It was only 8:30 when I started heading south of Fargo, but it was already hot. Hopped onto the county road going west and crossed over Interstate 29. Had an overwhelming feeling of stepping into the void there seeing the plains spread out almost infinitely into the horizon. It's not that I'm not prepared, just that there is very little to fall back on.
Did a zig-zag pattern on some roads headed Southwest of Horace, but was obstructed by construction. Don't know if I didn't see the detour sign or if there was none given, but my alternate route around the construction lead me on to a gravel road that soon turned into a muddy black trench.
Had to walk the bike. Mud started caking on the wheels and soon it was so thick it began to clog the fenders.
Rough. I cleared it out as I went and pushed on. Finally I got back to the pavement, a sweaty muddy mess, and heard a jingling noise from my wheel in the wind. I looked down and found a broken spoke on the rear wheel.
I was fortunate enough to have the foresight before this trip to get bicycle insurance, which includes roadside assistance. If it sounds completely exorbitant to you, it is, but it's only $10 a month. While I was sitting on the side of the road waiting for my tow truck, kind lady stopped to ask if everything was alright. I said yes and she handed me a bag of cool cherries, which I thanked her for and devoured after she left.
Tow man came about 45 minutes later and he was shocked to find that he only had to take a bike. A first for him I guess. He brought me back to Fargo to the bike store where I got the spoke fixed up real quick and the fellas even loosen the rear hub which they said was far too tight, giving me less resistance for the road ahead.
I was bummed about the whole ordeal but very glad it happened to me so close to Fargo. Having lost my window of opportunity in the cool morning hours, I decided to wait in Fargo until the evening to start again. I did so and bought a $6 sandwich to have for dinner while biking to my destination.
At 4 o'clock I headed out in the same way once more. I avoided the construction this time and made Fairly good time considering the heat was still prevalent and the side winds strong. Around 6 it began to cool and around 7 the winds decreased. At 8 the sun became so low I had my hat brim pointed downwards and spent much of the ride looking at the pavement. I practiced a pedaling meditation in which I try to have my feet keep rotating while not actively telling them to do so, and instead imagine myself being pulled effortlessly by some large magnet in the Pacific. If you look at pavement long enough just below you as you're moving, it begins to look like a waterfall, or many thousands of yards of blue and black and green and grey yarn being strong together into a loom.
I had intended to get to the sheyenne National grasslands, and I was getting very close around 9:30. The sun was setting and it was still 10 miles more, but there was a full moon that I decided to go for it.
There being only 1% of this prairie ecosystem left undisturbed in the United States, I figured it was worth it. I biked as fast as I could pass Sheldon towards where I thought I could access the grasslands.
But once again the road turned to gravel and then to sand. Sam does Breezy's Kryptonite, and all powers were lost. I had to give up as the last light faded, and settled for a farmer's field just off the side of the railroad.
Tried to lay out a tarp and sleep under the stars but the bugs were so bad I couldn't stand it. So I pitched my tent and threw everything in, not bothering to stake it out or even lay out my pad, and just slept on the matted grass beneath me.
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