The road, the hills, the wind

To give: JON'S MDA DRIVE

All I got for my birthday was North Dakota. Not a lot there, but I think the sign is pretty cool.

I've been thinking about the Great Plains -- on the bike you have a lot of time to think. I guess I pictured them as flat and empty, but today, at least, they were full of hills and full of wind. I tried to note truly flat spaces -- and you do see them, often in crop fields, but even among those there are plenty of crops that circle hillsides and run over rolls and undulations to the horizon. A road like Old Highway 10, which I rode much of the day, follows the shape of the land pretty closely, and you feel every change.

I've also spent some time on I-94 (it's got a lane-wide shoulder for bikers), but it is a different species of road. It takes what are maybe a dozen separate rises, fills the space between them and creates one grand, rushing uphill raceway. Except for the  distant scenery, you could be in New Jersey or LA or North Carolina.

I did 64 miles today, and that is really my outer limit. The wind is constant and exhausting. It blows hard enough to take all the fun out of a downhill ride, and you just have to accept it.

I was 10 miles from Dickinson today when I felt I could not go on. With another hill ahead, I pulled over, ate some snacks, drank my warm water, then stretched out on a flat space, used the inside of my helmet as a pillow, covered my eyes, and slept. I do this, actually, often. Give it 15, 20 minutes and you wake up ready to try again. I'm an easy sleeper, though, and this is probably not for everybody.

That's what i got today. I have other stories -- about Dan, who I rode with a couple days, the Glendive Chamber of Commerce and local media, and, and, and.

Thanks to my Uncle Mark for this night in the lap of luxury at La Quinta Inn!

Birthday dinner

Time for a break.