Menk's Across America - Journal Entry #5

July 8 we rode 85 miles from Bismarck, ND to Hague. The ride started in heavy fog. My whole body was covered in dew. It was fun riding, but a little scary because the cars wouldn't see us until they were close. I rode ahead of Mom and Dad for the day. When Ben passed me he informed me that Dad wanted to go 14 miles further, it would put us in good position for the next day. We had a tailwind from the northeast and the riding was easy. We rode part of the Lawrence Welk Highway. Mom and Dad drove by his birthplace in Strasburg, ND after we set up camp in Hague.

The day before (July 7) Ben and I played about 100 holes of disc golf at General Sibley Park. We also performed a little duct tape engineering on the camper. We lost a window from the camper earlier in the trip due to unnamed people and unmentioned reasons. Ben purchased some plexi glass from a hardware store and attempted to cut it. After some choice words, a few extra cracks, and a lot of duct tape the window is sealed.

July 9 we rode 83 miles from Hague, ND to Ellendale. Mom said Dad wasn't satisfied with her grimacing and painful expressions so she strapped on her heart rate monitor to prove she wasn't slacking. We rode 32 miles to Ashley, ND and stopped for pie. Mom's average heart rate was 121 bpm and our average speed was 12.3 mph. I challenged Mom to a vicious game of paper, rock, scissors, for the last piece of blueberry pie. She won, but because they were out of ice cream she opted for the Rhubarb pie instead. After pie and coffee I rode ahead of Mom and Dad to Ellendale. Mom said her average heart rate for the second half of the ride was 117 bpm and they averaged 15.3 mph. Therefore, Mom concluded pie was necessary and beneficial.

The next day, July 10, we rode 137 miles from Ellendale, ND to Hartford Beach State Park. We awoke to strong tailwinds from the northwest and planned to ride to Graceville, MN. Unfortunately we ran into road construction about ten miles east of Britton, SD and decided to change plans. Ben drove around for six hours trying to find the best route to Ortonville, MN. After a few phone calls and meetings we decided upon a route and made good time. The winds carried us most of the way. I rode ahead of Mom and Dad for the rest of the day. Along the way Mom told Dad that this would be the longest day of the trip. I think that became a rule for the trip. Mom also looked through the photos I sent to Skinny Ski. She said I cannot take anymore ice cream photos or coffee photos. She doesn't want people to think that is all we do. She made a couple of other rules, but I already forgot them.

We arrived in Benson, MN on July 11 from Hartford Beach State Park, SD. The ride was 60 miles into a mild headwind. I rode ahead of Mom and Dad today after we stopped to take photos at the South Dakota - Minnesota border. We are staying at my Aunt and Uncle's house tonight and were treated to great hospitality. The ride was pretty standard with some minor road construction along the way. I stopped and talked with the flag guy for a little while and was given the go ahead. The road was blocked off to a single lane and he let me have it all to myself.

Today (July 12) we awoke early to try to beat the winds again. This time it worked, the wind didn't start blowing until after we finished our ride. We rode 77 miles from Benson to Redwood Falls, MN and stopped in to visit my Grandpa when we arrived in town. Tonight we are staying in Ramsey Park, the largest municipal park in Minnesota. We ran into some minor road construction along the way, but we were able to find an alternative route without much problem. Otherwise it was a nice easy ride on the bike today.

Dad gave me another top ten list.

10. Montana does not last forever, North Dakota does.
9. Smooth road is better than rough road, rough road is better than seal coating, seal coating is better than road construction.
8. The reason all of the mosquitoes were in Montana is because the wind blew them there from North Dakota.
7. North Dakota is not flat.
6. You can duct tape a camper window together.
5. If there is a headwind it will blow early in the day, if there is a tail wind it will blow later in the day.
4. WD-40 is not cologne.
3. Mary cheats at paper, rock, scissors when playing for the last piece of pie.
2. Beer is not full of antioxidants (Darn).
1. It is very peaceful on your bike when your wife is no longer speaking to you.

My sons have been helpful and supportive for the most part. Crickett (the dog) is the most compassionate one. Steve has taught me:

1. Pain is good, it means you're not dead.
2. If it doesn't kill you, you'll be stronger because of it. Now he wants me to wear my heart rate monitor. Huffing, puffing, and painful facial expressions aren't enough, he wants (heart rate) numbers, I'll give him numbers.
3. Upside of being the only girl, drafting and flat tire fixing.
4. Downside of being a girl - shopping is 10 minutes in the mall, and no, grocery shopping is not shopping in my eyes.
5. Each day I hear if we only push another 20 miles we'll be in good position for tomorrow. I think I know where this is going.

Finally we've had some problems with the camper that require actual thinking. As you may have heard we lost the emergency window to our camper, and it needed to be replaced (Bismark, ND, does not have window repair shops open on Sundays). Using plexi-glass, a little duct tape, and a utility knife we had a replacement window. Unfortunately when I started driving, the window kept popping out, so after taping it several times and having it pop off, I came up with the duct tape window border. An invention that even Red Green may be proud of. It has two front corners completely taped down with four strips of duct tape in the front to block the wind, and two stabilizer strips across the middle that not only keep the middle from bending out, but also look like a windowsill if you really squint your eyes. The cost is only one roll of duct tape. I have been doing less biking, but more trail running and rollerskiing. The best part of rollerskiing in the small towns of eastern Montana and North Dakota are the five-year-old kids that say, "Wow that's cool." It raises my self-esteem. I have been able to find routes around construction, and learned that almost every town in North Dakota and Montana have a city park that we can stay at. The only unfortunate part so far is that Scott Milburn's (long-time family friend, and a guy I've probably learned too much from) lines haven't worked for me so far.

Photos

Photoset: July 7-July 12

Related links

• Introduction on Menk's Trip Across America