Day 30 (?) Back in North Dakota

Why Armin is the Strongest Person I Know

Well, we're back on the road now, and I think, not accounting for our breaks in Chicago, and Bismarck (8 days altogether), we have put in 30 days of biking and have gone a little over 2100 miles! When we left Bismarck we had about 1300 miles to go til Portland. We left Bismarck two days ago, putting in an easy 100 mile day, and then got up yesterday morning to be confronted with hills and head winds (I guess the wind gods didn't hear you Patrcik). The riding was beautiful, as we went through the Badlands and Theodore Roosevelt National Park, but we all felt exhausted, and my chafed (sp?) butt was not helping the situation.

But even as I begin to complain about my chafed butt, I must stop myself. Because as we were all tired, Armin also had to deal with the fact that he lost the use of his back cassette half way through the day. This meant he had exactly three gears to get him up a HUGE hill, that required being in granny gear, and caused me to chant the most ridiculous mantras to myself (they are too embarrasing to even go into). I wanted to cry at one point ( I didn't), but not Armin, even though he had to stop and rest after every third pedal. When we finally set up camp for the night at a small park in Watford City (the Catholic priest denied us housing on his property, explaining that he just had no lawn space-he did), Ross, Armin, and I inspected the damage and found that Armin's shift cable had broken. So we made some calls, talked to our informational sources (thanks Suz), and found that there was a bike shop 45 miles north in Williston. And here we are in Williston. On the way up here, Armin also encountered a broken spoke, and his rear wheel became so untrue, causing his brakes to rub against his tire, so that he had to hitch the last 20 miles to Willison. And still, no major emotional breakdown! How does he do it? I don't know, but I'm pretty sure I could learn a thing or two from him. He's definitely my hero today.

So once this is all sorted out we'll be moving on to Montana. We should be there tonight or tomorrow, ready to encounter the smokey air from all the forest fires...

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the wedding was great. Alison and Joe make an amazing couple and it was great to see all my college friends. Well worth the 30 hours of driving :)