Today was a lot of riding straight into the wind. I did not sleep well at all last night, unfortunately. It was a small bed, not really big enough for both of us, so Chuck let me have the bed and he took the couch. But I couldn’t get comfortable. I got up at 5:30 and was on the road by 6:00. It was actually chilly this morning, and I needed my leggings and jacket. Right from the beginning, the wind was in my face. Chuck and I had agreed to meet for breakfast in Warwick.
Riding was slow, but I plodded along. I saw another deer and this time it ran along next to me for a while, leaping like it was on springs, and then finally it turned towards the road and ran across the road right in front of me. I noticed that it had an unusually long tail, almost like a golden retriever.
Chuck drove past me and went on to Warwick. A little while later, I got a text message from him: “Not much in Warwick except cell phone service.” We decided to have breakfast in Fort Totten, and actually ended up having a really cheap meal at a casino. $2.50 for make-your-own waffles, and they were so yummy! I got back on the road and it was a ROUGH ride to Minnewaukan (it means Spirit Water). It was very pretty going by Devils Lake, but I guess they have their hands full with the lake trying to spill its banks. They truck in gravel to make the roads higher, and it’s just a constant battle. The ride to Minnewaukan was full of 20 mph winds from the west, small shoulders, gravel trucks and flying gravel hitting me in the face.
Everything changed when I got to the town, and it turned into an extraordinary day. First, I ran into two bikers, a husband and wife, who were on their way to Bar Harbor. She was very excited to have lobster, being from Iowa. They couldn’t really understand why I was going east to west, but I explained it was just the way I had to do it. They advised me to avoid the ACA route around Williston, due to oil trucks. I recommended the Lodge we stayed at in Pekin and also the Bunkhouse in Dalbo.
It had taken me a long time to get to Minnewaukan, and Chuck was getting worried. While I was chatting with the Iowa couple, he called my cell phone. I had a little trouble finding the camp site, but Chuck found me with the car. I followed him back to the park, where he had already set up the tent and mattress. That man is a saint. I was craving a beer, so I changed my clothes and we went into town to see if the bar was open, but it was not. We stopped at the grocery store, where the mayor of Minnewaukan works (and perhaps owns it) and got some lemonades and ice creams. We asked when the restaurant and bar open, but they couldn’t really tell us. I guess they just open when they feel like it, but it’s usually around 4:00. It was only 2:30, so we went next door to the library to use their computers. They were having a book sale, so I got a cookbook called “Almost Vegetarian” for one dollar! I was very excited and can’t wait to get into it when I get home. I checked my e-mail and Facebook, and then we headed back to the park to work on my blog and have a lemonade. I was eating my rice crackers when one of those little critters that looks like a cross between a chipmunk and a woodchuck popped up. I threw him a cracker, and he snatched it up and nibbled away happily. Chuck said he looked like me when I have one! Well, they are my favorite crackers in the whole world. Hope I can find some more….
Another biking couple pulled up to camp for the night. I was very excited to talk to some fellow bikers. They were from California, on their way to Maine. They have a blog, so I got their card and I’ll check it out when we have internet again. We chatted for a while, and I invited them to join us at Miller’s Pub & Grub, now known as Rick’s, when they opened, but they declined. They had some leftover rotisserie chicken that they were going to have for dinner.
I read my book for a while, took a shower (yay) and we headed over to Rick’s. It was nice inside, and Rick was a very cool guy. Earlier, I had noticed that one of the doors was smashed. Not broken in, but the glass on the door was broken. Rick said someone had tried to break in the day before by smashing the door with a baseball bat. He said he had the whole thing on video tape. Even the guy peeing in the parking lot. I said, “That’s great! You have his DNA!” He replied, “Sorry, CSI North Dakota, this ain’t” Apparently, they knew who it was from the video anyway, so he’ll get a slap on the wrist, but that’s about it. But I whispered to Chuck that we should be sure to lock up the bikes tonight.
We looked at the menu, and it was the typical story. 99% of the options were meat, and the rest were fried. They had “beer battered jumbo shrimp” and that sounded good, so we ordered that with a baked potato. Rick said he had just put the baked potatoes on, so it would be another hour or so. We said, “That’s fine, we’ll hang out and have some fried mushrooms while we wait.” He asked, “Do you want a regular baked potato or twice baked?” We went for the twice baked, since it sounded good. The mushrooms weren’t bad, and we chatted with a man next to us from Osh Kosh, Wisconsin. He said he was 52, but he looked 10 years younger than that. He was interesting to talk to. His girlfriend had two kinds of cancer: brain cancer and lung cancer, so he really had his hands full. He worked long hours at a company that builds fire trucks.
The food came out and looked great…until I dug into the potato. It had bacon in it. I really didn’t expect that, but they’re all about the meat out here! We asked if we could have another one without bacon, and they were happy to oblige. The shrimp were awesome and the salad was tasty too. I went into the kitchen to shake Rick’s hand, and thank him for one of the best meals we’ve had on the trip.
When we got back to the park, there were more cross-country bikers, also headed east. Wish I could find someone heading west that I could ride with! This was a father and son team. Just amazing people. We really enjoyed talking to them and comparing notes about the trip. The father’s name was Mitch, and he gave me a donation for my ride. I really hope we can keep in touch with these people after this ride is over. I feel like this ride keeps getting better and better. Chuck and I are just amazed by it all.
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