Day 44 – July 26, 2015 – Marion ND to Fargo ND – 95 miles

Day 44 – July 26, 2015 – Marion ND to Fargo ND – 95 miles!

Bumble Bee – Audrey:

Yep, we made it to Fargo. Unbelievable that we actually did 95 miles. It was tough because of the length and time on the bike but the terrain was not that challenging. We had a bit of a head wind and some rough road which also added to the difficulty.

For me it was a mental test also because that landscape and nature of the roads, straight endless roads that seemed to dissolve into the horizon. When you know you have to go 70 miles in one direction that’s hard. My body seemed to hold up pretty well, the reoccurring hamstring issue gave me some trouble about 35 miles into it. When we stopped for lunch, I stretched and took ibuprofen. That seemed to help.

It got pretty hot so we had to keep drinking water. I have a hard time keeping hydrated so I pop a “bomb” into most of my bottles. These electrolyte supplements seem to work, but I am a little worried about them. We try to find the ones with no, or little sugar. Overall, our diets are horrible. Besides the once a week – home cooked camp meal, or a descent restaurant in a larger town, most of our meals consist of burgers and frozen pizzas. There is absolutely nothing else! When, and if we make it a town, they may have a gas station with little convenient store. Yes, I am sure you all have been in them. Kind of like a 7-11 but worse. I am sure you all quickly pass the “hot food” trays with the mystery fried food to purchase your cold waters etc… Well we don’t. Yesterday we had corn dogs and a small pizza that had been sitting under the heat lamp for hours. After that we grabbed some ice cream from the freezer, and we were off.

Disgusting! In these towns we may only have a small cafe with burgers, if you are lucky, but most just frozen pizzas. Nothing fresh at all. It’s horrible. I bought some vitamin supplements, hoping that I get something good in my system. But eating so badly, drinking sugar water, and fried food, it making me concerned. I really hope that Minnesota has better options. I am having a hard time with this.

So for me this makes the ride even harder. We are so lucky in California, wherever we stop or shop there are opportunities for fresh food. We can ride, push ourselves but know that at the end of the road we will have a good meal, and a nice glass of wine, waiting for us.

The ride was long. I find that the best way to deal with this is to look up. The more you look down at the road, the harder it is. When the road is bad, or the shoulder narrow, you spend most of the time looking down at the fog line and rumble strips. This makes the day last forever. To counter the monotony you must force yourself to look up. Look at the birds on the side of the road, calling out to you, encouraging you to keep going. In the mountains the crows did that, here we have prairie terns and red wind black birds. Or you look at the flowers that line the road. There have been small sunflowers for most of our trip, and in North Dakota, little purple clovers. But sometimes when we get to the heavily GMO and pesticide laden designer seed farms, the flowers stop suddenly. Yep, that is what happens. Our industrial farming has killed the wild flowers. The bees and normal crops need those flowers. It sends chills down my spine when I pass the evil seed companies with names like CropLand, REA and ProAg, show up along the road. I know they are all “little Monsantos”. We did pass a Sygenta seed complex, another of the mega evil doers. It is scary.

On the contrary, we have encountered bee enthusiasts too! Twice I have seen “Save the Bees” t-shirts on our journey. And, of course the Honey Hub in Gackle, where the people moved back up to ND to become beekeepers. So there is some hope. Actually at one point we passed a sign next to a beehive that said “Be Hopeful”. I have to keep positive.

This journey has become very different than I had initially imagined. Yes, it has always been a physical challenge but it has become more than that. This country is HUGE. You really can’t understand that until you get on your bicycle, you start walking, or start running (we actually met a women who was running across the country). It gets depressing along the way. The vastness has its beauty. The stark country of North Dakota has its beauty. But sometimes you have to dig deep to find that beauty. When you are out there, way out there, you lose yourself in that world. Many of you may think that this a perfect place to think, to think of life, think of your lot in life, the world situation, just generally what its all about. But, you don’t. I think about my aches and pains, how much water I have, and what waits for me at the end of the day, a cold PBR, a frozen pizza!! Those joys in life that you all may not appreciate unless you have done something like this.

We eventually got to Fargo. 95 miles with 100 lbs under your saddle. I dare any of you to try that and keep your sanity when the road looks like it will never end. To see the water tower of Fargo, to pedal through the beautiful neighborhoods with the immaculate lawns, and to get to our hotel finally, another of those joys along this journey. We were enchanted by Fargo when we arrived. The downtown has been brought to life again with lots of cute bistros, beer halls, bike shops, health food store, and art galleries. We took a command decision to stay a day and recoup from North Dakota. I needed it. It may help me continue this journey.