Get Bent
 
Coast to coast by recumbent bicycle

Devils Lake ND to Cooperstown ND

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Sheyenne River

Distance(miles)
Day85
Total1647
Speed(mph)
Average10.7
Maximum27.5
Expenses($ US)
Lodging30.00
Cash200.00
ATM Fee2.00

Just out of Devils Lake I saw a construction crew working on a section of submerged highway. A non-stop flow of side-tipping dump trucks was running from a nearby quarry to the work site. A different truck every 20 to 40 seconds and they all had to be weighed. There was a temporary weigh station set up on an access road. Quite a major undertaking. I wonder who was winning? The people or the lake?

Did the whole day on North Dakota Highways. South then east on 20, east on 15, south on 1, east on 200. North Dakota 200 is an extension of the Montana 200 I rode to Great Falls and it continues on into Minnesota. Almost no cars once I got past the construction. One small traffic jam of idiots rushing to the Spirit Lake Casino. Other than that, a rather boring route. The only hilly parts were where the highways crossed the Sheyenne River. Flat and cold today. I don't think it ever got hotter that 70 °F. The wind was out of the East, which is not as it should be. Overcast for most of the day and it's been trying to rain. A drop here a drop there. Meanwhile, all I've been hearing on the radio is record heat in the rest of the US. It's downright cold today.

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Saw the crop duster that guy Welsley described. I didn't know what it was at first. The pilot did what looked like an extremely short take off from the road. I thought he was spraying from too great an altitude. There was a moderate breeze, but I could see the chemicals falling more or less straight down. He did one quick pass on three different fields and then took off. He was flying a canary yellow biplane.

Scattered among the road kill and six packs, I'm noticing a lot of discarded PowerAde bottles. This debris must be coming from cyclists. Maybe in the next edition of their maps Adventure Cycling could add a line about not littering. My new favorite road sign. "Do Not Cultivate Highway Right of Way." I'm still getting that radio station out of Manitoba. Three bike-car collisions in Winnipeg during this evening's rush hour. Where are the drivers of Winnipeg rushing off to?

black helicopter

Just realized I made it all the way through Montana and I didn't see one black helicopter. Guess they're taking a long vacation. Maybe it's Dag Hammarskjold Day. Haven't seen any crop circles or any cattle mutilations despite riding through wheat fields and cow pastures for over a week. Didn't see Elvis or any UFOs, either. Sounds like bad news for Chris Carter. Somebody should warn him before he does something crazy like make an X-Files movie.

When I took my gloves off this evening I noticed that I have a tan line in the shape of the Nike logo on the back of my hand. It's the sign of the beast. Now I'll have to join Philip Knight's unholy army. Maybe an X-Files movie isn't such a crazy idea after all. Repeat after me: Air Jordan, Air Jordan, Air Jordan,....

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