Mandan, ND & Richardton, ND

Today's recap, includes two days of fine cyclingin North Dakota. Yesterday, we woke up to a thunderstorm, which fortunately past quickly. We hit the road at about 7:30, our normal departure time. Assisted buy a tail wind and find roads we made our way into Bismarck by noon.

Our first stop was the FedEx Office. I had to pick up my passport, which will be needed when we pass into Canada later in the trip. I saw the name of the FedEx manager posted and Bismarck station. It was someone I had work with 25 years ago.  Unfortunately, he was out of the office, so I had to leave a note.

Next stop was a bike shop. I needed a slight derailleur adjustment and Derald needed oil for his chain. We accomplished the mission quickly and had a nice chat with the owners the shop.

Do to the 90 degree heat, the forecast for Thunder storms and the lack of any camping options, we stayed in a motel. We had dinner at a local family restaurant. In honor of the germanic tradition of the local people, I had the special. It was a plate mounded with spaetzel, fried potatoes, and sausage.  It was a perfect meal for a hungry cyclist.

Today we had a wonderful 75 mile ride. We cycled nearly empty roads through the rolling hills. The surroundings are becoming much more prairie like, with long grass, less trees and more cattle than crops.

We are camped on BLM land near the town of Richardton.  It was a three mile bike in on gravel roads to get to the campsite. It is not going to be a fun ride out up the hills on gravel, but this place is worth it. We are the only campers in a peaceful valley.

Today we passed into the mountain time Zone. Tomorrow we ride to Medora and are last night in the state of North Dakota.

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