Day 53: Glen Ullin, ND to Dickinson, ND - Seeking a Bicycle Warrior's Death, Part I: The Northern Tier - CycleBlaze

June 27, 2021

Day 53: Glen Ullin, ND to Dickinson, ND

Eastbound Riders Are Showing Up, Mountain Time Now!

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Climbing Today; 1,116 ft                  Climbing to Date;  78,144 ft

I didn't sleep too well at the B&B last night.  I was so tired that I fell asleep right away, but a train woke me in the night.  There was no A/C and we had opened our windows to cool things down, so we heard outside noise for a while.  Once I was awake, I couldn't get back to sleep.  I tried to sleep on a couch out in the sitting area - there was a ceiling fan, but it wouldn't work with the pull chain and I couldn't make it work with any of the wall switches either. So from 02:00 until 04:30 I just closed my eyes and tried to rest as best I could.  I got up at 04:30 ahead of the alarm and started prepping for the day.

Looking Back to the Sunrise Over Glen Ullin, ND
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Our B&B host had pointed out where the breakfast fixings were located, and we made ourselves a decent first breakfast.  I had cereal with milk, toast with butter and jam, a muffin left by our host, and juice and coffee.  I was sleepy enough that I wasn't that hungry, but I knew I had to eat in order to get rolling.  

Wind Turbines In The Early Morning Fog
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The morning was cool, but there was little wind and that certainly makes for great cycling - out here in the Plains, the miles are definitely cheaper in the early morning if you get out before the wind picks up.  The morning was just a bit foggy, and I love foggy mornings.  Here's a few shots taken between Glen Ullin and Hebron.

Canola Crop
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The Hills Are Shrouded In Fog
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There's Beauty To Be Found, Even On The "Barren" Plains
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Approaching Hebron, ND
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Hebron, ND In The Early Morning Fog
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Doc got started a bit later than me, and he elected to stop for 2nd breakfast in Hebron, while I decided to roll on to Richardton for 2nd breakfast.  So we were riding apart for most of the day, but we met up later in the early afternoon. 

This historical marker near Hebron seems to me to be a bit biased in it's negative view towards the native Americans.  Use of the words "hostile" and "annihilated" interject a one-sided view, in my humble opinion.  After all, it's the white man who was the hostile occupying force and who annihilated millions of native Americans.   Genocide of Indigenous Peoples

I Suppose That's One View of What Happened
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Marianne PhillipsI had the same problem with signs at General Sibley Park in Bismarck.
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Somewhere after Hebron we entered the Mountain Time Zone, although there was nothing announcing it.  I had a BLT wrap at the Cenex station in Richardton, then got rolling again.

We Ride the Scenic Routes
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It's pretty hard to get lost when you are following these roads - it takes real talent to do so - I'm pretty sure I could somehow manage it. 

Just Follow The Road
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Here's today's old barn pic.  It's actually not that old and seems to be well maintained. 

Barns Were Meant To Be Red
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Storms were developing all around us.  I got just a little rain from being near one, and there was a lot of thunder.  Doc was behind me a couple of miles and he got wet and buffeted by the storm.  

Freshly Mowed Hay Contrasts Against The Dark Sky
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There are pretty wildflowers that line the roads.  The wind makes it hard to photograph them and capture a sharp picture. 

Dainty Wildflowers Are In Bloom
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Bill ShaneyfeltA species of wild rose. One internet site says there are 5 species with pink flowers in that area. I could not tell their photos apart. So all I can leave you with is wild rose.
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2 years ago
Dainty Wildflowers Are In Bloom
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Bill ShaneyfeltLooks like alfalfa.

https://www.florafinder.org/Species/Medicago_sativa.php
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2 years ago
Dainty Wildflowers Are In Bloom
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Bill ShaneyfeltYellow sweet clover.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melilotus_officinalis
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2 years ago
Dainty Wildflowers Are In Bloom
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Bill ShaneyfeltBindweed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convolvulus_arvensis
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2 years ago
George HallTo Bill ShaneyfeltThanks Bill! Appreciate the flower classifications. I wish I had a macro lens with me to take better closeups.

Buddy Hall
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2 years ago

 Between Richardton and Dickinson, we encountered 4 cycle tourists who had started on/near the west coast!  Two were guys who were traveling solo, and 2 were ladies who were riding together.  Kathryn and Jennifer are shown below. 

Jennifer and Kathryn Approaching
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Jennifer & Kathryn
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Jennifer is adding people's names and their wishes to ribbons that she ties to her rear flag - what a neat idea!  My 2 wishes are for world peace and advances in cancer treatment  - world peace is a bit of a stretch so I just asked her to write down cancer research.  Yeah, I know that's a bit selfish of me, but that's what's on the ribbon.

We arrived early at the Oasis hotel in Dickinson, and had lunch at the brewpub across the street.  The Oasis was a lot nicer than I had anticipated - the rooms were large, it had good wifi, there is a breakfast, what else could you expect from  a 65$ room?

Our current challenge is that we can't find reasonably-priced lodging for tomorrow.  We only have a couple of options as to where we jump for tomorrow night, and one of them is fully booked and the other is expensive because it's a popular tourist area.  We may camp, but we have to consider the next day's ride as well - so we are busy scheming our path ahead.  This planning stuff ain't always easy - we planned out our jumps, but executing the plan is harder than it seems.  Oh well, we will stay somewhere tomorrow night, because, you know, everybody has to be somewhere. 

Wherever you are tomorrow night I hope it is cozy and safe.  Amateur video follows, good night all...

Today's ride: 52 miles (84 km)
Total: 2,776 miles (4,468 km)

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Rachel and Patrick HugensHi George,
As our routes won't converge when at Wolf Point we stay north, we've been cycling with Robert Ferrari (blog on the other site) for over a week, and there are 3 cyclists behind us (Terry Janet and Ross, the Metal Hip) and we all will be converging in Wolf Point, us probably on Tues, the Metal Hip on Wed. When do you think you'll be there?
What have you heard about places/camping around Wolf Point?
Racpat
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2 years ago
George HallTo Rachel and Patrick HugensRacpat;

We don't go through Wolf Point on the new ACA route. We are considering jumping up to Highway 2 from Circle, MT. If we do that, we would intersect Highway 2 on Friday at Glasgow - so even if we do that we would miss you.

How was Highway 2? Do you think it's a better route? We would have to make the decision to go that way on Wed night, if we do. Thanks,

George (Buddy) Hall
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2 years ago
Rachel and Patrick HugensTo George HallAh, I thought the new route still came up to circle and wolf point and thought you might meet Robert and the O'briens. We are continuing on hwy 2. All the city parks are open for camping. The shoulder varies, but have found the drivers a bit more courteous since Glacier.
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2 years ago
Rachel and Patrick HugensTo George HallWe are staying with ws host here in glasgow.
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2 years ago
George HallTo Rachel and Patrick HugensRacpat,

The new route does go through circle, but not through Wolf point. We are seriously thinking about going north west from Circle and taking Highway two. Voice dictation does some funny things.

Buddy
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2 years ago