RAA II

Day 17

Fargo, ND to Alexandria, MN

107 miles / 2,155 feet of elevation

Sun, cold and windy!

LIFE DRAINING HEADWINDS FOR 107 MILES!

No matter where we turned or what road / bike paths we found ourselves on, we had stiff headwinds all day. This led to one of our longest days in the saddle, 8 hours and 18 minutes of total time (with food / water breaks). (Our 19-20 mph average went to 13-14 mph. Tough riding!)

About 10 minutes into our day’s ride we crossed the border into Minnesota. Here's Scuba Steve / Steve Miska putting the new state’s flag on the back of the van.

Within 20 minutes of that we knew we weren’t in North Dakota any longer. The road surface and shoulder area quickly deteriorated. And the courteous, friendly drivers vanished. I got yelled at twice within our first 40 minutes in Minnesota, “Hey, you’re supposed to yield – don’t ya know?” (In a heavy Minnesota accident.)

For the next 60 miles we endured poor road conditions and few but very cranky drivers – Minnesota gets #2 rudest drivers, second only to Idaho.

We traveled, pretty much in silence, for 60 road miles of straight on headwinds, trading the lead spot to assist while others drafted.

During this 60 miles of headwinds, we did have some distractions. We had a large Bald Eagle shadow us for about a half mile – flap, flap, glide (oh, to be able to glide in headwinds!) At one point Bob, ever the optimist, said, “At this rate we will save on tonight’s hotel cost – because we will arrive tomorrow!”

Then we transferred onto a 110 mile bike path – 46 miles today and the rest for our last day into Minneapolis. This bike trail (previously a rail line) is better maintained than their roads and is set above hundreds of “lakes” dotting either side of the path.

This path is worth the trip for cyclists and hikers of any ability – very quiet, between small towns, pastures and wooded areas. However, today it also had a direct headwind, somewhat shielded on the side by trees and hills – still our pace suffered greatly. So, looking on the bright side, for 40(+) miles of bike path riding, we had a slower pace to enjoy the wonderful surrounding scenery. All in all, another great day of cycling.

Tomorrow’s shortened day out of Alexandria promises to be another beautiful ride along this path, in and amongst the pastures, farm fields, trees and lakes.

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