Cambridge, MN

Hi Folks,

I'm now getting used to equipment failures. I now have a new rear derailleur (replaced in Washington), a new rear wheel (replaced in Minot, ND), a new stove (replaced in Whitefish, MT). Yesterday my camelback water bladder started leaking. Luckily I have a spare with me.

Now this morning my laptop has died. It looks like the power supply is a goner. Most of my photos from Minot to here are on the hard drive. I have a dilemma: put the hard drive into an enclosure and forfeit the warranty or just give you text for now and the photos later once the laptop is fixed. I'm leaning towards sending the laptop in for repairs.

Thursday September 13th

It was a cold, gray, and windy day with a forecast high of 49F.

I replaced the old tire with the new one and inflated the tube. The rim started to flare out. This means I would not be able to use rear brake. Bad news. I deflated the tire and bent the rim back to how it should be then inflated the tube again to 65psi. The rim did not flare out at this pressure. I packed up everything and rode back to the bike shop. I asked if the rim could be replaced but the bike mechanic was very busy and would not have enough time to respoke the new rim. Instead he offered a new wheel which I decided to buy. The mechanic said the wheel would be ready in 2 hours as he would have to transfer the rear gear cassette over to the new wheel.

I grabbed the stuff out of my bags to send home and to forward on to a post office ahead of me. I took the laptop with me to work out where I'd be in a few weeks time. I decided to send the ayurvedic herbs to Winona, MN. I met Steve at the post office. He offered to take me to lunch and to drop me back at the bike shop after lunch.

When I returned to the bike store I paid for the wheel, and put it back on the bike. Steve led the way in his truck to show me where to go to get to route 2.

The shoulder between Minot and Granville was between 1 foot and nothing. And I was riding alongside cars traveling 70mph! Scary stuff...

Luckily the wind was at my back and was blustering between 10-25 mph. I glided along to Towner and reached there at 7:15pm.

I had a hot chocolate at the gas station and rode to the city park. I cooked a nice meal and had an uncomfortable sleep as my feet got cold during the night.

Friday September 14th

There was a frost on the ground when I woke up. I met a local guy who said the temperature dipped to 29F. Brrr...

After breakfast I rode into town and bought some groceries. I departed for Minnewaukan at 11:30am.

I reached Rugby (geographical center of the US) around 2pm. I checked emails at the library then had lunch at a park nearby. As I was taking my trash to the rubbish bin I noticed an MP3 player lying on the ground. Since I had no idea who owned it I decided to carry it with me until I could place an ad in the lost & found section of a local newspaper.

I bought some fleece fabric from a store to ensure I would be warm at night.

It was a long days ride and I arrived at Minnewaukan at 10:30pm. I enjoyed leaving on my read tail light and riding with no headlight along the low traffic roads. There was enough light from the moon to see where I was going. If a car came by I'd turn on the headlight to let the driver know I was there.

After a few times asking for directions to the city park I eventually found it. It was not signposted. There was picnic tables and water but no toilets.

I made a quick meal then had a pleasant sleep under my new fleece blanket.

Saturday September 15th

I departed at 11:20am, bought some groceries from the local supermarket. Some guys were interested in the bike so I talked to them for a while. I was heading to Pekin.

It was sunny with a head / side wind which slowed me down a bit.

By 1:18pm the road turned to the east and I had a tail wind again.

There were many sunflower and corn fields along the way. I had lots of views of a lake as well.

I stopped at Fort Totten, part of an Indian reservation, for lunch.

There were a lot of closed roads. Possibly from flooding.

I collected 6 soda bottle tops from discarded bottles alongside the road for a project. There was a lot of trash alongside the road.

I stopped for a quick snack next to a lake at 5:30pm. A couple of weekend army guys stopped for a talk. One of the guys, James, owned a Volae recumbent high racer bicycle and offered for me to stay at his house in Fargo.

I arrived at Pekin at 9:45pm. I got directions to city park from the bartender at the local pub.

I had another nice sleep under my fleece blanket.

Sunday September 16th

Today I was planning on reaching Hope.

I departed around 12 noon after everything dried out from the heavy dew overnight.

I had 26 miles of riding into a headwind. It really slowed me down and I got tired. The only thing keeping me going was my MP3 player playing my favorite music.

After I reached highway 200 at 5pm the road turned to the east and I had a side / tail wind.

I decided to stay at Cooperstown as I was too tired to continue. The city park had a nice shower and good tasting water. However the mosquitos were very hungry and I had to put on my wet weather clothing and my bug headshield to avoid being bitten.

Monday September 17th

I wanted to reach Fargo today which would be 91 miles. I departed at 5:48am for breakfast at Hope. I arrived there at 8:30am and saw Ken and Sue eating in the diner. I joined them for breakfast.

For the rest of the day we rode togetherhaviong lunch in Arthur and reaching Fargo at 5pm. I followed Ken and Sue first to the bike store to fix Sue's front derailleur then to a hotel while Ken and Sue registered. Then we rode to Juano's restaurant for a nice meal. This would possibly be the last time we would ride together as Ken and Sue would be riding staight across Minnesota to visit friends.

After the meal we parted and I rode to James's house to stay the night. I pitched the tent of their rear lawn and was able to take a shower and get some laundry done. James was unfortunately driving a BNSF train and would not be able to meet me. Sue, his wife was a very nice host.

Tuesday September 18th

After cooking breakfast on their kitchen stove and checking my emails I departed around 11am. I rode back to the bike store and asked if they would dispose of my old tire. Then I went to find a pharmacy to get my prescription filled. I have another abscess above a tooth that had recent surgery. Mick prescribed some antibiotics while I was in Williston.

After getting the prescription I rode over a toll bridge into Moorehead, MN. No welcome to Minnesota sign here.

It was a cool and windy day.

On route 26 that I was riding on, I reached a junction that had a sign saying the road was closed 5 miles ahead. I took the detour and had to ride an extra 20 miles! I reached Hitterdal at 6:15pm and decided to stay in the city park that night. It was forecast to rain that night so I put up the tent under the enclosed pavilion.

Wednesday September 19th

I was going to ride 81 miles to Lake Itasca today.

Shortly after departing at 10am I noticed the rear brake was rubbing. I discovered a broken spoke in my new rear wheel. After tightening up the spokes on either side of the broken one, I was able to get the wheel straightened.

I stopped for lunch outside the country store in Richwood, rode through the Tamarac Wildlife Refuge, and I was amazed by the fall colors of the deciduous trees along the way. They seem to be at peak color. I also had a nice ride on a recently sealed route 143.

I reached Lake Itasca State Park at 8:30pm. I found a nice tent site and started to make a meal. I caught a raccoon trying to make off with my burrito wrap bread. I intercepted the robbery and the 'coon scampered up a tree. I walked over to the tree and we were face-to-face about 1 yard away from each other. I told the 'coon that all my food would be locked away in the men's bathroom that night and that I wanted an uninterrupted sleep in my tent. The 'coon obliged.

Thursday September 20th

It was a wet day today.

I rode the bike path at the park down to where the guide boat wharf then back up to the bike shop. Sam at the bike shop made a replacement spoke for me. He asked if I had a cassette removal tool as I would need it to install the spoke. I didn't have the tool. Sam offered to do it for me. As he was working we talked. Sam had been to Australia after he left the military then he purchased the bike and boat rental business form his father a few years before. I offered to pay for Sam's work but he would only accept $2 for the spoke. He said that I had picked the right day to come to get the spoke repaired.

I rode back to the tent, cooked breakfast and packed everything up. Then I headed to the Mississippi headwaters for a photo.

The rest of the day I kept crossing bridges over the Mississippi River.

By dusk I was at Bena and I arrived in Bemidji just before 7pm. I took a photo of Paul Bunyan and the Bull then went looking for a supermarket for food. Found some food at a drug store then rode out of town to an RV Park.

I cooked a nice meal and slept well.

Please see blog from Stillwater, MN for September 21st through September 26th.