2007 cycling to Florida

Florida with pictures

2007-11-29T15:48:00.000-08:00

Georgia with Pictures

2007-11-28T12:38:00.000-08:00

Florida

2007-11-28T04:10:00.000-08:00

Nov 27/07

Well we have arrived in Tallahassee to a warm welcome from our ski friends the Baldinos
Headed home to the cold weather and hopefully skiing.
See you all soon
Sue

South Carolina with Pictures

2007-11-21T17:37:00.000-08:00

South Carolina

North Carolina with pictures

2007-11-15T15:40:00.001-08:00

North Carolina

Virginia log

2007-11-09T13:51:00.000-08:00

If your interested in seeing our Virginia Log look at the Oct 30 posting with 3 states on it... we were having a computer glitch but are hoping it is over
Okay
Enjoy
PS go to Teague Quinn and Julies site http://adventuresinbabyrearing.blogspot.com/

It's great
Bye for now
Sue and Ken

Alive and well on the coast of North Carolina

2007-11-08T14:10:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone
We haven't been able to access our emails for a few days so this might reach a few of you. We are in Avon on the outer Banks of North Carolina and it is COLD! We will go to the library maybe omorrow and get more in touch or leave a message on our home phone as we have been checking that
Take care
Sue

Log with Pictures

2007-10-30T19:02:00.000-07:00

Pennsylvania

Maryland & Washington DC

Virginia

Tornados

2007-10-20T17:32:00.000-07:00

Just to let everyone in cyberspace know we are long past the tornado that hit in Indiana and Minnisoda. We are in Pennsylvania enjoying the warmer weather and rain! and wind! and HILLS! Very tired in need of a day off!

log With Pctures

2007-10-13T05:52:00.000-07:00

LOG With Pictures

BC - Alberta

Montana

North Dakota

Minnisota

Iowa

ILLINOIS

Indiana

Ohio

last day in Iowa Oct 5 Day 58 from home

2007-10-07T05:08:00.000-07:00

DAY FIFTY-EIGHT KEOKUK IA 24.12km (to see the Iowa pictures go to the post below and the link to Iowa log]
Oct6 Saturday D24.12km M 35.4 A 9.6 REST DAY total 4576.9km

Well what a day we have had. Started out by going by 521 Morgan street which is the address the French’s lived at in 1901 It is not the house I have a picture of that was thought to be their house, but I think this is definitely where they lived. No answer so I took pictures and spoke to a fellow across the street who said their house was built in 1890 so I’m sure this house was here in 1901. It is a neat looking house and would have been fun to go inside but we returned later in the day and still no one home.

We also did a ride along Grand Avenue which has a lot of history of houses built when they would have lived here. One [4 Park Place] is the house of Thomas R Ayers a jewelry and music merchant who the city listing for 1901 states that Eunice [grandma’s mother] was the secretary for… it doesn’t say that Frank worked as a jeweler there or if he had his own shop. It is only a few blocks from the French home on a tree lined street with other large homes.

We went to the library for a map of the grave yard and the info on the internet says they are buried in section E Well we walked for almost 3 hours and we found the other 3 French’s which I don’t know if they are relations, in a section we are sure is R but in all the areas we think are E we found no French’s. It is a very hilly graveyard, very large and not well marked out. Also there are a lot of stones in disrepair so the stones may have been removed if damaged. We were exhausted by the time we walked and walked.

Picture of one part of E section of Oakwood Cemetary Keokuk Iowa

Church around the corner from Morgan St Court house that might have been the University in 1900

This was a very busy port town in 1901. Today the population is 11,427 I will have to research if it is more or less than 1901. It is full of brick buildings, homes and businesses. I did find out that Mom’s Aunt Ada graduated 1900 from the University of Iowa as a physician. Keokuk was the first site of this university, but it is now in Iowa City. There is a medical museum there but we are not able to go there at this time. I have emailed them to see if they have any information on her. I do know she was not able to work as a Dr when she was in Canada as she would have had to write her exams again

Chief Keokuk [town named after] View from Grand Ave houses of the Mississippi River

View from the Chief Keokuk statue site.

day57 KEOKUK IOWA

2007-10-05T22:49:00.000-07:00

DAY FIFTY-SEVEN Snively Access CG to KEOKUK IA 118km
Oct5 Friday D126.81 km M 42 A 15.2 PT7 h45 RT 11h total 4544.1km

Wind Oh I think I will remove this comment as it is head wind day after day! A lady in the tourist info said canoeist going down the Mississippi River complain about the south winds too
Temp Oh I need a big Sun ikon! Not a cloud all day and 30C
Road Condition Well was great until we had to go on the divided hiway with very minimal shoulder [maybe12”] and parts with no paved shoulder at all. All had a drop down gravel piece.
Food: Breakfast Well we had to flee from the mosquitos at Snively before we could have breakfast
Lunch We pressed on and on today to make it to Keokuk so lunch was on the bench at Burlington tourist info
Supper We pigged out on baked potatoes with beans, spinach filled nuggest, CINAMON BUNS! All home cooked as we are in a hotel by choice so we can tour around the city tomorrow
Overall: Well to all those decendants of Florence French [Tomlinson] if your reading this you know we are in KEOKUK IOWA the birth place of that same Grandma! We were 180 km north of here 2 days ago and I talked Ken [well didn’t take too much persuasion] him into diverting to down here. He thought we could come back in our old age, but I don’t think I will be coming this way again for a long time…. It is a long long way from home! By any type of transportation. Anyways what is a trip without looking up some geniology. We went racing to the cemetery where Great Grandfather and grandmother French are buried to find 7000 gravestones! Where to start? Well we road around until dark and headed back to the hotel to regroup and eat supper after a very long day in the saddle.
We spent the evening on the internet and low and behold I found a sight with the listing of the people buried in Oakland Cemetary Keokuk Iowa and found 4 : Frank and his wife Eunice, their son Fred and daughter Helen [Ada and Lillian are buried in Pella, Iowa so that will be another trip maybe] I must ask Thalia if she knows why they are over there. I do know they returned from Canada to Pella Iowa and lived there for a time, but I think as Fred was here in Keokuk that is why the parents are also.

Anyways we are also going to the address of the family home which I got off a postcard to Grandma when she lived here. Also I was able to get off the internet a city listing of names and addresses [they had no phones] for 1901 and it lists: Frank [father] Eunice[mother] Ada[Physician-dtr] Florence[dtr] Helen [dtr] as living at 521 Morgan Street so we will go and see what is on that sight today! Well tomorrow! I didn’t realize they had listings other than cencus so it’s kind of neat they did. Well off to bed.

day56 Snively Access

2007-10-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

DAY FIFTY-SIX Bennet IA to Snively Access CG on lake
Oct 4 Thursday D 77km M 44.5 A 15.4 PT 5h RT9h total 4425.9km

Wind from the south again! Although the road didn’t go straight all the time
Temp Really warm 30C in afternoon Went Swimming Oct 4 and the water wasn’t cold
Road Condition No shoulder other than gravel all day on cement roads
Food: Breakfast usual
Lunch in Muscatine at 1430 at Taco Bell and we actually liked it! Seven layer veggie burrittos
Supper Tomato/Avocado/cheese salad and bread with a lot of mosquitos!
Overall: One of the most fun days. We waited for the tent to dry which took until 0930, then road back into Bennett and phoned Aunt Thalia for an address in Keokuk off one of Grandma’s postcards The address is 521 Morgan St. We checked it out on the map and it is right down town so the house may be gone now but we plan to go check it out tomorrow if and when we ever get there. We will be looking for a graveyard also as Grandma’s brother Fredrich died in Keokuk as did her sister Helen. Both of here parents are buried in Keokuk too so we hope to find that info. Should be an interesting day as we think we are at least 117km away… might try for a hotel downtown.
One of the things that made today so interesting was
a. the terrain is so much like southern central Alberta it is amazing and if they were harvesting wheat you couldn’t tell it apart
b. I stopped to take a picture of a person harvesting corn and she offered to take me on a round of the field so I went…. She thought one circuit would be 30minutes, but closer to an hour later Ken was still standing at the side of the road. … interesting things I learned
· Karen The combine Queen, who is about my age with 4 children and 5 grandchildren, related that this corn is for domestic use for things like corn syrup, etc.
· 1sq mile of field which is 640 acres Right now $3.25 a bushel for corn or ~$1000 for one bin as pictured
· cost of farming is getting very high…. Combine ~$100thousand and the head for corn ~$60thousand and same for a head for soya beans
· she updated my thinking about the wood burners or corn burners… they burn the kernels not the plant and you cann’t burn either or so when corn is too costly you cann’t burn wood
· they alternate beans and corn each year in different fields
· land is ~$6000/acre here which is very good land
· it was really neat sitting in air conditioned comfort watching the corn be mutilated and see it go up into the back of the combine and then she dumped it into a wagon pulled by a tractor. A lot to watch that the tractor isn’t going too fast or slow so the kernels are onto the ground! Their dog who is 11 years old runs along side and makes sure she is in the right rows…. The corn is planted in rows specifically the right width for the combine to fit down… maybe the pictures show it as it is really hard to explain
· Anyways she said it would take weeks to finish this one field and they have 5 just as big! They are hopping the weather will remain warm now for the rest of October as so are we!
We are sitting in the tent hiding from the mosquitos… and trying to kill the ones that are in the tent! The fish are jumping and making such big splashes Ken went to check they weren’t something else ie alligators or something!
This is truly a lovely spot with no other campers on a Thursday night. We are right at the shore of this lake which isn’t often any longer in Canada. Most campsites are away from the water and the picnic sites are on the shore. Well Mom often said be careful what you wish for and we were really wishing the warm weather would return and with it came mossies!
I must mention what a neat city Muscatine is. The down town is very old buildings and seems to have lots of businesses going. The grocery store had duel language signs everywhere…. Spanish and English! Lots of Mexican type foods in the grocery also… Ken spoke to a fellow outside the grocery that said he isn’t taking his 3 weeks holidays as they will pay him out instead and it’s $1000. in his pocket…. Wages cann’t be much making plastic buckets. He agreed that there are a lot of Mexicans here.
Ken is finding the daylight hours way to short for his liking. We got into camp about 6:30pm and the sun is down by 7pm with about ½ hour of twilight. Diner in the dark once again. The new addition of a night light in the tent is marvelous! I am very excited to go to Keokuk tomorrow!

day 55 Bennet IA

2007-10-05T22:47:00.000-07:00

DAY FIFTY-FIVE Dyersville IA to Bennet IA
Oct 3/07 Wednesday D110.58 km M 46.8 A 16.3 PT6h52 RT8.5h total 4348.9km

Wind minimal from the southwest in am…. More from the south in pm
Temp Beautiful sunny day with no clouds! Up to 25C in afternoon…. Tank top day!
Road Condition Well so far we cann’t say much nice about Iowa roads… cement hiways [blump, blump] rough and gravel drop down shoulders… not nice, but all drivers seem to wait or move over for us
Food: Breakfast Outside the grocery…. Apples and high fiber bars!
Lunch Well we didn’t have a sticky bun stop… Ken will be in withdrawal! We had a picnic in Onslow I had a tomato, avocado with cheese pieces and carrots salad… the salad spritzer is a great invention… doesn’t need refrigeration… although I have my freezer pack frozen today. Many “pop” stops as warmer day Ken is a peanut butter boy!
Supper We repeated lunch with English muffins… the selection of breads is pretty poor… no bakery’s in these small towns.
Accommodation: Well we got back on track and made it to Bennet Park CG Although it is 5km out of Bennet, it is a really nice grassy spot and very reasonable at $5 [$7.50 with electricity] We splurged and bought an extention cord and a night light which is really nice in the tent! Mossies are out at sunset….. gone by dark…. Millions of stars!
Overall: Really a nice day with the warm sun… lots of hills….Had to play catch up and do 24km to Cascade from yesterdays plan…after that the day was long, but nice riding. The farms seem larger, more prosperous from the look of the farm yards. They are very busy harvesting today as it is one of the first dry days in a while. Corn and more corn today. Some more mixed farms… heard roosters crowing, saw really big pigs. They have small little “dog-houses” one for each sow… they are loving the wet weather… just laying in the mud!

The small towns seem to be more viable than say in southern Saskatchewan… everyone seems busy and they seem to be keeping their post offices and gas stations. ++flies… I think this is usual for the fall, but you cann’t even go in a restaurant without there being lots.

Flags….. every home has one… are they more patriotic? Lots of Pumpkins and Halloween ghosts and decorations.

Lots of the wood heaters seen…. We also saw them advertised as “corn burners” too.

Ken commented that we are still seeing lots of dead raccoons on the road, but we have yet to see one in a campsite… or have it come visit our stuff in the night.

Looking at going to Keokuk 184km out of the way so will take up the 2 extra days we are ahead and 2 more days to get back on track…. Worth it or not?

Day 54 McGregor to Dyersville IA

2007-10-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

DAY FIFTY-FOUR McGregor IA to Dyersville IA
Oct 2 Tuesday D 75.82km M 39.3 A 13.6 PT5h32 RT9h total 4238.4km

Wind Oh I’m fed up with talking about the south winds Head winds all day once again!
Temp 18C with 100% humidity first thing this morning to 22C and a thunderstorm by 3:30pm
Road Condition great with some 8% grades up and down; Hwy 52 terrible with 2” drop to gravel shoulder/ traffic++
Food: Breakfast Boring as usual until we stopped for a coffee break and had cinnamon buns in Gutteberg
Lunch Luxenburg picnic
Supper Pizza out while the clothes washed themselves
Accommodation: No trouble at the campsite. Up and off by 0700 as foggy and a long day ahead.
Overall: Really strenuous day up up and down down into the wind. Neat views of large Mississippi River. Threat of rain all day finally hit at 1430 in New Vienna. We raced into a auto mechanics shop and stayed there for an hour until the lightening and thunder moved off. Really rained hard. We made a reservation with a hotel and set off in a drizzle to arrive a little wet. It poured on and off all evening. We did our laundry while we went out for pizza and it poured and blew a gail once more. There were tornado warnings for south of us, but I don’t think they hit Iowa. Very turbulent weather. We have headed away from the Mississippi River as we go straight south. Didn’t make it to Cascade today but hope to make up the lost time in the next few days. My grandmother [Florence French/Tomlinson] was from Keokuk Iowa in the extreme south. We are hoping to go there if the weather systems start to settle down in the next few days.

Day 53 Brownsville to McGregor IA

2007-10-02T19:36:00.000-07:00

DAY FIFTY-Three Brownsville, MN to McGregor IA
Oct 1 Monday D93.51 km M 49.1A 16.7 PT 5h35 RT9h total 4162.5 km

Wind I love to say it….. NO WIND!!!
Temp warm…. We got up to 18C and muggy and it was overcast all day with threat of rain which never came
Road Condition great rolling ride along the rambling Mississippi River
Food: Breakfast fruit
Lunch Well we have to mention the CHOCOLATE PIE for coffee in New Albin MN It was scrumcious
Supper Had a late lunch of Pizza in Lansing and we pedaled on.
ACCOMODATION: Red Blood Municipal CG: Well we were headed to Sleepy Hollow CG which we went to but it had no showers so we came back down out of the hills to go to Spook Cave CG and came across the entrance for this one…. 1m off the road to find it was closed yesterday too…. Well we debated… I went to ask at 2 different houses… got cornered by 2 dogs… “nice dog… nice dog” as I backed away anyways I was exhausted so we put up tent to learn that there was open camping a little farther down the road… this spot apparently was closed due to flooding…. No signs so we are staying put… hopefully no one troubles us.
Overall: Hot and humid. Left once more at 8am! The days are shorter now with only 12 hours of sunlight… that is if it is sunny. It was a good ride. Lots of mobiles and float houses all along the river which seemed to be braided. Lots of sign of flooding into fields and areas you could see the trees were large and under water. Hard to know if the housing is summer homes or permanent houses. Incredible number of old old…[50’s] mobiles.

Winona to Brownsville MN Day 52

2007-10-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

DAY FIFTY-TWO Winona MN to Brownsville, MN [should have made IOWA]
Sept 30 Sunday D76.93 km M 41.1 A 15.1 PT 5h RT h total km

Wind pedaled pedaled pedaled into the wind all day… very exhauting
Temp Got up after it rained and thundered all night. Hot overnight [south wind]and very HUMID! Everything feels sticky
Road Condition We went off Hwy 61 onto CR 7 which went over hill and dail up up to a bluff with apple orchards much like Kelowna. The roads were all good. Day just seemed to go on and on and threat of rain all day.
Accommodation We arrived at Wildcat landing CG to find it had closed that day. There were showers but closed. No one around to talk to so we set up in a shelter and stayed the night. The outhouses were open. We had another thunderstorm which started right after a great supper and went on and off all night. We were right on the Mississippi river and watched the barges go by all night. The train was across the river and the whistles sounded very musical across the water.
Food: Breakfast usual
Lunch I had a subway veggie sand and Ken ordered veggie omlet [took 45min to come as the cook had quit] Interesting Truck Stop…. They were so busy that people were ordering meals and leaving before they were delivered because it was so long with 1 cook. I felt sorry for the waitress, but it didn’t seem to bother her.
Supper beans on toast and burgers… were really good as I made the fire! In the raised barbeque Lots of drift wood on the beach to make fire with. We were entertained by the fishermen going by and the barges of maybe coal.
Overall: Up and off by 8am… not usual but tent is dry. Had to make up 21km from yesterday as we stopped earlier than we anticipated and had not realized it was still 20km to go to the expected campsite. Oh well. Lots of spots where we could see that they had had “land-slides” down hill sides… one spot where a house was taken out between 2 others… lots of huge trees down… just uprooted.

Minnisota Entire Log

2007-09-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

View Entire Minnisota Log with Pictures

FIFTY DAYS FROM HOME!!! Sept 28

2007-09-29T13:32:00.000-07:00

DAY FIFTY Lake City to Winona 89 km
Sept 28 Friday D 93.16km M 36.6 A 16.7 PT 5h33 RT 6.5h total 3980.4km

Wind No wind in my ears finally….but slightly from the south… meaning into the wind for another day!
Temp Lovely warm morning with the sun on the tent 12C warmed up to 25C so yes Bruce we are in shirt sleeves!
Road Condition good wide shoulder…. Became a divided hiway with 0 traffic so really nice rolling Could be Kelowna when you look across the Mississippi River and see the hills. Still really LAKE country like homes.
Accommodation Well we didn’t go to the KOA as the Prairie Island Park and CG looked way to good. They are having a Boats and bluegrass festival this weekend. The camp is separated into mostly tents[unserviced] and then caravans [services]so we don’t have to listen to generators, heaters etc turning on and off all night. This is the most people we have seen in a campsite for about 3 weeks… mostly the festival I quess. Food: Breakfast Great new apples HARRISONS
Lunch Stopped in Wabasha for a picnic. The fire hall had some really loud emergency siren go off at 1130 and again at 1200…go figure doesn’t anyone have a watch?
Supper Well every time we get into a bigger city [Winona is 16,000pop] we get better food in the grocery at least…. Good “chicken-like” burgers [Morning Star]. We approached John and Beth [he must be a boy scout] who had a ragging bon fire and cooked our burgers there as it is getting dark early [6:15pm] so no time to make our own fire. Anyways Salad and burgers hit the spot! [22million pounds of beef burgers are being recalled for ecoli!]

Overall: I think this is one of the nicest days for a while… Lots of sun, rolling hills not as big as in Kelowna, good road surface and minimal traffic with really pretty views.[They don’t make cereal in Kellogg] Lots of geese and Pelicans. The train line runs across on the other side of the River and I think there is one every ½ hour! Everyone is really friendly. There is a fellow here in camp who is hitch-hiking and walking all over… he is from the deep south and has more stuff than Ken and I put together… plus a Marmadook Dog….needs a special person to pick him up. He is one of the only dark black skin colored persons we have seen so far in our travels….

There has been a flooding here [area declared a disaster]Federal Emergency Measures Association Relief inacted for Goodview City. Reminders of the fire and the relief in Kelowna a few years ago. They said the creeks flooded and mud slides…. Some areas along the hiway are evacuatied. Sad.
Some music heard this evening, but not too loud… a bongo player in the middle of the night met with yelling from another tent! Not Woodstock by far!

Sept 27 Minisoda with a touch of Wisconsin

2007-09-29T13:31:00.000-07:00

DAY Fourty-Nine Afton State Pk thru Wisconsin to Lake City MN 85 km
Sept 27 Thursday D86.09 km M 44.0 A16.1 PT519 RT total 3887.2 km

Wind slight from the REAR!
Temp Hot…. Awoke to foggy morning over the river….. cleared off and was hot all day.
Road Condition Rolling great ride! Guy at the nursery called it “Coulie” Rd and he is right
Accommodation: Hok-Si-La Municipal Pk and CG Tent camping on the Mississippi.. Lake Pepin Very nice park like setting with no cars allowed in the campsite. They have carts to bring stuff from the parking lot. We are the only campers so very quiet. They stay open until end of October if the weather holds out. +++squirrels
Food: Breakfast usual
Lunch Nesbitts Nursery along the way Great Apple Cider! With our spinach salad!
Supper We went out for a pig out of Nachos and Quesideas
Overall: Great day with nice weather until we started to set up camp and it tried to rain, but went off to a clear sky with a bright moon. I don’t know why we saw more dead deer today than other days… more population, more traffic… they don’t have any deer lights …reflectors or fences along the hiways. We stopped for a break at a apple orchard and picked up apples for breakfast tomorrow. We have been very disappointed to be buying in the stores apples from New Zealand and they are last years so really punky. These ones will be really yummy as she gave us a taste and they were only $1 for 2 huge ones! We also stopped in Prescott at the Strawberry Fields Café which has great veggie choices… to bad it was only 1030 so we didn’t take the bait and eat early. We spent most of the day on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River, but are back in Minnisoda tonight.

Lindstrom MN Day 47 Sept 25 2 days ahead of schedule

2007-09-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

DAY Fourty-Seven Springvale CG to Lindstrom 65 km
Sept 25 Tuesday D73.79 km M 41.2A18 PT 4h RT5.5h total3713.5 km

Wind behind us for the most part, then into it for the south portion
Temp cooler 65F
Road Condition good minimal traffic
Accommodation: Well the CG we headed for was gone so we went to the visitors info and found Whispering Bay CG ok… $20 plus for showers which are in need of upgrade. It is a summer resort for permanent summer stays
Food: Breakfast usual
Lunch Another “Beef Lovers Café” Yukky…. I didn’t think there was so much bad food to be had… Ken tried to best the worst grilled cheese sand he has ever had and he did it! White bread with cheese slices…. Yek! I went for the split pea soup… small taste of bacon and a white dinner bun! Not bad for a meat and potatoes restaurant! The banana cream pie was excellent Ken says with real banana slices
Supper Boring sandwiches
Overall: Pretty good day after the events of yesterday. Looked like rain all day.
More PEDAL PEDAL……
Hills – what are these doing here?
Trees- all colors, green, yellow, red, deep red, orange leaves and those falling like rain in the wind
Dead life- lots of skunks, what we think are possums…. No hair on the long tail and the size of a skunk, raccoons
Cows
High clouds-looking like rain all day
Signs for BAIT- fishing bait- live minnows in shops to buy for bait
Turtle- was in the middle of the road- maybe hit- over 1 foot diameter shell and very vicious when we tried to save him
Lots of acreages and lakes… acreage or farm…. Farms have untied dogs!
“Detour signs” - we went anyways as said 2miles and we only needed 2km- reached a piece of new pavement!

Monday Sept 24 Day 46

2007-09-26T06:14:00.000-07:00

DAY Fourty-Six Malmo to Springvale MN 100km
Sept 24 Monday D 100.01 km M 36.9 A 16.1 PT6h10 RT8.5h total 3639.7km

Wind All day none stop headwind as we were going straight south and it was a south wind until last few km
Temp warm when we got up 15C and up to 25 with threat of hail or tornado in pm
Road Condition good
Accommodation: Fabulous… we were getting worried there wouldn’t be a campsite as no signs for same until we saw campers thru the trees. Woman running it is so so nice. It started to absolutely pour once we were under their deck and it continued for about an hour. She said we could sleep in the games room so don’t need to put up the tent! Wonderful and the price is ridiculous for the amenities… $2 per person and usually you get to swim in the pool too! Definitely a spot to tell other cyclists about! They are closing for the season on this weekend so we are a bit concerned that other sites we have planned might be also. She said we are the latest cyclists she has ever had.
Food: Breakfast fruit/bread/cheese for Ken and fruit for me
Lunch We stopped in Isle and Ken had the hugest plate of pancakes…. Stomach ached after those. I was more conservative and had a wrap. Nice Diner…Pat and Kariis Diner with old stuff like “Elvis” memorabilia. Good choice!
Supper used our little “cup-boiler” to make soup and had sands as it still is very wet outside and raining on and off. The boiler is a small weight to carry and we have used it fairly often for hot chocolate etc.
Overall Well it was another….. pedal pedal …. Skunk
Pedal, Pedal…. Look there is a quad road parallel to the road with little road signs just for them!
Pedal, Pedal…. wind
Pedal, pedal….. SNAKE!! Oh gees don’t run over it!
Pedal pedal….. more wind and hills!
Pedal, Pedal… “She’ll be coming round the Mtn” singing to keep myself Pedalling!
Pedal, Pedal….glimpses of Mille Lacs Lake… lots of better camping choices
Pedal, Pedal….Resort, Mobiles, oh oh here comes a yapping DOG….pedal, pedal, pedal faster!
Pedal, Pedal…..Stop for lunch in Isle Yum…. They named some burgers “Popeye spinach burger, but it’s not veggie!
Hard to get the legs Pedal Pedaling after lunch as we only went 28km and have 100 to make the campsite!
Pedal, Pedal….smell……deer… well remains
Pedal, Pedal…. Clouds are forming
Pedal, Pedal…. Trees [wind breaks] thankyou for the planting of the same by someones grandfather
Pedal, Pedal…. More pedaling more pedaling
Pedal, Pedal…. Clouds are getting darker and the wind is stronger!
Pedal, Pedal….. corn fields again
Pedal, Pedal…. 63km Ogilvie finally…2pm…4hr on the road…. thought the school up ahead was an auto reckers….. oops student cars. Stopped to buy some provisions and it started to sprinkle…. Ah pedal on
Pedal, Pedal…. It’s pouring now… who said not to put on the rain gear!
Pedal, Pedal…. Is that thunder?
Pedal, Pedal… oh don’t worry there are telephone poles to protect us….. Lightening……one thousand one, two, three CRACK…… yikes keep pedaling…. More rain is bouncing off the pavement!
Pedal, Pedal…. Should we seek shelter at a farm…. Oh no we are almost out of it and turning right soon
Pedal, Pedal….. still into a feerce head wind
Pedal, Pedal…. Why is there no rainbow….. oh because it’s going to pour again
Pedal, Pedal….oh 85km at last we get to turn left and have a side wind Oh I think the wind would just like to change south west to south east! Wouldn’t you know it!…. Occasional homes with really nice yards, lots of trees uprooted from the storms of the last few days. People out using chain saws and cleaning up the debris, Lots of wood piles and wood for sale
Pedal, Pedal…Km 98 …. We should be at the campsite and no sign of it or a town of Springvale!!
Pedal, Pedal….. its starting to sprinkle again!!! Oh look in the trees are some caravans! Where is the gate it’s going to pour once more!…. Ah no more pedaling km 100…6h of pedaling… just a wonderful hot shower and good food and new friends!
Another day done!

Sept 23 Day 45

2007-09-26T06:13:00.000-07:00

DAY Fourty-Five Crosslake to Maimo 86 km
Sept 23 Sunday D 89.09 km M 30.5 A 15.3 PT 5h48 RT8h total 3539.7 km

Wind Terrible wind all day from the south and that’s the way we went! George and Maxine road with us out of town
Temp great back up to 25C most of the day which was shirt sleeve weather once again!
Road Condition mostly good roads with new pavement except for frost heaves on CR30 &32
Accommodation: Interesting spot… it is no longer the Why-Not-Café… it is a games room now… have permanent trailers and lots of grass for tenters. [$15.] Laundry, nice showers which are $2 but include a towel, shampoo and creams. Nice touch. Lots of other camping so could have gone on farther. A few too many dogs in the park… barking ++.
Food: Breakfast Maxine spoiled us with lots of variety of fruit and toast
Lunch bought groceries at Aitkins and had another picnic…. Oh oh Ken got a flat tire so lunch was extended
Supper Mashed potatoes and veggie burgers cooked over Kelly Kettle… worked well Then beer at the games room…. Then she told us she has no liquor license! We sat inside and used the computer and had 3 drinks for $5.
Overall Both very tired due to the windy day… George and Maxine road out with us a ways and then were going to ride around the lake to home. They are both looking fit. George had 3stints installed this summer , so has purposely lost 14lbs…. We won’t be able to keep up to him on the ski hill this winter. Nice to see their “real” home.

Day 42-43-44

2007-09-26T06:11:00.000-07:00

DAY Fourty-Two Park Rapids 0km REST DAY
Sept 20 Thursday D11.82 km M 25.3 A 15.3 PT46min RT 3h total 3347.7 km

Overall: Well it poured rain all night and into the day. We spent until noon in the tent…. Reading and sleeping! [Ken] Now that’s a true day off!

We cycled back into town and spend the afternoon at a internet café. The best lunch we have had so far! Great paninis @ the Bella caffe’ in Park Rapids! For sure a spot if you come here! They had to shut the place down with us still in it at 6pm!

DAY Fourty-Three Park Rapids to Pine River 75 km
Sept 21 Friday D 75km M 40.5 A 20.0 PT3.5h RT5 h total 3422.2km

Wind started off from the south, so we were into a head wind and side wind and by end of the day more west so it pushed us the final bit to Pine River
Temp nice and warm overnight [after a horrific thunder and lightening and hail storm =dime size]15C to 22C
Road Condition all good except SR 64 little shoulder, 87 new pavement no shoulder, no traffic. Hwy 2 ok shoulder
Accommodation: well after carrying a soaking wet tent all day we thought a motel would be in order but the information fellow said it was not to rain tonight and city park is free to cyclists. So here we are all by ourselves in a nice park with running water/flush toilets, small shelter, raised fire barbeques… with lake view!
Food: Breakfast ate in a ray of sunshine avoiding the new black flies that hatched due to the storm
Lunch Stopped at Betty’s Bloomers Greenhouse corner of SR64 and CR2 They were batting down the hatches before the storm hits today. Wind very strong at the moment. Had our picnic in their yard… they supplied Ken coffee! And we left with a home made jam….. nice people. Betty and her husband will take cyclists in as campers too!
Supper Kelly Kettle soup and sands in the park.
Overall What can I say it was a really easy ride compared to other days.
Pedal Pedal….lizard
Pedal Pedal…. Skunk parts
Pedal Pedal…. Car
Pedal Pedal….. pine trees, gorgeous fall colors [leaves changing with this cool weather]

UPDATE: We did see a strange site in North Dakota… even stopped to look at why a farmer had tall lights like a baseball field made in his pasture!…. we thought later that is where the movie Field of Dreams was shot!

We checked to see if our friend Don made it back to Quebec… saw his bike there but his email comes back not home..where oh where are you Don Forbes

Walked all over the town of Pine River… just under 1000 in pop. Not near the town that Park Rapids is, but does have an internet café…. Closes at 4pm on Friday night! Nothing open later than 5
DAY Fourty-Four Pine River to Crosslake 28 km
Sept 22 Saturday D 28.2 km M 35.7 A 18.8 PT1h3 h RT2 h total 3450.6km

Wind out of the south…. So side wind most of the day
Temp warm overnight and all day blue sky no clouds
Road Condition good shoulder no traffic
Accommodation: Fabulous visiting with ski friends
Food: Breakfast usual
Lunch Boat picnic as they took us on a long boat ride thru at least 3 lakes… there are channels connecting the lakes.
Supper Scrumcious veggie lasengna …home made!
Overall Very shot cycle day along lakes and resort areas. Had one DOG chase, but otherwise uneventful ride. I really must get one of those Dog Taser Whistles.

George and Maxine were home when we arrived so had a great visit, washed our really smelly clothes, got in a boat ride and then a tour of the “town”. Some really large homes around the lakes… summer cottages! Lots of pontoon boats and fishing boats. Must have been a fishing competition as they were all going in to the marina at the same time. Couldn’t ask for a better relaxing day…. Like a day off! And indoor night! The leaves seem to be changing and then just falling off… maybe because it was so dry. Definitely a little piece of Paradise… they planned their own home and it is really gorgeous with a stream thru the yard and all natural with no lawn to mow! They have a electric fence to keep the deer out as they eat everything!

Log North Dakota

2007-09-20T15:51:00.000-07:00

View Log With Pictures

DAY Fourty-One Callaway MN to Park Rapids 75km

2007-09-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

DAY Fourty-One Callaway MN to Park Rapids 75km [should be]
Sept 19 Wed D85.84 km M 38.8 A 16.2 PT 5h17 RT 8h total 3335.9 km

Wind Out of the cold north…. Not too strong. Gone by the pm
Temp 8C all morning, clear skys by Osage and 18C
Road Condition Great until we entered the Wildlife Refuge and at the Visitors center km23 became gravel until km40
Accommodation: Clean nice spot a little out of town. The owners are away so a fellow we met in town said just set up. We had a Kelly Kettle meal and early to bed.
Food: Breakfast at a Pub owned by the little hamlet of Callaway…. Coffee is free and we brought our own brekkie.
Lunch picnic in the ditch
Supper rice noodles and sands
Overall Saw deer, buffalo, CND geese, lots of ducks, wet lands and gravel in the wildlife refuge. Road wasn’t too bad as no traffic. Minnesota seems to have poorer soil, more hills and trees than North Dakota. Harvesting potatoes. The trucks were driving really fast to Park Rapids back and forth to the fields. They make Potato chips here! Was a bit longer in the saddle due to the gravel, but really quite scenic with all the little lakes. Ended up touring around town looking for a RV park that turned out to be long stay only. The information here was not too informative for the site we are at due to them not being Chamber members!

DAY Fourty Fargo to Callaway MN 84km

2007-09-20T13:53:00.000-07:00

DAY Fourty Fargo to Callaway MN 84km [should be]
Sept 18 TuesD 104 km M 32.2 with wind A 17[13 into wind] PT6 h RT 8.5h total 3250 km
Wind I don’t want to talk about wind anymore!! Head winds++ Detours into the wind!
Temp warm of course in the hotel this morning, but stayed cool all day
Road Condition good until we headed on the detour 11km off course into the north wind! With no shoulder and mega traffic!! Fast trucks, lots of traffic , but all moved over or slowed down
Accommodation: very basic camping tonight at Callaway City park [free] with portapotti and we are in the shelter with our tent. Pop. 200… I think they fudged that! Not many houses in town and no grocery store, just a garage with a few items. Nice people offering us advice on roads etc.
Food: Breakfast We hadn’t anticipated breakfast for the first time and Ken went to the hospital across the street and got apples and muffins from the cafeteria. Good idea!
Lunch Fenton café was as usual a greasy spoon, but it filled the stomach and I think I burned it off in the pm
Supper We used the Kelly kettle for the first time in days and had a great noodle supper with buns
Overall What a day! Got a surprise when we hit the detour signs and had to add 22km to the days route. I hadn’t slept all that well. Never do in a hotel. Had I noted it was the cleanest hotel I have been in in years! Beds a little soft for my liking… compared to a 1” thermarest! Started off and in minutes we were out of North Dakota… I didn’t get a flag pin! Oh I hope I can get one via email ! Into Minnesota and into headwinds right off! Not a good start George! Then turned east and side winds a bit better. @ 36km hit the detour and that was not good. Headed North into the wind for 11km to Fenton. Nice people in the restaurant, with the usual greasy fair, but well presented. We headed east with a side wind 18k to Ulen where they have a great store with okay stuff. Didn’t check if they have camping as we still had a little energy to go one. The owner of the grocery suggested we continue on 10k on 34[16] to save milage and head south on ~11k on 7 then resume to Callaway. It was a long haul, but we did it and got in before the sprinkling of rain…. Wonder where Derryl is? I don’t think I could travel in mid summer as I would worry about all the other cyclists we met and if they are safely into camps. I really felt last night that a day off in Fargo would have been a good idea and today half way to Fenton I really was wishing I had suggested it! Met a guy as we entered Callaway that said he had seen us along the way from Devils Lake, he really liked our reflective vests and wishes more cyclists wore them. 2100 and starting to rain…. Glad we pitched the tent under the shelter! There is no notice in this park that you can camp or not… wouldn’t know if we didn’t belong to Adventure Cycling… Frogs on road! Ken had to move the portapotti so the door could open… I think they figure camping is done for the year!

DAY Thirty-Nine Hope to Fargo 110 km

2007-09-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

DAY Thirty-Nine Hope to Fargo 110 km
Sept 17/07 Monday D 114.78 km M 44.5 A 17.4 PT 6.5h RT 9 h total 3145.8 km

Wind Light wind in the morning picked up by afternoon when we were going straight into it. None when it rained!
Temp 8C in tent in am Warm overnight. Another misty morning. Gone is our blue sky. Overcaste 20C and raining in the afternoon. Just drizzling.
Road Condition mostly good, but turned to gravel shoulder and Cement road.
Accommodation: Well it was raining and we were wet so decided a motel night in order. The SCANDIA HOTEL 717-4th st N Fargo is one of the cleanest I have ever been in Upscale or not. New rugs New Paint. Nice place Good price. $56 It is next to the hospital and used by persons visiting or having treatments. Could have contacted a warmshowers person but didn’t want to give such short notice. Derryl had met a guy in Cooperstown who invited him over in Fargo. Nice nice people here.
Food: Breakfast Ken had pancakes at the Ice crème shop
Lunch Arthur: picnic then tried a restaurant, but no pie, no deserts, no veggie stuff
Supper We had a great supper out with Derryl at Juano’s on Broadway. Great Mexican feed for 3 veggies!
Overall Well Derryl showed up as we were having breakfast. He had stayed in Cooperstown last night and got up at 6am to try to beat the wind today. We didn’t think we would meet up with him again as he is going on to Maine and we are heading south soon. The wind wasn’t as bad as yesterday but a long day in the saddle. The afternoon passed quickly with Derryl along too.

DAY Thirty-Eight Pekin to Hope 98 km

2007-09-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

DAY Thirty-Eight Pekin to Hope 98 km
Sept 16/07 Sunday D 103.18km M 39 A 14.6 PT 7h RT8.5 h total 3031 km
Wind South wind and guess what way we were mostly going…. SOUTH!! And otherwise east with a cross wind
Temp 5C in tent in am 0C up to 22C by 11am Not a cloud in the sky!
Road Condition mostly good, but turned to gravel shoulder 200 west of Cooperstown
Accommodation: Well surprise surprise the campground /city park in Hope has no bathrooms open so we are beside the railway track and an ice cream shop for the night … no motels in this town. So much for plans
Food: Breakfast same old same old
Lunch Binford Picnic lunch in their camp ground…. Very nice with showers and small cabins to rent
Supper Salad and sands then ice cream dessert
Overall UP to FOG ++ Canada Geese flying north instead of south! Very hard day into the wind. Hope a nice clean looking town with a camp spot by the pool. Only concern is the pool is closed and the washrooms have the water turned off. Need to have a site where the campgrounds are rated. I think I will start one with biker concerns.

DAY Thirty-Seven Devils Lake to Pekin 88 km

2007-09-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

DAY Thirty-Seven Devils Lake to Pekin 88 km
Sept 15/07 Saturday D 88.74km M 30.1 A 15.2 PT 5.5h RT7 h total 2927.8 km
Wind out of the south and we are going east s side wind. We now turned south to Pekin! Straight into 25m/h wind.
Temp 8C in tent in am You know it’s getting cold when RV Antifreeze is on sale and snowmobiles are on sale
Road Condition Snakes on road “live”; skunks, raccoons and deer “dead”
Accommodation:
Food: Breakfast same old same old
Lunch Café in Lakota…. “SIT Long-Talk Much-Laugh Often” Not great When will I learn!
Supper Corn on cob…Yum and Veggie burgers
Overall Corn fields, soyabeans, potatoes harvesting; Last part of day worst Great to meet Donna and Allen on their farm. She is a postal worker and he is a retired teacher-school administrator. They have retired as farmers and the government pays them not to work the land. I’m not really sure why … if it is to save the land for future generations or what, but it is sort of a agricultural reserve. Nice to just sit and visit and of course the showers were wonderful! She likes ‘bears’ too.

Sept 14/07 Devils Lake

2007-09-15T06:11:00.000-07:00

DAY Thirty-Six Rugby ND to Devils Lake 97 km
Sept 14/07 Friday D105.06 km M 36 A 20.4 PT 5 h 24 RT 6.5h total2839.1 km

Wind slight from the rear
Temp -5C overnight Now that’s cold -2C in tent! Sunny all day but finally got up to +8 by noon
Road Conditions: cement road with blump blump shoulder variable from gravel to wide paved
Accommodations: well we just went into the Tourist Info on the chance there would be a campsite in town and found out the state park we were headed for had been closed for 5 years! Oops so the lady in the office said their Bible Camp takes cyclist camping so off we went another 10km to I think a Lutheran Bible camp… very nice like Naramata
FOOD Breakfast: usual fruit in the Cenex cafe
Lunch: City Park in Leeds Picnic as usual
Supper Couscous with black beans, romain salad cheese and crackers
Overall really good day slightly up hill with the wind at our backs. We stayed on Hwy 2 instead of going on Adventure Cycle route as shorter and there is no traffic on this divided hiway anyways. Interesting Camp. I’m not sure what denomination the Bible camp is as no signs. Seems set up like Naramata’s United Church camp with numerous buildings that were motels, homes etc and they have retreats etc. They have a serviced campsite and a rustic spot too. Knowone is in the camp spot tonight. There is a retreat on which looks like it is for teenage girls.
We met a cyclist from Brooklin NY [Steve Slovacek] going west today. He was young so not having too much trouble. He had stayed an extra day in Devils Lake yesterday due to the wind. Has a Trek touring 520 also.
Don’t expect it to be so cold tonight.
I picked up a “cross” that Rev Carol Cruise from Canton OH left. She is walking the circumferance of USA and wants you to pick up her crosses and send them south… I carried it 100km and gave it on with her wishes to the girl in the office here.

Sept 13 Thur 35 days from home!

2007-09-15T06:09:00.000-07:00

DAY Thirty-Five Minot ND to Rugby ND 105km
Sept 13/07 Thursday D 105.08km M39.5 A 25 PT4 h24 RT 5h total 2733.6 km
Wind Howling when we got up, Incredible wind from the north west all day When the road swung to the north I could hardly keep my bike up
Temp Blankets were great 10C in tent 5C outside! High today was 8C bloody cold! & windy[no complaints there] Expecting freezing temperatures tonight.. presently 10C in tent at 2000h…. will see. Ken got mittens! And a toque!
Road Conditions: rough gravel shoulder Quiet road , divided hiway all the way so we just took a lane. About 55km got a better shoulder. Everyone just moved over.
Accommodations: Cann’t say enough about Swenson’s Valley View RV Pk 1 800 735-5846 www.swensonrv.com tonight at Oakwood Inn and CG 601 Hwy 2SW Rugby, ND 701 776-5272 Nice grassy spot… cann’t do anything about the wind. Has laundry, internet free, microwave and tv spot. Looks like a clean motel too. $8 to camp
FOOD Breakfast: usual fruit
Lunch: Towner… was to be our destination, but the wind blew us so fast we came on to Rugby. Had our sandwiches in a Cenex station that has tables inside and hot food for sale… we made our own sandwiches and had hot drinks… they didn’t seem to mind at all.
Supper we found some boil in a bag rice bean meal and had veggie burgers all microwaved Worked but not fancy
Overall We pedaled off without Derryl our companion as he had some things yet to do in the big city. We left with the wind at our backs and arrived in Rugby same, but had a few “snakes “ of the road which caused us to turn north into the wind. Wonderful when the wind was at our backs… note the Average speed of 25!
Reached Gainville looking for a café and got taken in by the electric company guys having a meeting. Ken got coffee and we got out of the wind for a few minutes. They are just investigating wind energy usage… it is always windy here so makes sense. Seeing ++ fields of corn.. starting the harvest. Surprised us to see they don’t pick the cobs, just mulch it all up. Saw a beautiful deer down by the Mouse river… couldn’t smell us so thought we couldn’t see it!

Sept 12 Day Off in Minot

2007-09-15T06:07:00.000-07:00

DAY Thirty-four Minot ND Day Off
Sept 12/07 Wednesday D 16 km
Well today was spent shopping for fleece blankets[looked for wool but I guess that’s too old fashioned] and going to the bike shop for chain wax and extra tube. That said we have only had one slow leak for me and 2 for Ken and no real flats that needed immediate changes, but it doesn’t hurt to carry a new tube. Biked about the town. Much nicer than I remember it 25 years ago in a snow storm moving back from New Jersey! All yards are neat, old war time houses restored and renowed, some new houses. Montana was Menonite and North Dakota seems to be Lutheran. Lots of references to Norwegians here.

Wild turkeys in camp! Real ones!

Great veggie food cooked by moi!

Nice people. The manager is here until end of Oct, then off to Arizona until April.
Nice to get clothes washed too!

2007-09-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

Montana 2007

2007-09-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

DAY Thirty-three New Town ND to Minot ND 120km [70 MILES]
Sept 11/07 Tuesday D 127.57 km M43.1 A 17.5 PT7 h16 RT 9h total 2612.2 km
Wind no wind in the morning and into the wind later in the afternoon, but nothing like yesterday
Temp very cool most of the day 5C in am, 12 C by noon, 15C rest of sunny day
Road Conditions: rough shoulder Quiet road until on Hwy US 83 which is divided Some frost heaves that were bad. Still fairly hilly.
Accommodations: Stopped at Pat’s Motel and CG but it is in need of renos so we came on to Svenson’s RV park at the top of the hill and it is fabulous. They are not used to having cyclists so cost $0 for 2 nites and they have a kitchen building with tv, free long distance phoning, hot hot showers… incredible
FOOD Breakfast: usual fruit
Lunch: Makot… picnic in the park… getting boring yet…Not
Supper Finally found good vegitarian food in the super market… veggi burgers for supper on multigrain buns, fresh coleslaw….YUMMOverall Frost on the tents this morning so needless to say it was a cool night. Today was very very long pedaling up and over hill and dale. No services for 50k so not even a pop to be had…. Rememberances of going thru Saskatchewan. The body was really tired but still going good. Day off tomorrow.

Sept 10 Williston ND

2007-09-11T20:47:00.000-07:00

DAY Thirty-two Williston ND to New Town ND 116km
Sept 10/07 Monday D 129.92 km M55.6 A 19.3 PT6 h41 RT 9h total 2480.2 km
Wind: Incredible amount of wind mostly from back but lots from side trying to push me into the traffic
Temp 45F 5C Cool dewy morning. Time changed at state line so 7am start
Road Conditions: good shoulder but some frost heaves. Long day going up and down turning like a snake. Ran into Derryl our recumbent cyclist along the way
Accommodations: decided to go on to Van Hook CG supposedly on the lake, but not really. Old CG on site of a old town. $6 per tent NO WATER other than sludge!
FOOD Breakfast: usual fruit
Lunch: Lunds Landing picnic on their tables as closed
Supper bowl of great soup in New Town, ice crème at the café on the hiway just before turning to CG so just snacks after that
Overall Well the hills seemed to go on and on and on. Anna said it was roller coasterish but it was “collie after collie” We found Derryl our recumbent cyclist sitting in the ditch having a snack so we went on together. The wind was very strong and when it came from the back it was great just pushing us along like a wind surfer, but when it came from the side in gusts I had the breaks on full blast! Very tired by the end of the day. Fun to have someone else to talk to too.

Culbertson MT to Williston ND

2007-09-11T20:04:00.000-07:00

Well interesting day. We started off and after 25k looking for coffee, we came into Bainville. The town was having a pot luck in the park and we were flagged down and told to fill up a plate! Really nice people. One fellow told us all about the oil surface rights and such… they didn’t have to pay taxes on those rights unless they found oil on the land. There is a increase in the oil business down here just as up in Alberta. There is a housing crunch and people are moving in to the area in large numbers. We headed off and met 5 cyclists from Vancouver at the state line. They are doing the Northern Tier route in segments each year. They have done 2 one week stints and are headed home until next year. They had a driver and sag wagon so going faster and longer distances than us, but moteling it too. I am glad to have cycled Montana, but looking forward to different terraine. It was a little hillier on entering North Dakota, but I understand we have flat lands ahead. We have seen a lot of signs [don’t’ METH with our children] etc and read in the paper of real problems in Montana and North Dakota with METH. They call it “Whilliston White “ and it is apparently the best…. If there is such a thing…. Best at blowing your brain .. oh I’m so old! And out of touch!

Sept 9/07 Sunday D 74 km M42.6 A 17.6 PT4 h11 RT 5.5h total 2350.3 km by pedal

Log Kelowna BC to Cardston AB

2007-09-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

2007Logpart1Kelowna-to-Cardston

2007-09-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

DAY Thirty-one Culburtson MT to Williston ND 74 km +town
Sept 9/07 Sunday D 74 km M42.6 A 17.6 PT4 h11 RT 5.5h total 23503 km
Williston (AS) warmshowers friends tonight
Wind: none
Temp 10C in am warmed up quickly to 25C Sunny all day except coming into Williston threatening clouds
Road Conditions: good shoulder but some frost heaves
Accommodations: We decided to try another Warm showers friend.. Anna and Doug Hoffman are wonderful… they aren’t even cyclist! They just open their home to us…. Angles for sure
FOOD Breakfast: usual fruit
Lunch: Bainville… church potluck
Supper: picnic cold supper Fresh tomatoes and beets from Anna’s garden
Overall Well interesting day. We started off and after 25k looking for coffee, we came into Bainville. The town was having a pot luck in the park and we were flagged down and told to fill up a plate! Really nice people. One fellow told us all about the oil surface rights and such… they didn’t have to pay taxes on those rights unless they found oil on the land. There is a increase in the oil business down here just as up in Alberta. There is a housing crunch and people are moving in to the area in large numbers. We headed off and met 5 cyclists from Vancouver at the state line. They are doing the Northern Tier route in segments each year. They have done 2 one week stints and are headed home until next year. They had a driver and sag wagon so going faster and longer distances than us, but moteling it too. I am glad to have cycled Montana, but looking forward to different terraine. It was a little hillier on entering North Dakota, but I understand we have flat lands ahead.

Preping for the big cycle trip

2007-08-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

Aug 2/07
the count down starts 1 week until we set off.. my bags are packed just "home stuff" to complete before we are gone for 3 months by Push bike!