July 8. Napoleon, ND to Bismarck, ND.
My last day of riding. Where has the week gone?! To think I had only signed up for this ride 7 weeks ago and also changed/extended the trip to include 2 extra days of riding that included a century, but now it has already come and gone feels like a dream state to me. The fact that I made it through my first century yesterday after a wicked migraine, but had no more body pain after the pain released (likely due to the simple lowering of my seat 1/4 inch) is still unfathomable to me. So, today, I made sure to savor and enjoy every moment, whether hot or windy or with pain, if it returned. I entered the day with the intent to soak up every last moment with these 11 new friends.
At camp in the morning in Napoleon, the group wasn't in a huge rush to get to Bismarck. We had a relatively "short" day at a mere 72 miles, which was a lot to me at the beginning of the week, since my training rides hadn't been longer than 55 miles, at most. I wasn't the last out of camp, but Jeremy and I wanted to hit up Mabel's Bakery on the way out. Thankfully, it was open and we both enjoyed the most scrumptious Bavarian cream donut with a maple glaze. I also picked up some dog biscuits as a gift for my sister (or possibly for my pup Mya that she was watching, if I found something else I wanted to give her dog). Moseying on out of town, we left Napoleon sometime after 8:15am, which was decently late for this group.
Retracing our steps from the day before (the same extended route we had used to get to our century the day prior), the winds had changed and were no longer at our backs. The traffic was quite light for a Saturday, but we were contending with a solid headwind on the rolling route to our first rest stop. We reached Rest Stop 1 at a well-stocked gas station where we, smartly, picked up 6" subs for lunch... I'll tell you why that was so smart in a minute.
While relaxing at the rest stop, we'd heard that one of the strongest riders (both in physical strength, but also in mental fortitude), Kevin, had taken a spill on train tracks back near the start of the ride. He decided to keep riding, but dropped back to ride solo. Arriving at the rest stop, he said his ego was more bruised than anything else, to which we could all relate. Falling off a bike is a scary experience, but doing it in the middle of nowhere on a cross country trip on busy country roads, shakes someone to their core. The jolt of adrenaline insists you're okay, but its' anxiety-inducing power makes you doubt getting back on the bike, not to mention it seems like something so silly to have happened, but it does happen to the best of us! However, he "got back on the horse" and persevered through the day; a smile eventually returning to his face.
I can hardly remember what the roads were like between Rest Stops 1 and 2, other than a busy road that wasn't great for having side-by-side riding conversations. Though, I do remember a decent tailwind, a fun downhill that we hit 31.4 mph on, and plenty of fields. We turned onto a calm, rural road for the last stretch to Rest Stop 2. It was just Jeremy and I riding together, so we'd pull over and have water and snack breaks aplenty. No rush. It was a short day. At one point, another rider, Joe E., rode back to us from Rest Stop 2, which was only a couple miles ahead.
Next thing we knew, Emily and Kevin were riding up to us, as well. We chatted, took photos, and rode together to the rest stop, which was on the side of the road. For the first time on my portion of the trip, all of the riders were together at the rest stop. We sipped on amazing root beers that Ken and Janet had picked up. While hanging out, I mentioned that I was mildly disappointed that I had realized I was going to be slightly shy of 500 miles for the week, but that was an arbitrary goal. It's not like I really NEEDED to ride 500 miles. Jeremy looked up the distances and confirmed I only needed 14 more miles to hit 500 for the week. He, then, realized we both only needed another 14 more miles after that to hit 100 miles for the day, which would be his 3rd century in a row over the last 3 days and it would be my 2nd century in a row and my 2nd century ever. He looked at me with a knowing look that I'd probably say, "yes", and said the day's famous last words, "I'm in, if you're in." So, I got up and said, "LET'S GO!", knowing full-well that we still had nearly 50 miles to go for the day (since we had something like 19 miles still from that rest stop) and there was no time to waste. What on God's Green Earth were we thinking?! It was already after Noon and we were going to attempt an unplanned century??
As we set out on the next section of the road, it was along the Lewis and Clark Trail, but the road was under construction and very, very hot. I felt baked by the sun and the rolling hills that were ahead were zapping my energy. We quickly started to make excuses and justifications that it would be okay if we decided to bail and just ride the 72 miles for the day. As quickly as we doubted our life choices, we reverted and knew that our egos would be disappointed if we didn't complete the ride. He reasoned with me that the other riders would be impressed if I did a 2nd century in a row; I bought whatever he was selling to convince myself to follow-through. When else was I really going to ride two centuries in a row again? I had plenty of reasons to not do it, but just as many to. The FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) of not spending more time in the evening with the other riders ate at me the entire ride. We would take side roads to try to add miles, but it was usually insignificant enough to make a dent. I felt like we should have been farther along in ticking off the miles than we were by the time we hit the outskirts of Bismarck. We met up again with some of the other riders who had caught up with us and I was feeling the pull of camp, dinner, and a shower. Alas, my ego nagged at me, too. We found a trail map and calculated that we could do 6 laps around a golf course to get us our remaining 30 miles. 30 MILES! I wasn't sure I had it in me. It was already 4pm or so; this would take HOURS. Nevertheless, we persisted. We explored the west side of Bismarck, staying just far away enough from camp to not give into its draw. Once we hit the Missouri River, I proclaimed I wanted to cross it and I knew from then on, there was no turning back. Jeremy discovered a nice trail that went into Fort [Abraham] Lincoln State Park, but it still wasn't quite enough. We were running low on water and energy, and I felt the pull of the FOMO to get to camp. We headed back towards camp, doing constant math, and trying to remain sane. I can't even remember all the songs we sang, triggered by a single word that was said, or the loony conversations we had. It was a bizarre experience, but one only the parties in attendance can understand. When you spend 8 hours on a bike alongside another human, you naturally bond. It's a unique experience, one in which I can only mildly compare to a Ragnar Relay race (a 200-mile overnight running relay race shared amongst 6-12 people in a van, except this isn't a relay, so you share all the miles and you do get to sleep at night). Having done three 1-week segments with Bike the US for MS before, I knew I would come away with having forged new friendships around unique circumstances, which certainly happened on this trip.
Anyway, getting closer to camp, we had to double-back on a nicely shaded trail to get our last 4 miles. We rolled into the driveway at 8pm at the house of our amazingly generous hosts, Nettie and Jack. We felt a sense of accomplishment. Though, it was also twinged with a bit of sadness that it was time to say goodbye. We took a moment to obsess over our stats before heading in to chat with the other riders.
I could barely move. The lactic acid flushed my muscles and fogged my brain. Thankfully, Nettie, who has MS, had prepared a fabulous smorgasbord for dinner. Nettie and Jack have been hosting Bike the US for MS cyclists for nearly a decade (minus a gap for covid) and it was all due to a chance meeting with a cyclist in the local grocery store. We are so thankful for the lovely accommodations and continued friendship with Nettie and Jack year after year. It truly means so much to us to have someone we've never met welcome us into their house to have somewhere comfortable to relax after so many days on the road, as well as to share connecting conversations that we will never forget. We feasted on tacos, various salads, fresh fruit and veggies, amazing molasses cookies Jack's 97 year-old mother had made, and more. My body was replenished. I asked Nettie about her experience living with MS and how she discovered she had it almost 20 years ago, which sounded like a horrifying experience. In my short time with her, it seems as though it is fairly well-managed with medication, thankfully, but I also realize it's unpredictable and I am only seeing a small window into her life with MS. I had a great conversation with Jack about drumming, as he is a fellow drummer. What fun it was to spend the evening with them and their adorable doggies, too.
I set up my tent in the backyard for one last camp out on the beautiful Bismarck night. It was just Jeremy, the two Joe's, and myself out back. The others chose beds, couches, or cool floor locations inside. I knew the morning would be rushed to pack, so after a shower that nearly put me to sleep, I started to organize my gear. I hadn't spread my stuff out too much, but I was certain I'd still leave something behind (which I did - my brand new wind vest!). While I packed, Jeremy, who is also the team mechanic, broke down my bike to put into my bike box. It's not a terribly complicated process, but it does take some time to make sure it's packed safely.
The sunset is deceiving up in the north country, as you think you have hours to hang out, but I was still up packing as the team was heading to bed - after 10pm! I took a few moments to relax and enjoyed a celebratory beer before bed and reflected on the week. As I was going to sleep, I listened to some neighborhood fireworks that someone was setting off (and another round a few hours later - after midnight!), thinking how the week had started with roadside fireworks on the drive from Minneapolis to Dalbo exactly one week prior. My, how time flies.
It's crazy how simple words, like, "I'm in if you're in," can change the entire trajectory of a day! I couldn't be more thankful to have such a supportive (and equally crazy) friend as Jeremy on the trip. Despite missing out on a couple extra hours with the team, I'm still happy and proud of our accomplishment today. Honestly, it doesn't get much better than savoring the pain and suffering of back-to-back centuries along the truly beautiful landscape of North Dakota. I say that with utmost sincerity.
I will write one more blog for tomorrow on our service project and my travel home, including some reflections on the trip.
Thanks so much for following along, even on this especially long blog from today! It was quite memorable!
If you'd like to make a donation to Bike the US for MS, please do so here:
https://ride.biketheusforms.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=1436&_gl=1*79ax4o*_ga*MTcwNDY5NjMyNS4xNjc5OTYwNTQx*_ga_CFGFP5CY1Z*MTY4ODk5NTY3OS43MS4xLjE2ODg5OTYxOTkuMC4wLjA.
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