Day 17, Wednesday, July 16.
Williston, ND to Minot, ND
Daily Mileage: 119.47 miles
Total Mileage: 1,563.6 miles
Daily Time on Bike: 8:42 hours
Average Speed: 13.7 mph
Maximum Speed: 33.0 mph
We were a bit concerned with where we camped last night (essentially along side a road) but got up early enough this morning that it wasn’t a problem. The only problem was that there weren’t any restrooms around and only one restaurant, Lund’s Landing. It wasn’t open yet when we walked up even though according to their sign they should have been. I’m sure that the same lady who took our order also cooked it because it took forever. We paid $6.00 for four eggs, an exorbitant amount per egg up until that point. I ordered water but couldn't drink it because it tasted like lake water, and smelled even worse.
Our first leg was fifty miles long through absolutely nothing! The map section was named 1804, and it was one hit after the next. Around mile marker 2530 David and I ran out of water, and for the remaining miles we continued to dehydrate in the summer heat. I had quit sweating and my mouth was incredibly dry. We saw this little girl getting mail, so we asked her if we could get some water. She took us to a spicket and to our amazement out came brown water. We didn’t want to be rude, so we filled our water bottles and left. I had a sip but decided to wait until the next town. When we pulled into the next town, we went directly to a grocery store to buy a couple gallons of Gatorade. It took us about two hours to feel like we were beginning to rehydrate after that experience.
The weather today was hot, blue skies, head wind, uphill, and we were pushing the pace. We had to travel another 70 miles to reach Minot, ND (our resting place for the evening), and boy did we feel every mile. The road got long and the wind stronger. We made several stops along the way and ate the rest of the food we had with us. Once we got into town we stopped at a Perkins for dinner.
We had a really tough day today, and camping is too far way, so tonight we’re staying at a Days Inn (our first hotel of the journey and the first time we haven’t camped for two and a half weeks). We looking forward to the continental breakfast tomorrow morning—you can be sure that we're taking full advantage of that.
(Photo: The hills of North Dakota.)
Daily Mileage: 119.47 miles
Total Mileage: 1,563.6 miles
Daily Time on Bike: 8:42 hours
Average Speed: 13.7 mph
Maximum Speed: 33.0 mph
We were a bit concerned with where we camped last night (essentially along side a road) but got up early enough this morning that it wasn’t a problem. The only problem was that there weren’t any restrooms around and only one restaurant, Lund’s Landing. It wasn’t open yet when we walked up even though according to their sign they should have been. I’m sure that the same lady who took our order also cooked it because it took forever. We paid $6.00 for four eggs, an exorbitant amount per egg up until that point. I ordered water but couldn't drink it because it tasted like lake water, and smelled even worse.
Our first leg was fifty miles long through absolutely nothing! The map section was named 1804, and it was one hit after the next. Around mile marker 2530 David and I ran out of water, and for the remaining miles we continued to dehydrate in the summer heat. I had quit sweating and my mouth was incredibly dry. We saw this little girl getting mail, so we asked her if we could get some water. She took us to a spicket and to our amazement out came brown water. We didn’t want to be rude, so we filled our water bottles and left. I had a sip but decided to wait until the next town. When we pulled into the next town, we went directly to a grocery store to buy a couple gallons of Gatorade. It took us about two hours to feel like we were beginning to rehydrate after that experience.
The weather today was hot, blue skies, head wind, uphill, and we were pushing the pace. We had to travel another 70 miles to reach Minot, ND (our resting place for the evening), and boy did we feel every mile. The road got long and the wind stronger. We made several stops along the way and ate the rest of the food we had with us. Once we got into town we stopped at a Perkins for dinner.
We had a really tough day today, and camping is too far way, so tonight we’re staying at a Days Inn (our first hotel of the journey and the first time we haven’t camped for two and a half weeks). We looking forward to the continental breakfast tomorrow morning—you can be sure that we're taking full advantage of that.
(Photo: The hills of North Dakota.)
