7-5-10 Day 30: Larimore, ND to Devil’s Lake ND: 67miles in 5:07 hours. Rt 2 west the whole day.
Yesterday was the most subdued 4th of July I think I’ve ever experienced. As I said, I was in tiny little Larimore, ND, a quaint little town with a big dose of small town ambience. Seems everyone knows everyone here, and I stuck out like a sore “lycra clad” thumb! But folks were very friendly and helpful the whole day. So a little recap on the rest of yesterday.
After I hung for a bit in the sun on the porch of my efficiency getting half toasted on some Killians I purchased at the local pub, I wandered over to have some dinner at Larson’s Drive-Inn, a cool mom and pop diner just next door to my motel. I ordered the Larson Burger, and it was a monster. Got the onion rings to – amazing amout! And I was full. Yup, full. Really full! It was so quiet there with just a few patrons coming in for dining and carry-out. Owner said most everyone was on picnics at the lakes and that she was closing early at 8 PM that evening. After dinner I retired to my motel and watched some more Tour. Amazingly, not another soul settled down at the Del Mar, my motel, that night. It was just me in a vacant little motel. I drifted off to sleep listening to the locals shooting off fireworks in their yards. Nothing obnoxious, actually kind of soothing hearing some activity out there in this small Great Plains town. And I slept like a baby the whole night.
Woke early and decided to get a quick go on the day because of potential afternoon thunderstorms, the wind and the heat. All three were enough to get me motivated to get going asap. I rolled over to the convenience store for dannish and coffee, and then wolfed all down, packed and out the door. I was on the bike at 6:10 AM. Yup, one of the earliest starts I’ve had in ages. But this was a GREAT idea because the wind was calm, only ever so slightly out of the southwest. The heat…….no heat! Had to put my long sleeved jersey on because it was nice and cool. What a wonderful way to start the day. Got to do this out here. Late start can mean bad wind, bad heat and getting caught in afternoon pup-up thunderstorms.
Felt awesome out there for the first hour. Really just me and the road. I could do a comfortable 14 mph with nice fighting of the wind. Now that doesn’t mean that every morning will be this way, but I had hoped that the wind machine, which I’ve noticed really gets going after 10 AM, would be subdued for the first several hours. And this proved to be the case today. Sunny, almost calm winds, low traffic, and a long ribbon of highway stretching out in front of me as far as I could see. The morning was just so crisp and clear. Went through Petersburg, Michigan, and finally Lakota. Hit Lakota in about 2 hrs feeling a bit parched so I stopped at one of those super duper convenience store/gas stations for a Powerade.
Now I had complained about the berm on Rt 2 yesterday, but today, it was pretty good, and in some places just excellent, where brand new asphalt had just been put down, and where I was on cloud 9 with the negligible rolling resistance on my bike’s tires. It was one of those “pinch me” moments where everything was clicking. By 10 AM, yup, the winds picked up to about a 10 mph cross headwind from the southwest – still nothing compared to the gales I endured yesterday. I did notice that the road was not REALLY flat, but rather had these super long false flats. I mean you could look back and not really see a pitch, but on the bike I could just tell because the pedaling got harder and harder. Then of course the highway would dip ever so subtly when crossing a creek or river. Also noticed that I was riding by just miles worth of wetlands alongside the road, miles and miles of interconnected ponds and lakes with tons of waterfowl. Even saw some pelicans, which if asked are there pelicans in ND, I’d have answered an unequivocal NO.
The wetlands were just gorgeous sparkling in the early morning sun, and filled with a gazillion ducks, geese and birds I’d never even seen before. Three hrs in and the wind continued to pick up, so to did the heat. Ended up taking off the long sleeve and putting on the tank – no more bulldogs thank God! Four hrs in and was making pretty good time, averaging just over 13 mph. Now that may sound slow, but let me tell you, you just don’t know slow until you’re working your ass off and just breaking 9 mph, THAT’S SLOW! Yesterday’s average was 10.9. Today, getting those extra 2 mph was massive. I mean that kind of mph can really make or break a day in the saddle. Multiply those 2-3 mph by 5-6 hrs in the saddle and all of a sudden it’s the difference between getting somewhere and feeling like you’re getting nowhere. Pulled into a final rest stop about just over 4 hrs in. Got water and looked at a map to see if going further would prove a good move today. But……nothing but a casino between Devil’s Lake and New Rockford – a bit of camping but with no amenities. And New Rockford is over 40 miles away – with a pretty stiff southwesterly wind to ride into.
Nope. Decided to “lay up” in Devil’s Lake and push for Carrington tomorrow. I had 67 miles in by Devil’s Lake, and pushing to New Rockford would likely be a nasty grunt of 9 mph for 4 hours. “Hell, this is a vacation not RAM,” I told myself. And with that I was in the efficiency mode hunt. And just as I rode into town I saw the perfect candidate – the Topper Motel, with a sign that said $29 single. Done. Yup, the Topper, my kind of place! Stopped and ended up talking to the owner for like 20 min. Well, I should say “listening” to the owner, as he told my about his divorce, his kids, his clan scattered all about the country, his X being so dumb that she turned the sump pump off in his former house because it “ran too much,” thereby flooding the basement. Nice guy, and I kind of giggled and nodded at times as he proceeded to tell me all this stuff. Hell, I don’t even know how we got on the subjects. But he was a good sort and I tried to be courteous nonetheless.
So I had finished at about noon – not bad when you start riding at nearly 6 AM. Got my room, but SSSSSSHHHHHIIIIITTTT – no Versus on this cable TV. So I had free wifi, and I immediately pulled out the computer and tuned into the live feed to watch the end of the Stage 2. But I’d really like to see the whole stage, so I’ll try to see if something on the net has a rebroadcast. Versus is being a bit greedy now, charging $29.95 for unlimited access to the stage broadcasts via computer. May have to cha ching the VISA. Then I was off on the bike, down Rt 2 about 1.5 miles to the Subway for my two footlongs. And man, they were just excellent – coldcut combo and seafood salad.
Devil’s Lake reminds me of Flaming Gorge with all the vacationers out here. Now this may not be as big as Flaming, but this is a pretty big place. And the amazing thing, at least up here at Devil’s Lake, it’s like there is no topography – the lake is just there sitting in the middle of the Plains like a piece of mirrored glass atop the fields. It’s quite pretty.
Short break.
Well, not more than an hour ago I had just told Judy via skype that I was eating well…..well, as if I hadnn’t learn a lesson from the KFC and the ice cream incident. No, the tummy gremlin knows no sensibilities, and I was lured to Dairy Queen where I ordered this monster half pound dbl cheeseburger and onion rings…..followed by a banana spit! Damn, hadn’t had a banana split in 20-some years. Ummmmmm! Sooooo I may get that tummy ache around 3 AM. I just cannot fight the gremlin. Not fair, not even close. It’s like I’m a zombie blindly walking, arms extended out in front of me, into some junk food place and dropping 10 bucks, as the saliva just builds up in my mouth like a starving dog. Then, when I’m done I’m still freaking hungry! Oh well, at least I’m riding a solid 5-7 hrs a day to burn all those calories.
GREAT TO HEAR FROM YOU TODAY, PETE
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