Gackle, ND

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2750351636?share_unique_id=26

Today was another very interesting day on the road. Like yesterday ended,  today started with strong headwinds.  Fortunately, instead of low overcast it was a bright sunny day with perfect temperatures for cycling at 70 degrees. The headwinds were not as direct as yesterday, coming at us at about 1 o'clock.    Although stong at 20 mpg, with gusts of 30, that was better than yesterday.

The route was 61 miles.  Due to the headwinds, we averaged only 8 mph, compared to our normal 12.  Our riding time was nearly seven and a half hours, which is a long time in the saddle. I've included a map of our route for the day which is one straight line. The fields wheat, corn,  and soy beans were beautiful but consistently the same mile after mile. In all the distance we rode we never went through one town. 10 miles into the ride we went by a convenience store which were the only services on the entire ride.

According to our hosts last night, we did pass over what the locals they call the Iron Curtain, Highway 280. Apparently, that is the line of demarcation between the Norwegians in the east and the Germans and Eastern Europeans in the western part of the state.

At 5:30 p.m. we finally arrived at our destination Gackle, North Dakota, population 313. We had dinner at the only open restaurant in town, the Tastee-Freeze.  It appeared to be the local gathering place. We are early for the season, but people here are used to cyclists. They were very kind, asked where we were from where we were going and we're happy to share information about the local area.

Tomorrow or tour of rural North Dakota continues. We are headed 60-some miles to another small town and it looks like the wind and weather will be very favorable.

Comments

  1. starrpattyJune 3, 2018 at 7:55 PM

    Happy birthday!! Missed celebrating with you! Be safe and enjoy your journey!

    ReplyDelete

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