Day 24 miles: 99 Day 25 miles: 101 Day 26 miles: 99 Day 27 miles: 102
Total miles: 1,607
We are combining all of North Dakota into one post since the main goal was just to get through this state. As our friend back in Washington told us, “North Dakota sucks. I mean REALLY sucks. I can’t tell you enough how BAD riding through that state just SUCKS!”
By bike:
Going from Glendive, MT the ACA maps direct you to actually ride on the interstate. I was a little worried about hitting Interstate 94. As I jumped on the onramp, I was pleasantly surprised that I had 12 feet of shoulder all to myself.
Montana as I loved it in the western part of the state was no more but a dry arid badland.
It seamlessly transitioned to western North Dakota. The triple H of what I’ve been experiencing–hot, hilly, and headwinds. It felt like I was either going uphill or going up hill. When I knew in my heart I was going downhill, I still had to pedal to get past the winds.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63371689/561_WM35_04072019rf_9590__f2e315eae6ab3477179e4805142e5d0f.0.jpg)
While debatable, western North Dakota is spooky. Dry mountains with exposed sedimentary rock, tons of grassland, and many, many dead birds on the side of the highway.
The morning heat started melting the tar on the side of the road and I realized I wasn’t in Washington anymore. I had to adjust my schedule. When I took a break I left footprints on the road and my shoes took some of the road with me.
Footprints at break.
Getting into Dickinson I surprised Lauren by turning off my GPS and going to Walmart to get supplies that could fit in my panniers. At the Ramada Inn I waited patiently until Lauren went to the front desk (I said our credit card was denied) and ran to the room to set up my buffet. The whole ordeal took approximately 10 minutes and regrettably a family was checking in to the room next to us, so I stared at them like a creep from the vending machines.
Anyway, first day I made it into Dickinson but due to the heat was consuming about 1 liter of water an hour.
Unfortunately, I did not plan accordingly on Day 2 of North Dakota either. The next day I started at 5 and uneventfully rode until the morning heat sucked my water. Still similar scenery with my new friend Triple H. Miles rolled into each other and I zoned out.
Until I found the oddest trinket on the side of the highway. Strictly adhering to the 5 day rule I kept it, hoping I would find the owner. Suddenly, after putting it on my saddle I stopped noticing my saddle sores which have been bothering me the whole trip.
The biggest oddity on the trip. 
The last 10 miles to Bismarck were torture. I felt sick from the heat and had to get off the highway to avoid construction. I stopped in a gas station and drank another 2 liters of water and had a bomb pop before getting to the Day’s Inn.
My route from Glendive to Fargo.
Bismarck from the gas station break
I went to bed at 7 p.m. that night in sweltering heat (A/C was broken?) and got up feeling sick at 3 a.m. the next day. My goal was to get to Jamestown. It was uncomfortable going on I-94 in the pitch black with just a little bike light at this time but I felt it was better than feeling sick in the afternoon heat. If I had a flat it would be a hairy situation with oncoming cars but I tried to be as cool as the humid morning air.
In contrast to western North Dakota, after Bismarck it became a swampland and was greener with some more trees. Triple H was KO’ed and was a different state. There were so many bugs flying around my front light.
About 2 hours of this nervous terror I saw first dawn.
First dawn!
I kept booking it and saw by 6:40 a.m. I had gone almost 40 miles. It’s tough feeling sick and bored on a bike because at that point there is nothing to do. You can listen to music but there is no option but keep going.
Eastern ND at dawn. Swampland.
Luckily, at mile marker 60 there was a rest stop. Every beverage was sold out but Mello Yellow. I downed it and made it to Jamestown by 11:00 a.m.
On my last day in North Dakota it was true swamplife. I got up at 2:50 a.m. and left smelling the soggiest soil around. Bugs were everywhere, including between my helmet and my hair. Everything was fogging up including my rear view mirror. Luckily, I counted my blessings and pressed forward.
This is actually the moon taken with google nightsight at 4:24 a.m.
The main animal life, as opposed to dear in the western part of the state, were frogs. Everywhere. I only saw one mouse to diversify the fauna.
Swamp at first dawn. Near the road there were so many bugs.
Taken at the end of road construction at mile 35 near Valley City. 
Random insignia on ND roads I’ve been seeing the whole state time.
As I kept going the smell kept getting worse. Nothing eventful except road construction. I saw construction outside Fargo and unfortunately had to get off the highway in a literal sense 8 miles from my destination. Because there was a swamp moat on each side of the highway, I had to go over a telephone pole outcropping and a broken barbwire fence. At this point I went through the marsh to Harley Davidson of Fargo.
I thought that was my adventure for the day, stopping at a grocery store for bubble bath supplies.
I was wrong. Taking an alternate bike route brought me to a flooded park where the ONLY bridge to MN by bike was closed. I went through muddy ground until being caked with mud and my shoes flooded with sulfur muddy swamp water. so much mud was on my tires my fenders were peeling away the other parts of mud that would cake on.
With half the volumetric load of North Dakota’s swamp soil on me, I tried to two other road bridges which were closed for construction.
Because of the drying soil, the mud was flying off in chunks and getting all over me and my legs. One time I got off my bike and I saw so much soil on my shoe that it got on my cellphone holder.
To make a long story short, I crossed into Minnesota (no welcome sign for me), went to a self-serve carwash, and washed the smelly swamp soil off my bike and me. You heard me right. I even used the foaming brush on my legs.
The whole ordeal delayed my trip by 2 hours but now I’m laughing about it as I write.
By car:
In a twisted turn of events, Matthew navigated the interstate highway while I took to the backroads. I had read in other blogs that Medora was a great place to visit in North Dakota. This is where Theodore Roosevelt planted his cabin and sought out bison. It only made sense that I visit his cabin and travel over the landscape that comprises Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
I texted Matthew, asking if he would like me to take him to Medora in the evening. He was really in the zone but admittedly low on energy, so he turned down the offer. I even tried to tempt him with ice cream, but to no avail…
Almost…
I gave myself a tour Teddy’s cabin.
Then enjoyed the stunning national park!
Finally, the best part of the day…
Wildlife!
I decided it was time to leave Medora and begin my journey into Dickinson.
I beat Matthew to the hotel, but I saw on Google maps that he was only a mile away.
Odd. Why didn’t I see him?
As I was unpacking and reorganizing, I was surprised to see 30 minutes had gone by and still no sign of Matthew.
I know it doesn’t take him 30 minutes to ride a mile…
I checked Google maps again- it showed that his GPS was disconnected. Or maybe he lost service? Or maybe he was injured? Did someone abduct him? Is he alive?!
I called him, but the sound quality was garbled at best. Eventually I got in my car and drove to where he was last seen on our shared maps. The ominous clouds and fat rain drops didn’t dilute any of my concern!
Of course I didn’t see him anywhere. I had convinced myself that he was fine. He did answer my phone call, after all.
Back in the hotel room, I got a call from the front desk.
“Hi. We need you to come down to the front desk to confirm that the items here belong to your children.”
Matthew’s up to something.
“I’m sorry, I don’t have any children.”
“Oh…uh. Huh. Sorry, wrong room I guess.” Click.
Shrugging it off, I grabbed the computer and got to work. Maybe another 10 minutes went by when Matthew finally called.
“Hey Lauren, the hotel just called me. Apparently our card got declined, can you go down to the lobby and check on that? I’m almost at the hotel.”
He’s alive!
I went to the front desk and approached the clerk about the mysterious decline.
“Oh yeah, we were just talking about that! Uh..here. Let me take your card again.” Without pulling anything up on his computer, he swiftly swiped my card again. “Okay, looks good!”
That looked unusually fake.
I went back to the hotel room and opened my door. That’s when I saw Matthew dart from the foot of the bed to hide behind the wall.
I KNEW IT.
He took it upon himself to pick up a small loaf of bread, cheese, meat, fruit, and a bouquet of sunflowers (that he called lilies) to surprise me!
The next day I went about 30 miles off route to check out North Dakota’s Enchanted Highway. This is a north-south highway that showcases the world’s largest scrap metal sculptures. A local man named Gary Greff came up with the idea, created the sculptures, maintains them, and plans to add more. The idea behind these sculptures is to quash the trend of small town extinction by bringing people off of the interstate to see these monstrous creations and learn about local rural life. Enchanted Highway takes you into Regent, which is a popular pheasant hunting area.
Tin family
While I was enjoying the scenery off the highway, Matthew sent me a text of the scenery he got on the highway. He usually sends me pictures of flowers growing through the cracks of asphalt along the roads. I was stumped with this one, though. Not sure what kind of flower it is…
Someone suggested it’s the rare Daffodildo. We’re not sure how it got there. Other responses I got include the following: Dildahlia, Peonis, Phallus Siliconis, and Dickweed. We may never know what it is…
I know you probably didn’t need to see a third picture of it, but this rare find was too funny not to resurface! Matthew joked around about placing it on his saddle- for those who aren’t familiar with his humor, know that he did not actually touch this thing.
The rest of our days through ND involved readjusting time expectations so Matthew can beat the heat.
Riding in the dark brings another slew of concerns, of course, but Matthew makes himself visible with two extremely bright flashing lights: one placed on the rear rack, the other placed up high on his flag pole. He also has reflectors on his rear panniers and the back of his jersey, and of course the bright headlight in the front of his bike. He also never rides in the dark with his headphones on, ensuring an acute awareness of what little traffic there is around him.
We’ve finally made it into Minnesota and we couldn’t be happier! The towns and services are abundant and the drivers seem more respectful of cyclists. Minnesota is apparently the bicycle capital of America. We can tell!
On a side note, I’ve discovered another person riding his bike across the country, but his story is much different from ours. I haven’t met him yet, but I hope to!
I’m taking the time to reach out to him and his family at the moment, because his story is pretty inspiring. Currently his cousin and I are texting back and forth, and I hope to meet him even if it means back tracking a little bit. More on that in future posts…
As for now, time to see what Minnesota has in store for us!
No Jobs, No Home, No Worries. A Shared Journey by Bike and Support SUV Across the U.S. 