May 19, 2019
Route Calculus
Leeds to Devils Lake
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Jackie’s avg speed: 7.5 mph
Scott’s avg speed: 9.5 mph
Weather: 39-55 degrees, northeast wind 15-17 mph
For the eight days we had been crossing “Legendary North Dakota,” we had been riding against the wind. The workout was tempering us, making us stronger, preparing us for even bigger challenges we could not imagine. I don’t want to jinx it, but we were sort of getting used to the head wind.
One reason it was bearable was because, as hard as the wind blew, we did not have to worry about gusts steering us into a lane with cars speeding past. Highway 2 is a four-lane road almost all the way across the state, which is a huge boon. Back in Culbertson, Scott had looked at Adventure Cycling Association’s “Northern Tier” route across the U.S. and decided not to turn south toward Circle, Glendive (nearish to Sidney his birthplace), and Wibaux, Montana. He knew all those towns and had grown up there, that wasn’t the unknown he wanted to explore. He wanted to ride Highway 2 precisely because it was four lanes and something new to experience. So, as much as we harp on the wind, the road could not be better.
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We had maybe the best night’s sleep ever camping, probably because of the hard ride the day before. We were asleep with the dusk and up with the dawn. We dressed hurriedly in the tent and packed up all the gear. This time, we skipped the coffee, tea, and oatmeal and headed to the Cenex for coffee and pastries. Scott’s blueberry muffin was labeled, “Use by June 15, 2019.” Hey, that meant it was fresh, still in the first days of its shelf life. I had powdered sugar donuts and English Toffee coffee out of a machine. We were on the road by 08:00. We had correctly surmised the temps and wind speed. Cold and windy, but bearable for the 31 miles to Devils Lake.
Once on the road, each of us let our mind go where it wanted while we settled in for the ride. I keep track of the miles to go for the day by adding the day’s total to the first mile marker on the highway and then counting each sign we pass. Good arithmetic practice, as long as I don’t get too tired. Scott counts things. Sometimes it’s road kill (raccoons, skunks, house cats, foxes, gulls, deer, even beaver). Today it was vehicles and 18-wheeler trucks. In Russian. The tally from Leeds to mile marker 260: sto-dvesti-shestdecyat-sem avtomobili (167 vehicles) and chetirnadzat gruzoviki (14 trucks).
The sun came out about 10:00 and the warmth cheered us up. We made a few “handlebar” stops to eat power bars and tank up on Gatorade and still got to the Fireside Inn and Suites before 14:00. (The Super 8 did not have guest laundry, my sole criterion for this stay). We prepared lunch in the room, reconstituted freeze-dried chicken teriyaki, spiced up with packets of Tabasco poached from a Microtel breakfast buffet.
We called to make reservations at a B&B in Niagara, which is about halfway between Devils Lake and Grand Forks. It would not open until June 1st because “we’re still digging out of winter,” as the owner explained to me on the phone. After checking the weather and the very few options in other places, we decided to ride to the Turtle River State Park and camp on Monday. It would be sunny and almost 60 degrees, with light breezes. Tuesday the northeast wind would pick up again and blow really hard by 13:00. Like the guy on Jeopardy who bets everything with a sweeping forward motion with his hands, we’re placing all our chips on 70 miles in decent weather, with a 500 foot drop in elevation during the last 10 miles to the park. On Tuesday, we’ll have just 21 miles, which we can knock out before the winds rise. Or that’s the plan.
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We didn’t have any time to explore the town, but want to point out that the name is a mistranslation of the Dakota descriptor of the lake which was more like “spirit lake.” European settlers thought of the lake as “bad spirit” because of the high salinity. More recently the town made the news because unusually high rainfall in the 1990s raised the water level so high, more than 400 homes had to be relocated. It’s a sporty place and would be fun to visit when we had more time - and fishing poles.
Dinner was beef stroganoff with salt-free Mrs. Dash pepper. We would take possession of new supplies in Grand Forks, so we had to use up the supplies Scott had been carrying since St. Mary to make room. Lights were out at 22:00.
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Today's ride: 31 miles (50 km)
Total: 788 miles (1,268 km)
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