July 10, 1998 - Medora - Rest Day

DISTANCE TRAVELED: 0 Miles

TIME: 0 Hours

AVERAGE SPEED: 0 Miles/Hour

TRAVEL CONDITIONS: Very hot and sunny.

ROAD CONDITIONS: N/A

TERRAIN/DIFFICULTY LEVEL: N/A

DAILY JOURNAL COMMENTS:
I got up at an amazingly late time of 10:00 after waking up about three times earlier in the morning. I decided each time that I was still too tired to get up so I took advantage of the fact that I wouldn't have anything planned for the entire day. Around 10:30 about 8 of us went out for breakfast at the Cowboy Cafe. I got a huge breakfast with three pieces of bacon, two eggs, hashbrowns, two pieces of toast with blackberry jam, and orange juice. This was after having eaten a full bowl of cereal before we had left! After finishing breakfast, I went back to the church and got ready to go and take a shower at a city pool. Unfortunately I found out after I had biked there that it wouldn't open until 1:00. So I rode back to the church dropped off my things for my shower and went to a local bike shop since my left Speedplay pedal was spinning like it was a wheel. There is supposed to be some resistance so it is easier to clip into. It wasn't a big deal the way it was but I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't going to break while riding. Unfortunately the mechanic wasn't there since he was out to lunch. So I went back to the church again and ate some lunch before going to take a shower since it was finally 1:00. After taking a long shower and washing my biking clothes, I went back to the bike shop again and this time I had the pedal looked at. He had never seen one of the speedplay frogs before since we were in such a small town but he said that the problem was that the barings were loose. To fix the problem he needed to get inside but even after pulling out every screw on the pedal(which were only 3) the pedal was still stuck together. It looked as if it was actually rivited. The end result was that I could ride on it without any problems for a little way but as the barings continued to loosen, the pedal would not only spin easier but it would also move in a lateral direction which is not good. I asked him if there were any other places where I could get it fixed but he said that he doesn't know of any shop in North Dakota that sells them. Hopefully I will be able to find a shop in one of the larger cities that we will go through the next day. After going back and dropping off my clothes from taking a shower, I decided to get my chain clean once and for all. I rode back to the shop again and he let me use a solvent solution that he had to clean it. I first had to take it off of the bike and after soaking it, wiping it off, washing it under water, and cleaning in between the links, I was finally able to put it onto my bike again. Everything was perfectly clean but unfortunately a piece had been lost in the process so I had to take out one link. Luckily it wasn't crucial and didn't make any difference in the shifting. After this, I played a game of mini golf for one dollar with Brad, Matt, and Tom. We decided that the two loosers would buy the two winners ice cream. After the game was over, Brad and I tied and both won ice cream from Matt and Tom. I once again had raspberry and strawberry mix but this time I added on a piece of mint fudge. We got back and after collecting my clothes that were drying in the sun, we ate dinner which consisted of eggs and potatoes with some pasta and salad. I was just about dying for soda so I went out to a local store and bought a liter of A&W root beer. In just a couple of minutes it was completely gone. After this, Israel talked to us about what he does in Bolivia and talked about his musical career. Also he talked about the lives of the people who live there who grow food in their small towns of about 15 families. It was incredible to see the pictures that he brought that showed the people who were farming. At the end, he played a couple of songs on a set of pipes of pan. This was only one of the many instruments that he brought with him. Along with his personal instruments that he plays in an orchestra, he also brought about 50 different instruments to sell along the way. He decided that he would try to sell some in Chicago. I had always wanted to have a set of the pipes of pan and so I started looking at his selection. I was just about to buy a set that had 16 pipes for 7 dollars when he pulled out another type of instrument that had been completely coted in black paint and then carved. In it there were numerous designs including one of a lama. I immediately decided to get it instead and ended up paying only $18 for it. It had been completely hand carved in Boliva and was a great thing to remember him by. I may also get a set of the pipes of pan later in the trip. After trying to play for a little while, I got ready for bed and actually fell asleep around 11:30

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