1999 July

Finally got my tailwinds today. Wind out of the NW, route heading E or S all day. I think that’s my highest average speed for a day. N: nope, day 30.

Talked sports with a couple old-timers at the caf� in Rugby. First time I’ve ever been able to do this – the subject being the Mikoti baseball game.

Also bought a condom in the bathroom at that caf�. This is more a license to fantasize than anything. I’ve found sexual fantasies are great way to spend some of the day’s riding time. I meet the lone female cyclist, etc, etc, but when the moment of truth arrives my mind knows that I’d use a condom and that I don’t really have one, and the fantasy loses its zip. So – problem solved.

A long stretch w/ no real towns. Outside a tiny, deserted-looking town called Esmond, found a shredded up, looted wallet by the road. The only things left in it were a hand-written ID card which the looters left, and an old Indian head nickel they didn’t find. May try to contact the guy, from Rugby, to find out more.

Had thought about stopping in Minnewaukan, but it was only 1 PM when I got there. It looked dying, moribund. Talked to a guy in the store who said that 6 years ago, Devil’s Lake was 8 miles away. Now it’s right at the edge of town. It’s rising, and no one knows why. Basements are flooding, people are buying flood insurance, moving houses, selling out. On the way out of town saw trees & telephone poles sticking up partway out of the water.

ON the advice of some westbound tourists I met w/ Noel in Montana, I decided to route around the section S of Devil’s Lake due to road construction. Headed due S to Cheyenne. There, on a whim, I ate a burger & some ice cream. Just like I remember, but my tastes have changed. May do serious time in the outhouse tonight.

Pulled into the New Rockford campsite, alas not free. Paid, feeling like ending the day, even though it’s not the greatest place. Started feeling lonely & manic again, wondering how to engage these feelings. Many options, but I know don’t want to pander to them. I find eating & absorbing the beauty of my surroundings helps. This response makes sense to me – passive contemplation of feelings I don’t want or pursue, action upon those I do.

Under attack by commando mosquitoes while I packed up this morning. The are small here, active predawn and post-sunset, and they go for blood – no funny business. Motion at 10 mph or more is the best defense.

Winds out of the north and northeast all day. Route traveled north and east. Oh well.

Arrived in Minot tired, hungry, lonely, down. Considered getting a room, closing the shades, and watching TV the rest of the day. Then I chatted over the internet w/ friends in Chicago, got the latest on Camella’s love life, had a lunch of burritos, ate ice cream, and felt much better. Back on the road had a nice surge of energy from the ice cream.

Stopped at another nice small town city park campground. Towner is a cattle town, whereas Mikoti was a grain town.

Met an eastbound couple touring: Andy and Limore. Told funny stories of rowdy Def Leppard fans in Minot at the state fair. They headed on to Rugby, but I may catch up with them tomorrow.

Have been getting odd bits of news of a lone female cyclist ahead of me. I now think there are two: one bound for Massachusetts, and one, Karie, New York. Karie I think I’m closer to catching, but will probably lose both in Minnesota.

I’d be here for hours if I tried to describe the morning ride. 3:40 AM, the moonlight, everything mysterious, the warm licorice air, the cold air smelling like freshly turned earth, mint. The road aglow, fading into velvet tones, roadsigns as if painted black, deer sounding like monsters, grasshoppers singing a special song to the moon. A hundred other amazements: the Pleiades expanded, the never-ending hill, the fields glowing like quilt-lining laid out for miles. The sunrise eating it, the dual world in between.

When the sun was in full view, I turned south to Newtown in Fort Berthold reservation. Definitely different tribes there, don’t know which. Friendly.

Fair breakfast. Hot ride through the reservation to Mikoti on the other side. A small town w/ gravel streets. Drink 3 iced teas at the caf�, set up in the park. Pay $2 to swim & talk w/ the attractive instructor/lifeguard. I dive once & trunks come completely off underwater. I had to get them on again before coming up. Did she see?

Nap, dinner, then I go to check out the regional baseball tournament outside town (3 blocks). The perfect way to get aquainted w/ baseball – strong, tan, smalltown kids playing well under a cloud-streaked North Dakota sky, stands of locals cheering, kids running after fly balls for 25� apiece, moms gossiping, dad razing each other about the performance of their kids. The star, Curtis Pietrich(?), is a pacific islander I think, the only non-white kid around. He pitches a great game & wins it w/ a grand slam. This is smalltown America, for sure.

Heidi & Dick off a few minutes before me, ~6:40AM, but I think went somewhere for breakfast. Didn’t see or hear of them again.

Some hills today. By 10 AM it was getting hot. Found nowhere to cool off in Williston, so continued on in extreme heat, stifling still air. Sweat dripping everywhere.

Noon – stop in L & C state park, just as it hits 100� F. Finally get my swim in the waters of the Missouri, Lake Sakakawea. I just walked in up to my neck and stayed there.

Too hot to ride on, I buy a $7 campsite. I have napped, read, swam, snacked, eaten, and showered the hot day away.

It’s supposed to be 100+� again tomorrow. I have a full moon, so I’m going to try an early AM start, if I can wake up w/ no alarm. Heading across another Indian reservation, Fort Berthold. Won’t camp there, but will have to find some food & water.

Decided to take Kevin’s advice & go for Culbertson. Reinforced by other as a Good Idea.

During the night local high school kids come to the CG to blare music & party. After a while I give up on sleep, introduce myself, and they make me a Calvert & Dr. Pepper. They rule the town as there are no police here. They spend time water skiing & partying, going to concerts, & some school sports. They hang out till about 12:30, then I go back to bed. Later some girls shine their headlights on the tent & honk, but I’m too dead to respond. Amazing.

Manage to get on the road about 6:45 AM. Caf� gives me good food in Nashua, just before the Ft. Peck reservation, 11 AM, 42 miles down. After that I go for Wolf Point, thinking about what to put in my Report from the Road. On arrival in Wolf Pt go straight to Kevin’s sister Melody’s & as for some internet time, trying not to bug her too much. I think we’d get along, but she’s busy. I do my stuff on the net.

It’s really hot, so I stop for an iced mocha. Yum.

In Poplar, which has the worst reputation, I talk to some kids while they check out my bike. Don’t get much out of them, but they’re nice. Don’t know if they’re Dakota Sioux or Assiniboine. One drunk wanders by with a bottle, but he’s friendly enough.

In Brockton, another pair of kids ride up & ask about the bike. They’re going swimming in the Missouri & invite me along. Reluctantly I refuse know I have limited tailwind left. I’m tired & I have a big hill to climb. That swim still sounds good.

First hill done, find some shade, snack , hydrate. Then tackle the rest of them. Coast into Culbertson at last, a sleepy, pretty town. Free city park campsite. May be recovering from minor heat exhaustion.

Met another perimeter-riding couple, Heidi & Dick, camped here, going the same direction as me on a tandem. Heidi approaches & chats, Dick doesn’t. Too bad, couples are harder to hang out w/ than friends. I’m wishing I’d run into folks like Larry & Roger again.

Sposed to hit 100 F tomorrow. Ride early, take it easy.

Sort of a lazy morning. After the usual BF of malt-o-meal & trail mix, saw Deb’s Diner on the edge of town. Restaurants have been rare, so I decided to have BF #2. One huge cheese omelet, potatoes, & toast . Later, get on the road stuffed, belching, at 9 AM. Can only make 10 mph at first, have headwinds all morning. (light ones). But, after an hour get into a nice, meditative riding mindset.

BF goes a long way. I use the restroom at a gas station in Malta, buy an ice cream more out of obligation than hunger. Pay $3 to visit the museum there too – worth it for ID of some local wildlife, genuine Indian clothing, & good old west outlaw exhibits.

Stopped to see the Sleeping Buffalo rock – think L & C mentioned it in the journals. Lots of carvings on it & a smaller boulder. Investigated Sleeping Buffalo resort 1 mile off route. Looked like a dying venture. The hot springs weren’t tempting, most pools & slides closed, no one around. Another obligatory ice cream.

Got worked up wondering about the way some motorists have waved – pointing & unfriendly. Maybe imagining it, but disturbed me for a while. Some genuinely friendly waves from local farmers helped.

Then met another couple touring. In their 40’s or 50’s, New Jersey to Seattle, on a schedule. No warnings or news of road ahead.

At Saco they had public picnic tables and restroom. Still not really hungry, but had a snack.

Pulled into Hindsdale, looking for the park to camp. A couple guys next to a running Harley give me directions, offer a beer. Johnny Rawhide helping Kevin get his Harley running after he broke down on the road. Kevin lives on the Ft. Peck reservation, blonde & blue-eyed but says he’s ¼ Indian. He warns me not to stop anywhere but Wolf Point on the reservation, and to watch for aggressive drivers. He says some of the Sioux & Minetarees(?) are still on the warpath. To get to Culbertson would be a 125-mile day. Johnny warns of hail, headwinds, and hills. People love to scare me. Otherwise we talk about good Montana people & Harley camaraderie.

5:50AM: Noel is up. I’m thinkin’ about it. I know I should get going while the day is cool. The soft park grass feels good.

6:20AM: I haul my ass out of bed. Don’t feel like wheat germ for BF so I munch on a bagel, PB, cream cheese.

6:50AM: Set off riding w/ Noel. Have to slow down a little, but enjoy talking a while.

9AM: We stop for coffee & junk food at a little bar. I got there first after taking off ahead. When ready to go, we agree to split up due to difference in paces. I was getting bored listening to him too – he’s lonely for companionship & goes on a bit. Nice to open it up & cruise for a while.

Noon: Havre. Eat lunch at Subway, call Dad, work on bike, still no sign of Noel. Guess I lost him.

3PM: Chinook. I don’t like it from first view. Grain towers on the tracks opposite carnival rides – the fair is going on. I take a look, but I’m not comfortable. A drunk outside the convenience store/bar/casino (there’s a chain of them here) asks me questions about the bike. Starts making a big deal out of how much I paid for it. I don’t like this guy or this place, so I just take off tho I’d planned to check out the museum. I’m agitated for half an hour until I soak up some calm prairie energy. Eat some lunch by the road.

5PM: Harlem. This place is better. Calm. Still a cowboy railroad town, but with some serenity. Kids playing, city pool, a park to camp in. A lady & her son Austin from Eugene, OR give me water & the scoop on where to camp & shop. Austin asks me a million questions, some of them good.

Outside Havre met Wayne & LaVonne, doing a perimeter tour counter-clockwise. I like them, joke about meeting in New Mexico in December.

Have a feeling that I’m going to meet someone important – it’s lending a manic spin to emotional expectations.

7:30AM: riding. Unsure of wheat germ breakfast.

8AM: Water at Del Bonita store, sign bike book.

8:30AM: no hassle border crossing.

11AM: Cut Bank. B-day card from Eileen, choc cake from Pete. Celebrate in park. Library closed – no web update.

2PM: Shelby – bad cappuccino. Northerly winds help & hinder. Miles go by.

3:30: “Wheel On In” store. Great ice cream, conversation, guest book.

6PM: Chester. Camp w/ bike tourist Noel at city park. Helps me finish cake. Nice place.

Felt like I slept late, but was on the road by 8 AM. Cool, still, clear morning. Miles flew by to Magrath, esp. when the day grew hot & I got a tailwind.

Bought grocs in Cardston on the credit card w/ no trouble. Mountains getting smaller, smaller behind me. Incredible panoramas of an endless string of snowy peaks, from south Glacier in the U.S. to mysterious Canadian Rockies far north. Vast, vast fields of wheat, barley, & canola.

Filled up w/ water & turned South at Magrath at noon, the day grew more difficult. Uphill, crosswinds, even headwinds. Lonesome prarie, hot. Got tired & just sat in the grass by the road, eating lunch, drinking precious water.

4PM: Arrived at Del Bonita community campground on the N. Fork Milk river, tired & hot. It’s in the middle of the prairie, no one around. Dunked & washed in the river, named for its glacial silt. Ran around the CG in my skivvies, dripping, hanging wash.

Whiled away the afternoon with another lunch, reading, nap, stretching, thought. Pleasant. Short on water, thirsty. The town of Del Bonity is 5 mi away, will refill there.

Sore legs from mountain climbing.

About a million birds live in mud nests under the bridge. They clatter and fill the big blue sky when a car goes over.

The day could hardly have been better. Slept late, got going around 9AM. Was at the head of another tour group: Cycle America. They had an awesome food station set up at one of the pullouts, which they invited me to raid. I made sure they really meant it, then had fun. Veggie pita sandwiches. Burritos. Cookies. Trail mix. Gummi bears. I had to stop myself from really making a scene of gorging. Talked to tlots of nice cyclists.

Then a screaming hill, I’m sure I got up to 45 mph or so, the road wide and smooth.

On the park map I had noticed a trail to the top of one of the smaller peaks, Vimy Peak at 7,805 ft. It looked a little too long for a day hike, but I stopped to take a look anyway. A pleasant surprise – the sign said bikes were allowed on the trail. No hesitation, I just took off on it gear and all. The SPL is no mountain bike, but it did the job.

Not long before I run into 3 young ladies, bikes parked, staring at some device. The middle on explains to me it is a GPS – she’s getting the coordinates of some bird observation sites. It’s a little bigger than my cell phone and weighs about 2 lbs (sans battery). We chat – the two younger girls are totally silent, French speakers maybe? She reminds me not to leave my food for the bears.

I continue about five miles through tall, thick plants that overhang the trail and whack my hands & arms, a small stream crossing where the panniers get a little wet, nothing too steep. The trail to Vimy Peak has a no bikes sign, so I stash the bike, hang the food, and take off at a good clip on foot. A beautiful climb of at least 3,000 ft. First aspen & thick green plants & flowers, then evergreen forest, then timberline creeks, and finally the rocky ascent to the summit. The view is astounding – glacial peaks, valleys, and snow to the north, west & south. East the plains stretch out like an ocean 3,000 ft below. My future.

The descent tires me out. I have a burrito when I reach my food. It’s wonderful & reminds me that I have very little food left & never bothered to get any Canadian money to buy more.

The ride back on the single track is just as fun as it was coming in, but the GPS girls are gone. Back on the road I soon reach a campground & the attendant helps me solve my currency problem when I’m about to ride 15 mi. to Waterton Village & back. Just use a credit card, and you automatically get the correct exchange rate. Ha.

An old couple lets me eat their leftovers for dinner & makes me a cup of coffee. Everyone seems super friendly, with me and each other.