RC Trans Northern Tier Bicycle Tour

Northern Tier Day #31 June 20, 2019 Royalton, MN to Pine River, MN 89 Miles Ride Time 6:09 Tour Total 2483 Miles details at: https://cyclemeter.com/058ffe3224dd3702/Cycle-20190620-0829-07245 I slept well last night in Sam’s daughter Ella’s room. I woke up right before my 7am alarm. My sweater was dry and smelled great. My gloves smelled great. The second half of the tour was off to a fresh start. We didn’t overdo it last night, which was a good thing. My teeth got a good flossing last night. Unfortunately it had been a while. Cleanliness level #1 is my goal. I enjoyed a nice coffee and morning conversation with Sam, and then he drove me back to Scotty’s Log Bar in Royalton. It was sad to say goodbye. He had a busy day scheduled in court. After Sam dropped me off I reassembled my bike within minutes. I left a little Erie Canal Towpath dust in the back of Sam’s car for good measure. I had put an official Rusty Crank sticker at the intersection of US Highway 10 an...

Northern Tier Day #32 June 21, 2019 Pine River, MN to Lake Bemidji State Park, MN 76 Miles Ride Time 5:18 Tour Total 2558 Miles details at: https://cyclemeter.com/058ffe3224dd3702/Cycle-20190621-0823-34144 All things considering I had a good nights sleep in the primitive campsite in the middle of nowhere. To my knowledge I wasn’t bitten by mosquitoes or ticks. No one needed to get down the skinny path that I had camped in the middle of, or if they did, they silently walked around my tent. I woke up early with the birds as usual. The first order of business after going to the ‘bathroom’ was fixing my tent. A reader suggested that I fix the gaping hole with duct tape, but I travel with nylon thread. I fixed it right. I’m entitled to take it back to REI and I might, if I get to a store before July 29th. My surgery was aided by my Petzle headlamp on it’s bright setting and my reading glasses for a perfect stitch. My next order of business was to finish yesterday’s report. I had t...

Northern Tier Day #33 June 22, 2019 Lake Bemidji State Park, MN to Round Lake, MN 81 Miles Ride Time 6:38 Tour Total 2639 Miles details at: https://cyclemeter.com/058ffe3224dd3702/Cycle-20190622-0928-22622 I slept great last night at campsite 91 in Lake Bemidji State Park. I awoke to the sound of loons. I retrieved my charged power pack from the bathroom where I had left it plugged in. It was a delightful ride back into Bemidji on the Paul Bunyan Bike Trail. I spotted three mallard ducks swimming in the lake. At one point a gopher ran across the road, right in front of me, and I almost flattened it. I was later startled by a large deer standing on the side of the trail. There was a strong wind from the south, and I was pedaling right into it. The sky was sunny and clear to the east, and overcast to the west. I was wearing my long-sleeve jersey and cycling pants. The rain forecast keeps getting pushed back. Now it’s not supposed to rain until this evening, and I’m no longer ...

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...