A Hitch in our Giddy-up

Fergus Falls, Minnesota -- Sun-Mon, June 4-5 -- Rest Days

In the spirit of full transparency, Dean does the majority of the work around here.  He is our main blogger, main logistics manager, main hauler of goods beyond food and clothes, and he is our main reason for getting to see and do all the awesome stuff we've seen and done.  As my cousin, Jerry, put it, "He's doing the work of ten men out here," and I think that about sums it up.

So, it is not surprising that he may have pushed himself more than one man can or should.  So we find ourselves in Fergus Fall, Minnesota, about 55 miles southeast of Fargo.  We arrived on Saturday after another great day of trail riding.  There was a bit of a headwind, which didn't really affect us until we had to turn into town and start making our way toward the Rodeway Inn.  We were, again, grateful for the wonderful, sheltered, and lightly-graded rail-to-trail path that we'd been on.

Seeing as we'd made pretty good time getting to Fergus Falls, we took a break at the nearest DQ that we happened along.  With the warmer temps, my thoughts turn to ice and ice cream on a fairly consistent basis.  As we made our way inside the restaurant, Dean complained of a pulled muscle in his hip/butt area.  Youch.  Perhaps the fact that we got in a little earlier than normal will help.  He could rest it awhile. We were happy to be able to check into our room around 3:00.

As is often the case with the small towns we ride through, we are out near the Interstate with plenty of things nearby.  Target, Burger King, Applebee's, Walk-in Clinic, Motel 8, and (believe it or not) a Motel 7.  While it is nice to have these amenities nearby, it's not very scenic, nor is it very healthy. There are no sidewalks, and for the past couple of days, we've had to cross a two-lane separated highway with no crosswalks.  At least they do offer a button to push to change the light so that you are able to attempt to cross the street.  On several occasions we got halfway across and then had to press that button (thankfully, provided) in the center of the grassy median to finish crossing.

It was clear to me through the night that Dean was not going to be able to ride on Sunday.  He tossed and turned and would gasp every now and then when he attempted a movement that his body did not like.  It seemed that Dean's pain was in his hip and it was really debilitating.  Don, Dean, and I all started our Google searches as to what could be ailing him.  We came up with Piriformis Syndrome. It is a small but important muscle that helps with range of motion for the hip joint.  I'm here to tell you, Dean's range of motion was nonexistent!  So it was that we had to say goodbye to Don on his final day of riding, and with the way the flag was blowing from the west, we knew he was in for a tough ride to Fargo.  We were all sorry to see him go.  The last few days with "Uncle" Don were fun and easy going.  It was nice to add him to the mix.

So, that left us with the day in Fergus Falls where we did what we do best -- went to see a movie!  We debated between Captain Underpants, Guardians of the Galaxy and Wonder Woman.  We decided on Guardians of the Galaxy.  It was a nice, cool way to spend the early afternoon, and we all enjoyed the movie, despite the crazy, non-stop action of it all.  On the way out of the theater, as luck would have it, we went right past the Walk-In Clinic.  Well, I should say we walked right into it and not past it. Poor Deano.  He is not one to complain, but it was clear he was feeling pretty miserable.

After a few forms to fill out and a little bit of a wait, we met with Joel, a Physician Assistant who, upon hearing Dean's symptoms, confirmed our Google-assisted diagnosis.  When he heard what we were doing, he was anxious to help us get back on the road, something we weren't sure was going to be possible.  So with prescriptions in hand -- a steroid to reduce swelling and a muscle relaxant to reduce spasms -- we were off to grab a late lunch.

Picking up the prescriptions from the 24-hour WalMart was trickier than one may have guessed. Both Dean and I weren't sure that they'd give me the prescription without him being present.  Walking the 1/2 mile to the store wasn't going to work.  So, in the end, we called a cab as there is no Uber presence in Fergus Falls.  Dean and I weren't paying any attention to time, as we knew the store was open 24 hours.  While one can wake up at 2 a.m. and rush to WalMart to get the forgotten bottle of V8, you need to get to the pharmacy before 6 p.m. in order to get your prescriptions.  We missed it by eight minutes.  Noooooo.  I felt so bad for Dean.  We were both looking forward to him getting a better (at least a medicated) night's sleep.  I could have cried for him.

So it was another gasping night of "rest" and at 9 a.m. he was first in line at the Pharmacy.  Dean double downed on the meds (doctor's orders) and we decided to see Wonder Woman later in the day. (I know, we're not very creative, but every other day we are outside nearly 6 hours, and sometimes it feels good to do the stuff we'd do at home.)  It was agreed that we liked Guardians better, but there were some neat martial art moves with Wonder Woman.

It was good to see Dean not hobbling quite so badly and we had hope that perhaps Tuesday we'd be back on the road.  We celebrated Dean's better outlook at Applebee's and enjoyed an evening with the Simpson's.  How's that for an All-American day?