Day Thirty-six

Rugby, North Dakota – the geographic center of North America. Chuck gave me a scare today, and I thought I might not make it to Seattle by the end of July. But I definitely will. It’s true, I’ve had a few slow days and had to cut a few days short because of the heat, but I’m not really off schedule. As long as I do at least 55 miles a day, I’ll get there on time.

I did not sleep well last night, and I’m not sure why. Now that we have the mattress and blanket, I’ve been sleeping well in the tent, but it did get really chilly last night. I wasn’t really dressed for it, so that may have been the reason. I had hoped to see the other bikers before I left, but they weren’t up yet. I was on the road at 6:00, straight into the wind. It took me 2 ½ hours to make it to Esmond. Mitch had told us the restaurant in town was really good, so I was definitely ready for breakfast at that point. I had a little trouble finding it, but someone driving by helped me. I walked in and Chuck was sitting with one of the locals. I told him about something weird I had seen as I was approaching Esmond. “At first it looked like a big bird swooping around looking for a mouse. It just kept swooping up and gliding down. Then as I got closer, I thought it was a plane.” Without missing a beat, Chuck asked, “Then did you think it might be Superman?” That started one of our giggle fits.

I’ve had a lot of good breakfasts on this trip, but this was one of the best. We shared an order of pancakes, 2 eggs over easy, hash browns and toast. The pancakes were so good, I thought I was dreaming. They were light and fluffy and just melt in your mouth yummy! After that big breakfast, I needed to sit for a while, so I blogged while Chuck wrote music again. I can’t wait to hear what he’s writing!

I got back on the road, leaving Chuck to chat with the locals. They were interested in my bike ride, but not enough to make donations this time. That’s OK! We had a great breakfast in Esmond. The next stop was Rugby. I had hopes of making it to Towner, but it wasn’t looking good. I was so tired today, and definitely feeling it. Rugby was the end of the line for me. 60 miles today, not bad! We went to the only place in town that was still open for lunch: Pizza Hut. Not my first choice, but we had a pasta bake and some beer, and I felt better. There were some more cross-country bikers there, on their way to Philadelphia. We told them about the road closure near Fort Totten and they appreciated that.

We found a cheap campground and set up. I did some laundry and showered while Chuck took a nap. We found a great sandwich shop in town and got something called a Little Richard for dinner. It was a veggie panini with just the right amount of spice. A nice change from all the fried food we’ve had! I can’t believe I’m still awake. Time for bed!