One of the riders, Ken, and his wife Janet, who is following us and assisting with the rest stops, cooked us a hearty and delicious breakfast before we headed out for the day's ride. I wanted to try a local coffee shop called TÖAST, so Jeremy and Janet joined me, but it caused me to be a solid 30 minutes behind all of the other cyclists. I had a lovely lavender-cardamom latte, though, so it was worth it!
Leaving Fergus Falls, it was uphill and windy. The sun was out, but the wind chill made it probably only 55°F. Thankfully, I had planned properly to have tall socks, a wind breaker and wind vest, a beanie, and full finger gloves. Unfortunately, I was chilly all day, even though I was also sweating. Once out of Fergus Falls, on Rt 88, everything started to level out and it was all corn fields and a town called Barnesville, which has a potato festival coming up in August! A potato festival sounds fun.
When I got to Rest Stop 1, I was the only cyclist left to come through, so I tried to make my stop as quick as possible. The gas station clerk lost her brother in his 50s to MS, so she was really touched by what we are doing.
Carrying on westward, I biked along Rt 52 until the end of time. I followed train tracks, corn fields upon corn fields, some prairie, and who knows what else. At one point, a train passed me and I waved to the conductor, so he blew his train whistle in return, which gave me a boost of energy. However, the 15 mph headwind was totally stealing all of my energy and I thought I might lose my mind out there. I made up a country song about being all by myself out in the middle of nowhere with the wind blowing through my hair, but I can't seem to remember the tune or the rest of the lyrics. I talked to myself and at one point I looked around and realized really just how isolated and rural it was, not a house in sight. It was kind of eerie and maybe a tad disconcerting. I decided not to worry about whether or not I had cell service, but a car would pass every 5 to 10 minutes, in case I actually needed help. I said out loud, "This is what it's all about!" (meaning, experiencing rural America), but then I corrected myself and said it's about riding for those with MS. I noticed a train bridge trestle that looked in need of repair, but there was no one to tell. I noticed old, abandoned cabins along tree groves, and did mileage and pace math in my head. Not following detour signs for a road closure was entertaining because it meant I got to stop and look at my map. Eventually, dark clouds moved in and I looked all around for signs of tornadoes, just in case, because of the wind being so bad. For the last 5 miles to the 2nd rest stop (it was a much longer leg without a stop, at 26 miles long), I did Fartleks (speed play) riding sprints for 30-60 seconds on the smooth, main Rt 52 highway road, then pulling off onto the shoulder when vehicles would pass. The wind was hell. I stared at a grain barn for the entire 5 miles, waiting for it to get closer, knowing that must be close to the rest stop, which it, thankfully, was! It was all I could do to not stop and ask someone for a ride.
Once at the stop, I was tired and shaky. I had chips and salsa and my double decker Oatmeal Cream Pie, which somehow sprung me back to life. Route Leader Emma rode with me the last 12 miles to camp and I felt like a new person. We had a great conversation and it was exciting crossing the (skinny) Red River into North Dakota, even though there were absolutelt no welcome or farewell signs indicating such a transition into a new state. Boo. Emma used Apple Maps (instead of Google Maps) and took us on a mild tour de Fargo, complete with construction hike-a-bikes. I somehow felt good and didn't mind seeing the suburbs of Fargo as we made our way into downtown. Fargo is a lot bigger than I anticipated and has a vibrant downtown scene.
After arriving at the beautiful First Presbyterian Church, I set up camp in a recreation room in the basement, then headed for a (free!!!!) shower at the YMCA, complete with complimentary towels and a sauna. It instantly made me want to go to sleep!
Jeremy and I went around the corner to the amazing Black Bird 🐦⬛ restaurant for fun pizza (sausage-apple-sage), Mediterranean meatballs, local craft beer (I had a yummy Cider Boy Peach County cider), and a brownie with a salted caramel sauce (they even cook the brownie in their authentic Tuscan pizza oven!).
Returning to the church around 7:15pm, I organized for tomorrow and am writing to you...but I'm so exhausted. We have a 79 mile day tomorrow, a 97 mile day on Friday, then a 72 mile day on Saturday. I fly home Sunday. I'm not sure I will make it to Sunday with the way the headwind has been, but I have no choice at this point. Again, I'm riding to raise awareness about MS and to fundraise for projects for those living with MS. My discomfort is but a drop in the bucket compared to those who deal with MS daily.
Thank you for following along!
If you would like to make a donation, you can do so here:
https://ride.biketheusforms.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.participant&participantID=1436
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