We finished another CANDISC tour and arrived home Tuesday eve. I will include a daily diary of the trip. The next blog will be some of the neat things we saw on the ride in ND. Tour had about 350 riders from 29 states, 4 Canadian provinces and 3 countries (Australia, Italy, Qatar). We did the ride again with our friends Ron and Kathy from Pillager, MN and got reacquainted with several riders we met from previous rides.Sat. 7/31
An afternoon of picking up riding packets, attaching tags to bikes, packs, etc. Each rider can have 2 bags not weighing more than 40 lbs each. Name tag on bike includes your name and where you are from. Trip sheets for each day include the route, where rest stops are, points of interest, Camping locations, showers, entertainment for the evening, tours, and meals (fare and cost). After the admin stuff, time to set up tents (Sheila and I opt for a motel the first night). This is followed by an evening meal and then orientation on support and things to watch out for (Like oil trucks on day 3 and 4). As an aside CANDISC has a lot of equipment to support us. Two luggage trucks that haul all our gear, 3 sets of porta-potties leaped frogged down the road, a shower trailer, full time bike mechanic who cruises the road, two sag vehicles with trailers for bikes (for those who can't make it), 3 CANDISC cars/trucks to insure all is going well or take care of emergencies. All of this support comes for the low price of $160 for the week - a real deal.
Aug 1 Sun - 76 miles Fort Stevenson (Garrison, ND)
Low temps today with the wind at our back so just flew. Under 10 miles to go by noon even without pushing and also spending time at each rest stop. Good to save energy for the big one in a couple of days. Good soft campsite. Great tour of tire processing plant - more later.
Aug 2 Mon - 61 miles Berthold to Kenmare
No rain jacket on board today so of course had a rain storm. Fortunately were at a rest stop and sat for 45 min under umbrella while it thundered, rained and blew. Timing is everything. Although shorter dist. it was a harder day as had wind against us the last 25 miles. Pizza, smoothie, ice cream, and OJ made it all better. Great that you can eat anything you want and burn it off at these distances. Camping site at school was almost private with bathrooms near by. But we forgot about the overhead lites that made it seem like daylight, and the chain on the flagpole clanging all night - oh well. Sure wish we had more sleep as big day on Tue.
Aug 3 Tue - 100 miles Kenmare to Crosby
Long tough day. Not enough sleep. First 15 miles had tire sucking pavement as Ron calls it. First 30 miles were constant hills with no relief in between - up one side, down the other, repeat the process. All the while we were also gaining 800 feet in total elevation. Then of course had the wind in our face. I suffered the first 15 miles, but got stronger as the miles rolled on. Suffering is sometimes part of biking. Middle 30 miles saw a little more moderation in the hills and the last section was much better. Only averaged in the 13's today. Lot of saggers. Lots of oil trucks today - oil business is booming in ND. Got in before a rainstorm hit. knew this would be a long day so months ago grabbed a motel room (only 1 of 2 towns that had motels on this route). Sure was nice to be in air conditioning. Talked Ron and Kathy into joining us. CANDISC has a rule that 9:30 is quiet time. By 8:30 the tents were zipped up and folks were tucked in. A hard day for all.
Aug 4 Wed. 58 miles Crosby to Bowbells
Never had such an easy day for this distance. Road was absolutely flat with a good wind at our back. Averaging around 18 mph and ran above 20 a lot without pushing - sweet. Road within 7 miles of the Canadian border all day. Lots of oil trucks again. Attended the Mayor's reception. Then at evening meal they had group playing waltzes, etc. Sheila's parents loved the blue skirt waltz. The group played it and the mayor danced it with Sheila.
Aug 5 Thur. 71 miles Bowbells to Glenburn
Another nice day with wind at our back or a cross wind. Got in by 12:30. Town really was ready for us. Lots of camping places, greeting station with hand outs, lots of food vendors, arts in the park, great eve. meal, and a hot air balloon exhibition. Ron and Kathy found us a great camping place almost by ourselves near the Catholic Church. At end of tour we vote on best overnight stay, best eve. meal, best rest stop. Winners get substantial prize money. Think Glenburn has chance to win on overnight and meal.
Aug 6 Fri. 67 miles Glenburn to Makoti
Bone tiring day. Constant uphill into a mild wind. Temp was getting up there with high humidity for ND. Wasn't difficult terrain, it just kept going West forever and busting wind all day. Just some days when you are bone tired. Spent a lot of time in Senior center (they had baked goods for us, air conditioning, and soft sofas/recliners). After all the 4 of us are senior citizens now that Sheila has hit the big 60. Great trashing grounds tour. Camped on the ball field by ourselves. When we came back from the shower it was like tent city. It was not noisy as everyone must have been tired and all hit the sack early. That was after a great evening of music in the park. Rain storm during the night with constant thunder and lightning for what seemed like a hour or more.
Aug 7 Sat. 45 miles Makoti to Garrison to Fort Stevenson
Beautiful weather, little wind, cool temps and a short distance to bike. Got in by 11. CANDISC provides a great picnic lunch for us at the finish line. Said goodbye to fellow bikers and then biked the last 4 miles into Fort Garrison. Talked Ron and Kathy into staying overnight at Sheila's brother's place so they didn't have to drive all the way back on Sat. Went out to see the horses in the afternoon after naps.
Sheila and I stayed a couple of days to visit relatives.
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