May 25, 2019
Trade-Offs
Fosston to Bemidji
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Jackie’s avg speed: 11.2 mph
Scott’s avg speed: 13.5 mph
Weather: 50-55 degrees, south-southwest wind 12 mph
The glow around the edge of the closed curtains was suspiciously dim. Sunshine was in the forecast, but when I pulled back the curtain, rain was spattering the window panes and had turned the parking lot shiny black. Well, if the weather report was off, we couldn’t guess what would happen or try to wait out the rain. We saddled up and resumed our eastward trek at 08:10.
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On the edges of the sky, tantalizing patches of blue peeked out between the layers of clouds. We were riding in a kind of fog that dissolved all around us. Our glasses and faces were soaked in a few minutes, but we didn’t mind because our bikes, even with 30-40 pounds of gear (mine and Scott’s), rolled upslope and downslope with the assistance of the southwest breeze. Trade a little rain for a tail wind? Sure! During a break, I asked Scott how fast he thought the wind was blowing. “Maybe 12 miles an hour. When I go faster than the tail wind, my hearing aids start rustling. I could hear it when I got up to thirteen or fourteen miles an hour.” Empirical evidence, close enough.
The spring rains had turned the countryside a beautiful new green. The rich dark fields of North Dakota and west-central Minnesota were changing with each mile into forests of birch, aspen, pine, and fir. Lush grass filled in the space at the side of the highway. The mist diminished after about an hour. We kept riding for another half hour into Bagley and were dry by the time we got to Mac’s Café for coffee. We sat at a table next to a family with grandparents about our age, daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids. I didn’t think I was hungry, but I heard myself telling the waitress to bring me an omelet with jalapeños and cheddar cheese, my favorite breakfast. Scott ordered coffee and a jelly donut. One of the few times I ordered more than he did.
After we got our food, the grandmother called out, “How far are you riding?” We gave them the “St. Mary to Maine” spiel, and she asked where we were from. Turns out, she has a sister in Missoula so she knows and likes our home state. Once the grandmother started talking to us, the little girl, maybe six years old, piped up, “I’ve got a bike.” It doesn’t take much to touch this Oma’s heart, I said that was wonderful. The boy, who was a year or two older, came over and leaned against me. I gave him a hug, then he left with his parents and sister. The grandparents lingered a while, they wanted us to know how much they too liked bicycling. In fact, they were registered for a 150-mile ride with a couple thousand people from Duluth to the Twin Cities to raise funds and awareness about MS. Their daughter came back, saying they were going to be late for some event. They said they would think about us as they were training for their ride and urged us to stay safe on our journey.
After they left, a guy at another table who had been listening to the conversation told us he used to have an appliance store in Bigfork, lived in Woods Bay and Kalispell for a while, but moved to Minnesota many years ago. I got up to use the restroom and a dad with his junior high age daughter asked me about the ride. The girl listened with bright eyes and a big smile. When we got up to leave, other customers nodded and smiled. We were a bunch of strangers at this cafe, making a basic social connection. About cycling, one of our favorite things. The goodwill stayed with us as we practically coasted the last 25 miles into Bemidji.
After checking in at the Super 8, we showered and walked to the Gander Outdoor Sports store to get camping gas. When Scott handed over the empty container to the salesman and asked if he would recycle it, he said “sure” like it was a reasonable request, no hesitation at all. Now it was almost Miller Time, but no liquor stores were in walking distance. We went to Appleby’s for a while and had beer, club soda with lime, along with nachos and a small Caesar salad.
By the time we got back to the motel I started feeling sick, really sudden. I talked on the phone with my college roommate for a while, she’s been following the blog and posting encouraging messages. I got into bed and watched episodes of “Monk” until it was dark and time to sleep. Scott stayed up reading “No Wrong Turns,” the blog by the British guy who rode around the world.
Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 1,000 miles (1,609 km)
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That Bell's is a good beer, although I've never tried the IPA.
4 years ago