Covid Cross Day #26 Fargo, ND to Enderlin, ND
Covid Cross Day #26
June 29, 2020
Fargo, ND to Enderlin, ND 58 Miles
Start 7:53 AM Finish 2:19 PM
Ride Time 5:20
Ascent 185 Feet
Tour Total 2272 Miles
I had an interesting night camping in Fargo. Linwood Park was located at where I-94 crosses the Red River, and I snuck into campsite 10. The freeway was loud, but I was so tired that I was able to nod off. It was hot and I slept in my underwear with my side tent flaps open. It got windy in the middle of the night and the flaps started snapping. Then I heard the clap of thunder and saw bright flashes of lightening. I took a leak before the storm hit. My gear was secured on my bike. I wasn't using my sleeping bag, so I secured it along with my clothing and shoes inside my dry bag. I didn't know whether to move everything to a distant shelter or not. Crack-crack kaboom! I was somehow able to drift back to sleep. I had weird dreams about people I hadn't seen in decades. I woke up at 7:30 AM. Everything in the campground was soaking wet, including the outside of my tent. There were blood spots all over my sleeping bag liner and Thermarest from yesterday's wipe out. My left elbow was sore.
Last evening, before riding over to the park, I had a chance to explore Fargo. It was a nice town with a good feel. The city's swimming pool had been open and it was temping to stop. I had dinner at Beer & Fish Co where I ordered Halibut & chips with a pint of Fargo Brewing Stones Throw. There was serious wind out of the south. I used the electric hook-up at my campsite to add a charge to my devices.
In the morning, the mosquitoes were out in numbers. It had stopped raining and I rolled up my wet tent and stuck it under my rear rack pack. I rode over to the bathhouse to take my vitamins and go to the bathroom. I needed to pedal my mileage before the wind picked up. I was now on ACA Northern Tier Map Section 4. I remembered this part of route from last year and I knew to ride on the sidewalk on the east side of University Drive. The map listed it as a bike trail, but it was really just a wide sidewalk. The trail was so much better than sharing four lanes of busy motor traffic. I rode back out of the city the way I had come in. Today I continued further south, and back out into the fields. The pavement was wet and there were large puddles.
The trail had become asphalt and it finally came to an end. I rejoined the road which, at this point, was only two lanes with a wide shoulder. Motor traffic was sparse but fast. I needed to now think about how to approach North Dakota and Montana. Early starts would be important to beat the wind and heat. I also now needed to pay attention to sparse services. It was important to stop whenever services were available.
I took a right on County Road 14 headed west. I was hungry and explored my food options. I noticed several collections of beehives in an adjoining field. There were a lot of fireworks stores in North Dakota. I crossed over I-29. I could see on my map that Horace, population 2437, was a mile off route, and I made the decision not to go look for food there. I was searching for where I had eaten last year and I missed a turn. I overshot the turn by a mile. Back on route, I crossed over the Sheyenne River, which was a thick muddy brown creek. A van passed me going the other direction honking it's horn and giving me the thumbs up. I noticed that they had bicycles strapped to the rear. The wind was out of the southwest today. It was blowing into my face, and I knew it was only going to get worse as the day wore on. It was a great morning with mostly overcast skies. The sun finally broke through at 10 AM.
I was stair-stepping south and west. I took a left on Highway 15 south towards Kindred, where I would be having my breakfast. I was so hungry. Finally the white water tower appeared on the horizon. The sign on the edge of town read "Welcome to Kindred, Where kindness is a way of life". I stopped at Morning Glory where I ordered eggs over easy, with bacon and toast, pancakes, coffee, and orange juice. I had eaten here last year, and once again signed the guest book. Before leaving town I oiled and cleaned my chain. It had been awhile. I lathered myself with sunscreen before departing. I cut south for one more mile and then took a right on State Highway 46 heading west. I would be on this highway for the next several map panels heading straight west in a perfectly straight line.
The wind was from the south west and it wasn't quite a headwind. I was riding on the shoulder and there was very little space to the right of the white line. A truck honked at me, but what was I supposed to do? I noticed a roadside fence where an upside down boot hung on every post. My gearshift levers were tight from having sat out in the rain. I heard from Sidd and Chris who were now in Bismarck. One of them had a broken gear shifter. This was the stretch of road where I met Carolyn and Kurt last year. They had ridden the Northern Tier eastbound. We had remained in contact and they had offered me a place to stay in Madison Wisconsin. It was still somewhat hazy and the sun wasn't yet at full force. It was 81°F.
I saw a bald eagle picking at a roadkill ground hog. The rumble strips stretched the width of the shoulder so I had to ride left of the white line. Although it seemed flat, I was now at over 1000 feet elevation and was slowly climbing. At the turn off to Sheldon I saw my first roadkill Prairie dog. I crossed the copper colored Maple River, and finally got a decent shoulder. I climbed a small hill and passed a large sunflower plant. I've never seen North Dakota sunflowers on tour. I finally spotted the Enderlin water tower far in the distance, meaning that it would soon be the end of the line for me today.
The sign on the edge of town said, "Welcome to Enderlin, established 1891. Small town with a big heart. Bicycle friendly community." I rode into the business district and stopped at Tesoro to buy two Powerades. I spotted a small public swimming pool across the street. I asked if I could use the shower and take a dip. The pool wasn't bracing cold as I had hoped, but it was nice to be clean again. I washed my laundry in the bathroom sink.
I rode over to Patrick Pierce Park where I would be camping. I dried my tent in the sun and hung my dried laundry. There was electricity, so I recharged my devices. I was tired, and took a nap in my tent. I slept for a couple hours, and woke up at 7 PM. I rode over to Trio's where I had eaten last year. I ordered the jalapeño burger and enjoyed several bottles of Goose Island IPA. The server told me there was road construction on Highway 46 west of town.
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