july 20: 91 mi (48 by bike) to mayville, ND

it was a beautiful morning when we went out to the parking lot for breakfast around 6:30, & the weather stayed absolutely lovely all day.

at breakfast jan was sporting her new BIC t-shirt (cut off to make a vest).  i had an extra one with me, so passed it on to her.  she wanted to be more visible on the road; this will certainly do the trick!

we headed east on a little-traveled road; shoulders were good for a long while.  as often happens, the skies were clear early, as in this photo of gloria riding past a field of what i think is soy beans, with hay bales again there along the road.

a little further we rode past this charming little church up on the crest of the hill.

again today, as we were stopped along the road for a few minutes, a fully-loaded, self-supported cyclist came riding by.  i was impressed by how color-coordinated he is:  his outfit matches his panniers & bags.

clouds were becoming more numerous by the time i took this photo of the farm nestled amongst the grain fields.

at the 40-mi sag stop, suzanne had parked near a corn field.  pat has ridden one RAGBRAI (the nation’s oldest & biggest cross-state bike ride; it’s in my home state, iowa), so she’s adept at utilizing corn fields for pit stops.

a little further along, carol & i stopped to snap a photo of these beautiful clouds above the grain fields.

as i mentioned yesterday, gloria, joann & i had planned to get onto the van at cooperstown, 48 mi into the ride.  that was the easiest place for the van to pick us up, since we didn’t want to ride the whole 91 mi.  we’ve developed a more leisurely take on bike touring.  quite a few other riders ended up getting onto the van there, too.  we drove into mayville, getting here just before noon.  we settled into our motel rooms, then went off for lunch at paula’s, a local cafe, just 1/2 block away.  (most everything in mayville is 1/2 block away; the population is less than 2,000.)

then gloria, joann, & i came back to our room & played 3 games of rummikub before carol joined us for the 4th game.  late afternoon i went out to see mayville on foot.  the downtown boasts a corner with stop lights (!), & has more traffic than downtown carrington did.  the library is on the national register of historic places.  i got a kick out of the ATV vehicle parked right in the middle of the street while its driver talked to the woman driving the car.

the inside of the library has beautiful woodwork.  & i learned that this library is one of only 5 remaining in the US with closed stacks.  patrons go up to this ornate window to request the book(s) they want, which are in shelves behind the window.

this is our last supper on the road.  we’ll so miss patty’s cooking!  earlier, i took this photo of part of the group in the parking lot during the map meeting.  you can see that the grain bins are everywhere!

i mentioned linda a while ago, so thot i’d include a photo, along with more details on her amazing athletic pursuits.   she started running at age 37 in 1987.  she’s what’s called an ultra runner.  she has done 85 marathons, five 50-mile runs, & two 100-mile runs (the first she completed in 30 hrs, the second in 27 hrs).  she had completed a marathon (or longer) in each of the 50 states & all 7 continents by her 50th birthday in may 2000; she did a 50-mile run on long island that day.  she has also run a 5-day, 5-stage, 150-mi race in the sahara desert (which included 1 marathon & 1 50-mi day).  on that race the runners had to carry their own food & clothes on their backs.  here’s info on the marathon des sables for those of you who are anxious to sign up.  on another 5-day race, this time in the himalayas in NE india, runners did not need to carry their gear.  linda & her husband live in louisiana.  they have 4 adult children.

whew, all that makes our 60-mi ride to fargo tomorrow sound like a walk in the park.  i hope it turns out that way!  sounds like it’ll be flat on roads that aren’t heavily traveled.  & if the weather is good, as it’s supposed to be, it’ll be a very nice end to our tour.

Advertisement