RC Trans Northern Tier Bicycle Tour

Northern Tier Day #34 June 23, 2019 Round Lake, MN to Fargo, ND 86 Miles Ride Time 6:37 Tour Total 2724 Miles details at: https://cyclemeter.com/058ffe3224dd3702/Cycle-20190623-0814-44041 I slept well last night at Tamarak Resort Campground. It rained off and on throughout the night. I slept on a bed of moss, which sounds comfortable and it was. But the damp moss meant mosquitoes, and there were plenty of them trying to get into my tent. Early in the morning when I went to use the bathroom, two mosquitoes snuck inside. I wasn’t able to get any more sleep until I killed them. I had a slow methodical start. I moved my tent over into to the sun to dry, while I adjusted my saddle, organized, and packed. The sky was crystal clear blue, and it seemed like it was going to be a hot day. The road was still damp from last night’s rain. Because there was barely a bar of service last night at the campground, I wasn’t able to upload photos to my report. I found two bars out ...

Northern Tier Day #35 June 24, 2019 Fargo, ND to Enderlin, ND 62 Miles Ride Time 5:12 Tour Total 2786 Miles details at: https://cyclemeter.com/058ffe3224dd3702/Cycle-20190624-0733-17807 I slept well in my Warm Showers host Shawn’s son’s room. His small black cat tried to sneak into my room all night long. I woke up early and completed yesterday’s report. Shawn slept in while I packed and got ready. It was raining outside. Shawn heard me open the garage door and I was able to thank him and wish him farewell. The rain stopped right as I hit the road. The streets were wet, and my handlebar tape was a disaster. I fixed it a couple miles down the road. My devices were fully charged, my clothes were clean, and I was freshly showered. I’m keeping it at level one people! Shawn lived directly on the route so it was easy navigating out of Fargo. What a relief! I’m now on map section 4. In Bar Harbor I started on map section 11. Up until now the background on all my N...

Northern Tier Day #36 June 25, 2019 Enderlin, ND to Gackle, ND 76 Miles Ride Time 8:18 Tour Total 2863 Miles details at: https://cyclemeter.com/058ffe3224dd3702/Cycle-20190625-0623-02431 If I had known it was going to rain last night, I would have set up my tent under the park pavilion on the concrete slab. It began to rain shortly after I went to bed, which was pretty early. Nothing inside my tent got wet, and I slept great. But the soaking wet tent weighed about 20 pounds this morning. I squeezed all the water out, rolled it up and strapped it to the top of my rear load. I would eventually have to dry it out before it got stinky. All night long, the freight trains came rolling in and out of town, horns blasting. I had weird dreams, none of which I can remember. I woke up shortly after 5am. The store opened at 5am, and I had a long stretch today with no services. I needed to get breakfast before I left town. I got all my devices charged last night with my exten...

Northern Tier Day #37 June 26, 2019 Gackle, ND to Hazelton, ND 72 Miles Ride Time 6:12 Tour Total 2935 Miles details at: https://cyclemeter.com/058ffe3224dd3702/Cycle-20190626-0619-71328 Last night I finished my report and talked to Charlotte from Dani’s Place, where I had a giant pepperoni and ham pizza along with numerous Flat Tire Ales. Earlier I had showered, shaved, laundered my dirty clothing and set up my wet tent in the sun to dry. My tent was dry when I returned from the bar, but my footprint was still wet. I met Honey Hub Hostel proprietor Jason, a beekeeper who splits his time between Gackle and Northern California. Andre and Colleen had put my laundry in the dryer. There were two beds in the hostel. The Canadians shared the queen and I took the twin. It was fun comparing tour notes with them. Our room was stuffy so we left the door open. At some point during the night I climbed inside my silk liner. I later covered myself with my sleeping bag. The Ca...