I rode 68 miles from Jordan to Circle (the next town) arriving at around 12:30 p.m. The only thing of note on this stretch was how bad the road condition was. There was basically no shoulder so I had to ride out in the lane with cars/trucks/RVs zooming by me at 50-60 m.p.h. and even worse there were cracks across the lanes that had been sealed over so about every 10-20 feet or so I would hit another sealed over crack with a dadump, dadump, dadump, dadump. Forget water boarding! Get these prisoners of ours and make them ride a road like this and see if they don't break!

Anyways, I got to Jordan and after devouring a 12" meatball sub, 2 giant sugar cookies, and Mountain Dew at a deli there in town I was feeling pretty chipper and decided I'd try to ride on to the next town... (Only another 52 miles)

This section of road was way better and was almost completely flat with a slight downgrade and I pumped out those miles in about 2 1/2 hours ending the day at 120 miles... Close to my record of 125. I ended up eating a dinner of peanut butter and honey sandwiches granola bars and camped out behind a school in town. Free sleep is the best sleep!

Day 108: 6/28/14

Free sleep in places you really shouldn't be also means waking up very early so after a decent night of sleep I was up and out of Glendive without a trace before 6:00 a.m.

It was a mostly overcast morning with a slight tailwind and I pushed out the first 30 miles to Wibaux (just short of the North Dakota border) by a little after 8:00 a.m. where I took a short break to eat some breakfast and get some caffeine.

Then I was back out there and besides a quick stop at the border for my picture with the North Dakota Welcome Sign I rode straight through to Belfield, an 80-mile trek, arriving there at just after noon. It was at this point in the day that I decided I was going to break my record for miles in a day and so after a big burger, fries and ice cream at a Dairy Queen in Bellfield I got back on the bike and pushed another 50 miles through the flats of North Dakota to Richardton where I was graciously taken in by Joel and Sasha and their adorable 5-yr. old daughter Masha.

I had a great night hanging out with these guys and was oh so happy for the warm shower and the nice cushiony bed to sleep on that night. 120 miles the day before and now 130 miles this day. I'd say that's pretty good.

Day 109: 6/29/14

After breakfast in Richardton I headed out and with the help of some 30-40 m.p.h. tailwinds I averaged 20 m.p.h. throughout the entire day and got to Bismarck by lunch. I hung out a McDonald's for a few hours drinking soda and eating chicken nuggets and ice cream and then rode to my warmshowers hosts, Steve and Dawn, who owned the Broken Spoke Bike Shop right in Bismarck.

At The Broken Spoke Bike Shop, another group of cyclists Pete, Jane and George (on a east to west XC adventure of their own) were already there having braved the winds all day coming West and the whole gang, after showers of course, hopped in the Bike Shop van and drove down to Golden Corral and feasted on the plentiful spread that is the Corral de Oro and it was glorious.

After dinner we drove back to the Shop/House and hit the sack. It had been a long day for everyone.

Day 110: 6/30/14

High winds again! 20 m.p.h. average speed again! Awesome warmshowers hosts again!

Today I rode 99 miles, 82 of which were directly East on Old Highway 10 and on the Interstate and they were amazing, 17 were South on Route 30 and they SUCKED! Still not as bad as if I were going West...

Tonight I'm staying at the Honey Hub Hostel in Gackle, a tiny town in between Bismarck and Fargo. The hosts are Jason and Ginny and they are beekeepers that spend their time here in Gackle and in California, transporting their bees back and forth between summer and winter.

The Hostel is packed tonight! There is a group of 13 "grey-haired" cyclists as one member called themselves riding across to Bar Harbor, Maine and then there is another younger rider who is riding West to San Francisco. Even with the large group I've been able to shower and do laundry and now am cooking up a pizza to eat and will be sleeping in the bunk room on a bed. A great relief as it is starting to storm out tonight.