87 Easy Miles

The MS Team at a rest stop.

Prairie Dinosaurs

Flat rodes on the first day.

My first day on the road was fairly easy because the terrain was 90% flat. Of course the only steep hill was at the end of the ride. I rode with Ed, Dave and Rich, a great group of guys who put up with me. They’ve been riding for quite awhile and it was kind of them to welcome the rookie. We rode from Fargo to Kathryn, ND. Kathryn was a tiny hamlet with a community center and a good lounge. However before we hit the bar the team leaders set up a “Chopped” competition using camp food. It was hectic but fun. I wish I could say my team won but we were chopped. Our Peanut Asian noodles didn’t cut it. After eating some real food at the bar we headed to bed and the usual chorus of snoring. Day two of my ride was a difficult 100 mile ride. Being a Sunday the roads were basically deserted. It’s nice being able to ride down the center of a highway without worrying about being hit by a car. We had a steady 1% to 3% climb for 100 miles. It seemed like we never stopped peddling and had no time to just coast along. The weather, however, was beautiful and going into the prairie was magnificent. I kept looking for Laura Ingalls Wilder. I believe I met her in a little co-op where we were able to by sandwiches and bales of hay. The wind made the end of the ride difficult but we we did catch a break at the very end when we turned away from it and were able to breezed into Napoleon, ND where we are camping. Tomorrow we head to Bismarck where we have a rest day and pick up a few new riders. I won’t be the rookie any more. Yeah!