- Rolling Hills. We faced a headwind on our way south out of Minot, but then turned onto ND-23. The headwind then became a crosswind, much easier to deal with. And these next 55 miles were long rolling hills. My strategy is to pedal as fast as I can on the downhill and hope that momentum is enough to carry me back up over the next one. It worked wonderfully today and I was even acceleratin up hills. I find it so satisfying to accelerate on up hills; I think of it as a big F you to gravity.
- Healthy Body. I was feeling good. Other than a nagging dull pain in my left knee, no other major issues. My rear began to feel decent at mile 18 and stayed that way for the rest of the day. Pedaling and the hills were made that much easier since I wasn't having any physical issues.
- Unsafe Roads. Last year on this route, two riders were hit by a car and had to be taken to the hospital. At dinner last night, a church member warned us that we'd be entering ND oil country with lots of semis. Our leaders told us that ND-23 is a two-lane road with a narrow shoulder. At BINGORAMA last night, I enjyoed sharing a game of bingo with all the elderly people in and around Minot, I was less thrilled to think that we'd be sharing the same roads. Understandably so, I was a little on edge today; I even left the people I was riding with because of it. The game plan was to put as much mileage down as I could safely and then decrease my time on the road, lowering any chance for problems or accidents. It basically translates as riding like a bat out of hell.
- No Lunch Stop. The van's transmissions decided to stop functioning at mile 18. It was towed back to Minot to get fixed. This meant no lunch stop; we'd have to fend for oursevles. I caught up with the front group at a gas station at mile 42 where they decided to scavenge lunch from the shelves. I had a a clif bar and lots of shot bloks on me, so I decided to keep moving and just eat those as I rode, saving time.
- No Van at Destination. Normally the van is already at our hsot location well before the first riders get in. So, it means those that come in can take their showers, rest, etc. that much sooner if they get in earlier. Well, there was no chance of that today and therefore no incentive to be moving quickly to make it to New Town.
After chalking the one turn to the high school, I treated myself to a much deserved and needed lunch at a small cafe on their main street. Before eating, I walked over to the grocery to get a magazine to read over lunch. I wanted something more like TIME or Newsweek, but Star was as highbrow as the reading selections went. Two tables chatted with me as I entered: one a family driving back to Washington state after a family reunion in the area here and two a group of church people who had seen our group before and knew what we were doing, they even gave me a donation.
The cheeseburger hit the spot and after an hour and a half I finally headed over to the high school. Many other people had arrived and then the waiting for the van began. A bunch of us headed over to a rummage sale at the library and picked up some goodies. I finally found a sweater. Since entering Minnesota, I've wanted a sweater as most of the places crank their AC or fans, thinking that since we're in the sun and biking all day we must be very hot all the time--I'm not. Well, I picked up a navy blue cardigan with elbow patches and a "Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission" logo on the chest . . . for 50 cents. An absolute steal.
The van has finally arrived. We'd spent the past several hours filling our time with: napping on the wrestling mats; using the school's computer lab; checking out the scene at the local tastee-freeze; cleaning our bikes; reading horoscopes from STAR; Jessie giving break dance lessons; and a few showering and then wearing their rummsage sale fines.
Last night in Minot, a group of eight of us went to BINGORAMA to play bingo. We all had seen the billboard on the way in. Bingo is near and dear to my heart and for our two days in Minot had been talking it up, going through all those fun bingo phrases: Quack quack it's I-22; It's not malignant, it's B-9; Show those sexy legs B-11; etc. We had also adopted calling things a "bongo" for anything we didn't like (A bongo is when someone calls bingo but their all their numbers weren't called). We made our way to Bingorama and were absolutely shocked; it was a bingo factory. Basically old people just sitting and looking intently at their cards and blotting out the numbers when called. We were quite the odd sight and all heads turned to us when we walked in. We were the loudest in the room throughout the night and the most excited. Everyone else seemed to be a machine, they lost all the excitement for bingo. The woman who won $1700 at the end, her bingo was lifeless and dull. We played several games and spent only $5.50, a successful excursion indeed.
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