Author: Paul Rito (Page 12 of 30)

69.6 miles, 2020′ of climbing, (1533.7 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.

Alex, the guy we talked with yesterday afternoon, proved to be a weather seer. Today we did indeed have a tailwind and it was delicious. Still had 70 miles to cover today and it took us 7 hours. We made a stop at the market in Napolean as the bartender at Dina’s told us they had better selection and prices than the Co-op in Gackle (which wasn’t much more than a convenience store).

63 miles, 1604′ of climbing, (1405 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.

It was a hard day all around. Started OK with everything drying out nicely, but once on the road, we encountered what we knew was coming but always hoped didn’t: Headwinds. Normal headwinds for ND, but we had mostly escaped them on this tour except in the early part of our ride in Ohio.

63 miles, 1604′ of climbing, (1405 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.

The Solbergs fed us a filling breakfast of eggs, toast, and potatoes (organic, from their son’s distribution company), let us tag along on the chicken coop opening, and also importantly, do a load of laundry.

17 miles, 110′ of climbing, (1341.6 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.

It’s nice to have an easy day planned every once in a while. Today was one of those days. The camping equipment needed to be dried out, so we laid things in the sun, made coffee, had breakfast, and Dana went for a run. Our next host was 13 miles away, so we planned to hang around Fargo that afternoon.

63.8 miles, 715′ of climbing, 1015′ down (1324.6 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.

We had coffee & breakfast at the Days Inn, and we stocked up and ate a good full meal before we headed out. Again, we were leaving without knowing exactly what we were doing that night. Dana invoked her dad’s motto: “It doesn’t hurt to ask” and called a campground in Fargo that had already told us they were full, and left a message that pleaded for a “squeeze in.”

51.1 miles, 653′ of climbing, 803′ down (1260.8 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.

From the last post you know that we had an early morning thunderstorm which delayed our start, but we had a real nice snooze and a chance to have coffee and donuts with Don & Sandy.

92.6 miles, 1892′ of climbing (1209.6 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.

We left Paul’s knowing we were heading Northwest, but we didn’t know how far or exactly to where we were going. Our planned goal was Osakis at about 80 miles, but there were no campgrounds that accepted tents and one expensive hotel. So, the day was left to Providence, knowing that something would come through somehow.

52.7 miles, 1324′ of climbing (1,117 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.

Robin’s place was great and we got all our laundry done, a good sleep, good coffee & breakfast in the morning. Chatting with Robin, we learned that she was one of the owners of a metal stamping company started by her father and her brother and her took over from him. It was pretty close to the route to our next stop, so we added it to the route and said we’d get there for a tour if possible. Robin wasn’t going to be available until after 11, but called her son and niece (who are taking over the biz) that we might be stopping by.

41 miles, 1417′ of climbing (1064.3 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.

Dana had a good night’s sleep. Me, not so much. I’m dealing with some sinus congestion and it’s hard to sleep with post nasal drip and coughing. In the end, I got enough to start the day. We got up at 7 and made coffee and took it slow as now we only had 25 miles to get to Dana’s “appointment.”

102.1 miles, 4701′ of climbing (1022.9 tot) – to read from the beginning, click here.

Enough resting! Back to the bikes! Another good, hearty breakfast at Eric’s & Wanda’s, some more last minute bike tasks, and we said goodbye to the Hanlons. Eric reviewed our route and saved us a second big climb on the way to Cannon Falls.