Melt Down

To Hazelton, North Dakota -- 66.7 miles, 13.2 mph, 1750 ft

Meltdown describes multiple aspects of today's ride.  As often is the case, expectations play a big role.  With our increasing number of phone weather apps, we noticed unusual and very enticing predictions -- the wind would be strong (not unusual) but from the southeast!  Because we would be going mostly west, with only a few southward stretches, this would be a very good thing.  We would, at least partially, have a tailwind.  To take full advantage, we planned to do as much of the southward section as we could first thing in the morning leaving Gackle.

Saying goodbye to Bruce and Bob

The headwind was strong and consistent as we headed south past the Miller Honey Bee Farms. Then, as advertised, we began to enjoy the glorious tailwinds all the way to Napoleon, at mile 38. Wow, if we could just keep up the momentum, we could skip past Hazelton and get all the way to Bismarck!   That would be over a hundred miles, but, hey, a 25 mph wind would totally make it a... "breeze!" (Or so we thought.)

Our wondrous southeast wind, instead of turning to the east, spun to the south where it did little but force us off the side of the road.  And, unfortunately, expecting the 25 miles to Hazelton to blow by in no time, we skipped getting ice, which for Meg -- in 96-degree heat with gusting, dehydrating winds -- was a serious mistake.  The reality of our increasingly slow crawl along the endless, rolling two-lane road, melted tar, and a haze of dirt being swept across from the expanse of farmland, created a second kind of meltdown for Meg.  She was, unfortunately, in full sob with 8 miles to Hazelton --  no ice, no cold soda in sight.

We did straggle into town around 4:00 and spent the first half hour in the supermarket downing cold drinks and recovering.  The next 50 miles to Bismarck featured an initial 13 miles of straight north, which should be relatively easy in the strong south wind.  But, without making it all the way to Bismarck (four hours of continuous riding in normal conditions), we would need to camp somewhere in the grass along the side of the road -- doable, but less certain.  In the end, we decided to take advantage of the town park and face the expected headwinds tomorrow.

A benefit of our decision to stay was meeting Frank, a lone cyclist on his way east. We enjoyed a beer at the Buckin Mule Saloon. In hindsight, our expectations had gotten the best of us... perhaps, it seems, the Warriors had the same problem tonight.