OK, we were warned about rain, flooding, mosquitoes, oil exploration BUT NO ONE told us about the 40 mph headwinds......that was not fun....we came to appreciate those winds at times they were simply cross winds. You might ask, "How do you know they were 40 MPH?" The highest we clocked was 36 but we were testing for only 5 minutes out of the day. It was so bad, we stopped, I downloaded an application for the I phone that measures wind speed and recorded for 5 minutes. Even the N Dakotans thought it was windy, we had a flat tire and didn't even need the pump to fill the tire. We came to the conclusion that our friends did not mention the wind at these levels as they were not stupid enough to bike in it when it got this bad.
We however have the disadvantage of knowing the weather forecast and it was bad for the last 3 days with respect to wind, today being the worst. All remain in good spirits, fatigued but with senses of humor. Wonder how Erin and Kelly Ann must have dealt with days like today. Just a reminder of what an accomplishment it is to get this kind or endeavor completed. No regrets even on this, the worst of biking days weather wise. NE ND was by the far the worst for aesthetics, people here are incredibly friendly, the heartland is a good place to be a stranger looking for a camp site in a small town.
Boys were studs taking their turn at leading thru the wind, not that it did a lot of good. Tomorrow Fargo and a more formal repair of the 2 broken spokes.
We are spending the night figuratively and literally in Hope tonight after 75 miles.
I have been reading your blogs every day. So inspiring!That wind sounds like something else! You are all awesome. Keep up the good work. Pepper
ReplyDeleteyes we had tornado warnings in Cooperville so we stayed in a motel! I think the watertower was getting further away with each pedal stroke. good news is that it really is pretty flat to Fargo. there are two good bike shops in town. We went to the one downtown, they have gellato, but we thought they were a little snooty. well we do have weird bikes. so they may love you and your fast machines. Erin can highly reccomend the fargo pool, also downtown and Kelly loved the public library, they have a teen only room, she spent a bit of time there! They also have a fun sporting goods store called Sheilds? ask about it, we stocked up and there is a ferris wheel in the store. Have fun in Fargo, hopefully the downtown camp ground is doing better then 09, had been flooded out. Best wishes and we love your blog! Barb and the girls!!!
ReplyDeletei think everyone neglected to warn you about ND headwinds because 1)we all blocked them out of our memories 2)we didn't ride very far those days, anyway and 3) it's more entertaining to watch you people suffer unexpectedly :P
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