The tiny town of Hebron was friendly and hospitable. A local man that helped us find the pool and camp greeted us at the store this morning. He seemingly goes there daily for coffee and to chat with his buds. Glad he was there so we could thank him again for his guidance.
The morning started out on the cool side. 50ish. A couple of layers was just the ticket. The sun was shining and the wind was again at our backs! Living large! For miles the road was flat, smooth and fast. We covered 13 miles pdq. Then trouble began. We had a choice of 13 miles along the interstate with corrugated shoulders or 10 miles of unpaved gravel road. Unpaved it was.
The road was not hard packed. Substantial amounts of gravel and sand made for occasional treacherous navigation. Picking our way along was challenging. A couple of times I had to put my foot down to keep upright! No big deal just making a point about the conditions. After a while we could pick some lines for best riding. Towards the end it was kinda fun. Only towards the end though.
The rest of the day the conditions were very very good. Didn't even mind the hills. A few were so fast and steep that we could get up enough speed and momentum to practically fly up the next hill! Tandems are beautifully suited for these conditions. Pam and I have sailed down and up a few of these. A blast. Touring bikes are suited well also.
One little town didn't live up to billing. All services! NOT! Zip for services is what they meant. We just dig out our reserves and chow down. One old guy drove up and turned off his Explorer. Said there was a festival there yesterday but couldn't remember much about it. Couldn't remember how to start his car. First put it in reverse instead of forward, then finally drove off. He parked in a big garage nearby. Whew! They drive and vote!
We sailed all the way into Bismarck. No camping around that had any appeal so we found a bargain inn. Breakfast. Pool. Wifi. Sold!
5:07 riding today
66 miles
12.8 avg
38.1 mph max!
Over 1,500 route miles so far
Thanks for following
Cheers.
Kim
Tomorrow??
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