Day 29 - Elgin, ND to Bismarck, ND - 80 miles - 2,224 feet of elevation gain

Breakfast was at 7am out by the table next to the grill. I wasn’t sure how much gas was in the grill tank, so I didn’t get anything to cook for breakfast (and really I’m not a morning person so who wants to make a big fuss for an early breakfast with an 80 miles day looming?). The local grocery store provided 3 boxes of cereal, a gallon of milk, pastries, donuts, muffins, and OJ. It seemed to be enough to fuel us to the first rest stop.

Before pulling out we had some bike maintenance to perform. I think we are up to 20 flat tires, at least 4 bikes have new tires, and 2 of us have avoided the tube changing process (let’s see how long that will remain the case). I know my rear tire is showing some wear and will need changed in the next 500 miles or so. Tomorrow, our rest day, we are carving out some time to do bike maintenance. Our rides need some attention to keep them rolling properly.

When we left Elgin, we knew there would be a headwind or a crosswind from the east. While I hoped and prayed that the wind would change its course or stop, we know that this wind resistance thing is just making us stronger (right?). Every time the road turned towards the north the break from the wind was felt immediately, it’s just too bad it only lasted for a hot second as the road turned back to the east. Our route seemed to indicate that we were going down to Bismarck, but you could have fooled me, we were rolling up and down all day long. The road we were on was a highway and it’s shoulder changed in width throughout the day. Because of the highway, I didn’t take too many pictures. We did have about 20 miles where we traveled north and got a nice break from the wind. Our lunch break was at a church, and allowed the boys a chance to play before we continued our ride. We also lost an hour today as we crossed another time zone border.

As we got closer to Bismarck, the signs of life became more frequent. Our final 7 miles or so were through the streets of Bismarck, and was quite the contrast from the middle-of-nowhere USA we had been in for a long time. We had to navigate traffic lights (haven’t seen those in a long time), sidewalks, and crossing traffic lanes. It seemed to almost energize the team as we were out of the long straight roads with winds in our face, and we could actually talk to one another at traffic lights.

For dinner we hit a Chinese buffet, which was a hit! Then we made a stop at Walmart for a resupply. After Walmart, we dropped off a few at the hotel and continued the bus tour to a local sports store for one of the boys to pick up some new pedals. Then it was back to the hotel so all of the boys could enjoy the pool.

We have pedaled for 25 of 29 days and reached 1633 miles and 55,251 feet of elevation gain. Tomorrow will be day 30 and marks the halfway point for the days on the trip, but not the mileage. This week we biked 540 miles, which is 9 miles less than week 2 of our journey. However, I would guess if you asked any of the cyclists they would tell you this week was longer. It is amazing how much wind adds to the mental and physical strain. Our rest day is going to be very low key because we have some big mileage days waiting for us.

I talked to 2 of my nieces (3 and 4 years old) tonight and they are having a hard time understanding why I’m not around. The 4 yr old told me to pedal faster to get back to Lancaster. I also talked with my 8 yr old nephew and he was like “Where are you?” And then he was ready to hand off the phone to my sister. Gotta love the differences!