North Dakota
Ooooftahhhh. We are off the grid in Fargoooo.
Friday, September 14th, 2007
Today was a blustery windy day in Fargo North Dakota. Boy they are rugged up here. The winds were 35-40 mile per hour gusts and this was the windiest ride yet.
Thanks to the hospitality and home cooked meal from Melanie and her family, we were well fueled for this ride. Thanks Mel, Paul, and Carrie. Your house was awesome, the bed was comfortable, and the ribs were amazing…… Glad Scot left me some. It is always great to be able to stay with a family rather than a hotel… Especially a family such as yours that has been touched by cancer so significantly. I rode for you all yesterday and it was a great ride! I am thinking of you on this journey and these rides are for you.
The ride itself was “off the grid” It was great to get away from traffic and just avoid the occasional beat truck . It wasn’t until mile 85 that we actually started to see a lot of cars again. The peacefulness of the scenery took my mind off the wind. We had some mishaps that reminded me to stay focused and we had a close call when Mel crashed and almost took me with her. That was scary. Luckily she was okay. It wasn’t too serious. We also had to watch out hydration status because in the cold weather it is hard to remember to drink. Dehydration can really slow things down. We did well and finished strong. Most importantly Melanie was okay and we saw some beautiful terrain as we rode for our lost parents due to an awful disease.
We had an article written up in the Fargo newspaper. It will provide more info on the ride itself… It can be seen at inforum.com or try the link below:
http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=178104§ion=news
After the ride- Scot came to get Melanie and I with Paul's famous spare ribs and leftovers from Melanie and her family. MMMM then off to South Dakota for ride 28. the timing was right… as we pulled into town, so did vantasauras and Scot. It was planned out just right to get us ready to head to the next destination. We had to tighten up our schedule due to the high winds and cool weather that slowed the ride. All worked.
The highlight was when we pulled up to Mel’s sister’s house, her brother in law said to Scot and I, are you ready for the wind… I confidently said yes… then he said no really are you ready…. I said yes, thinking it was like Minnesota or Wisoconsin. He laughed. Then the next day, after I ate my humble pie for breakfast and pancakes. I realized what he was talking about. Thanks Paul.
Be well-
Gary G