Day 31 - North of Bismarck to Jamestown, ND - 115 miles - 1519 feet of elevation gain

Because there was no direct route from Bismarck to Jamestown except for the highway, we decided to drive north to our starting point and the only paved road heading east (towards our destination). We loaded in the van and drove 20 miles north. Then unloaded the bikes and started riding at 8am.

Smooth roads and light wind greeted us for the morning. As we were rolling along at a decent clip, I was thinking if the day continues like this, I’ll be grand. The thing about the wind is it does whatever it wants. By the afternoon the wind turned to a crosswind and a headwind, neither of which help increase the speed. It was a relatively flat day with a few rollers, but nothing steep.

We lunched in the shade by a lake and a garage. There was no time to visit the water though. There was this looming distance that we needed time to complete. This was definitely the Lake District of North Dakota. It was nice to see water and birds, and the occasional turtle head peaking out of the lake.

When we reached mile 91, everyone had the option to hang their bike in the trailer and ride in the van for the last 24 miles. Otherwise the ride would continue south with a projected headwind. I asked if I was crazy to continue and got a shoulder shrug. So I filled my water bottles and decided to turn the corner to see what the wind was like. It was at my back so I just started pedaling. I was averaging 19 mph without killing my legs so I just kept pedaling. I was alone for a while until 4 riders came flying by me at 25 mph, it was one leader and 3 boys. The other leader was a distance behind them. I just kept pedaling! Around mile 107 the other leader caught up to me and we finished together. It was a dig deep finish as the wind decided to switch directions a few times. I was singing and talking to myself until Mike road with me.

At the hotel I was looking forward to the shower, but our rooms weren’t ready yet and it was like 5:45pm. A few of us didn’t get into our rooms until after 6:30pm. I was showered and ready for dinner by 7pm.

We went to a cheap restaurant at a campground that had steak and burgers. Then we visited the world’s largest Buffalo statue.

Now it’s time for sleeping because tomorrow is another 100+ miles.