July 11, 1998 - Medora - Richardton

DISTANCE TRAVELED: 66.09 Miles

TIME: 6 Hours 30 Minutes

AVERAGE SPEED: 13.0 Miles/Hour

TRAVEL CONDITIONS: Great temperatures in the early morning turning to another very hot day in the late morning throughout the day. We had a strong headwind in the early morning turning to a sidewind in the late morning and for the rest of the day.

ROAD CONDITIONS: I94 had a lot of gravel on the shoulder that made for difficult riding. During the wide gaps between cars, the right lane served very well and was not only smooth but also clear of any trash. The old highway to Richardton was very rough with many frost heaves.

TERRAIN/DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Small rolling hills which were very easy. However the wind made it a little more difficult.

DAILY JOURNAL COMMENTS:
I got up at the horrible hour of 5:00 since I had asked Cosmus the night before to wake me up when he got up which was typically at that time. I wanted to get an early start since the days were getting more and more hot. I finally was able to leave around 6:00 after packing up and making some food for the day. I rode along and was relieved to find how cool it was at that time. Also it was great to be on the highway and not have any cars passing you for over a mile at a time. It was much more relaxing this way. At the first town that I came to, I stopped and bought a Gatorade. It was fairly expensive but it paid off since after buying one 20 ounce bottle, I was able to get two more 32 ounce bottles for free. After finishing, I continued on again and soon afterwards, was caught by David who flew by me. I looked down at my overall distance from the beginning of the year just in time to see it reach 2000 miles. About 5 miles later I got into Dickinson and began to look for a bike shop. There was only one and was called the Saw-and-Bike Shop. I went inside and the person who was working there said to me "If you have a question what are you waiting for, I have work to do!" This was a great start and after asking my question he told me that he had never worked on a Speedplay before, but he could try to take it apart and fix it the next day. By this point I was ready to leave and never come back again. He sure wasn’t the same as the person at the shop the day before who was going to fix the pedal for free (until he found out that he couldn’t get into the bearings) and then went on to clean my chain for free. I continued on to Richardton and was soon passed by David who had gotten some food at a local resteraunt. A little while later Lana caught up to me and together we rode into a small town called Taylor where I bought a Hawaiian Punch. We ate lunch there and while taking a break, Matt and Tom came by. I left with them to finish the last 8 miles into Richardton and greatly picked up my speed. For the last mile, we were all sprinting on and off, trying to get in front of each other. With a headwind of about 15 miles an hour, I was able to reach a speed of 27 miles an hour while passing Matt. Before this small race, I hadn’t sweated at all but by the time it was over, sweat was dripping all over. We arrived at the Assumption Abbey and saw where we were to stay for the night. We had heard about the accomodations and found that there were going to be two people to a room with two individual beds along with dressers and sinks. Also there were also public bathrooms that had showers with curtains and individual stalls and changing areas. The shower felt great after having just been so sweaty. I washed my biking clothes once again in the shower and then took a quick trip down to the local grocery store for a quick popsicle. After this, I went back and gathered all of my dirty clothes together for a quick wash. I threw my clothes in and sat down with my laptop to type away and listen to some music. The sunset was incredible with a black sky and brilliant light in the foreground.(Picture62) After the wash was finally finished, I went back to my room to re-organize my things when I discovered that it was time to have dinner. I went over to the dining room where all of the monks were waiting. They said a quick prayer and we then began to eat. I had two heaping plates of spaghetti, two pieces of garlic bread, two bowls of different types of salad, a bowl of fruit, a lemon bar, two pieces of rhubarb jello (fresh and homemade), and three glasses of milk. By the time I was done, I was very full, even though I knew that in about 2 hours I would be hungry again. I went back to finish organizing my things and went to bed around 9:00.

TRIP ROUTE:
Take I94 east for about 35 miles to Dickinson. Take the old highway to Richardton.

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