Day 16: Badlands, Good Winds

 Or at least generally favorable winds.

Beach to Bismarck, 162 miles, 4500 feet of climbing.

Saturday night’s storm brought cooler temperatures and winds out of the northwest, which led us to break our rule of capping rides at about 100 miles per day.  Seeing this written strikes us as funny because it makes it look like we actually have or adhere to any rules on this trip. And, if you have been following us, you know that we should - but don’t.

In any event, we think we had some good reasons to reach a little beyond our usual mileage limits.  First, after a few days in which heat had us cutting back on distances, we were raring and ready to go. Second, we were having a good time on the ride, seeing a lot of diversity in the North Dakota landscape and winds being cooperative. And third, we saw that forecasts for early in the upcoming week called for heat, thunderstorms and strong winds from the east, which might cause us to lay up for a day somewhere. So, we thought we’d make hay while the sun shines - a bad metaphor, we know, but we’re tired.

We started out by riding past the North Dakota town of “Home on the Range” which we understand is known for the unbridled optimism and positive attitude of its population (where seldom is heard a discouraging word). From there, we rode through the National Grasslands, the North Dakota Badlands and skirted the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The Badlands are spectacular and really are “bad lands.” Easy to see where they got their name. After that, the scenery settled into open wheat and soybean fields for a hundred miles or so. (We like ND, but 5 miles of wheat and soybeans would have been plenty.) Saw some interesting sites along the way, including the Geese in Flight sculpture along the Enchanted Highway; it is billed as the largest scrap metal sculpture in the world. Who knew?

We didn’t fully expect the long rolling hills in this part of the world. North Dakota is essentially flat, or at least a lot flatter than Montana, but that does not mean no climbing. The roads follow the natural terrain and if the terrain is rolling, so is the road. Hence, the unending climbing and descending.  But the climbs are long and smooth compared to some of the steep terrain that we encountered earlier.  

We were very happy with the wind today (Sunday), but we are still waiting for the straight out tailwind that we were told accompanied east bound cyclists.  Perhaps its mythical and doesn’t really exist. (If so, we will look for the source of this misinformation and take appropriate retribution.)  But we can hope and hope springs eternal.  

We are sizing up the weather and winds for our next leg.  Will certainly be shorter than the Beach to Bismarck segment.