Day 27 June 26, 2019

Our camp in Ellendale, ND early morning

Henry's notes for today:

Day 27: History tries to repeat itself, in more ways than one. The wind revisited us again, ruffling our tents at 4 am, and we all spent the next couple hours not quite asleep, yet not quite awake, thinking that we would be buffeted by headwinds all day once more. Nevertheless, we dutifully arose, packed up camp, and went to the only local restaurant in Ellendale for breakfast. It was a delight to discover that we had a mild tailwind for our morning ride heading straight north. We arrived in Edgeley (pop. 563) in what seemed like record land speed compared to our plodding pace yesterday. Edgeley was the town that was 26 discouraging miles out of our reach yesterday. Jeff kept calling out incredulously our 5 mile interval times: "Sports fans, we covered the last 5 miles in 18 minutes!" Tim could not contain his excitement that we had gone an average of 15.6 mph between Ellendale and Edgeley. I was bouyant to be making the ride this morning, and not yesterday in the punishing wind.

Henry's rear tire

BBQ in Edgeley

Our plan in Edgeley was to buy provisions for lunch at their grocery store, as there was a no man's gap of 40 miles before we would arrive in Gackle, ND (pop. 310). Since western Minnesota, the towns have been getting noticeably more sparse. Tim made the executive decision that he was going to mail a package of some nonessential items home to offload some weight, as the post office was right there on Main Street. We all contributed a few items each to his package. Even unloading a few ounces made us feel better.

We thought we might stop for lunch 20 miles or so down the road. We scroll through a mental checklist whenever we make our purchases: how much extra weight in food am I willing to carry on my already too-heavy bike, how hungry will I be in 2 hours, is this sub sandwich going to be enough, etc.  We had just stepped outside the store with our thoughtfully planned lunches, when a local resident strolling by informed us about the free BBQ a block away, an annual event sponsored by Dakota Plains Credit Union, headquartered in Edgeley, as a gift to the community. The allure was too great to resist, and we ended up being local celebrities. Our mug shots were captured with Dakota Plains CU management, and we will likely be in their next newsletter or Facebook posting.

Heading towards Gackle, we joined up with the popular northern tier Adventure Cycling route across America. There is an almost legendary Warm Showers haven in Gackle called the Honey Hub, which we had heard about way back in Maryland when we crossed paths with "The Roaming Kiwi", a nomadic New Zealander who has seemingly biked everywhere, including across America in 2018. He analyzed our route, and recommended that we not miss the free lodging provided in Gackle by Jason and Ginny Miller and their 4 children. They are incredibly generous to open up part of their basement to complete bicycling strangers, providing beds and a separate bathroom. Jason is a 5th generation beekeeper, and his company produces the Honey Stinger line of health food products. The Honey Hub is a true oasis for bikers, providing a fridge full of treats (pay on the honor system), as well as a free washer and dryer.

We rode just under 70 miles today, and had time to do some bike maintenance upon arrival. I had noticed about 200 miles ago that my rear tire tread wear indicator was showing, and Tim helped me change out my rear tire in no time flat.

Bike Maintenance at the Honey Hub

Tim then noted distressingly that he had 2 broken spokes on his recently replaced rear wheel. How could this be happening again? In retrospect, he might have run over something that popped up and broke his spokes just before arriving in Gackle. Tim had spare spokes along, but they fit his old damaged wheel, and not the current one. The nearest bike shop to obtain replacement spokes would be in Bismarck, 100 miles away. There is a cheerful ending to this - after some rumination of repair options at dinner, Tim was able to move 2 spokes from his front wheel to the back, and use his spare spokes to replace the ones on the front wheel. There was just enough extra threading on the front wheel spokes to make it all work. The rear wheel was made whole again, and will be tested to tolerance again tomorrow. 

Maps of today's ride:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3787193072

https://www.relive.cc/view/u3630004162