Day 28. Napoleon
71 miles 2,034 feet
I had a leisurely start—10 am—because of the long day yesterday and the time change. The route out of Bismarck was just as nice as the way in, on a protected bike lane that bypassed urban streets. Though it was raining lightly, it was still surprising that I had this beautiful bike route all to myself! By the time the trail ended I was miles from the city in rolling countryside.
I am very lucky to have cool weather in North Dakota. Temperatures of 90 degrees in July are common and bike blogs often mention hot, humid days. Though I have had some rain, generally the temperatures are cool and very pleasant for biking. The forecast is for gradually warming temperatures with 90 degrees a week from now but I'm over halfway through the state—168 miles from Fargo.
The terrain is getting flatter but isn't flat yet. I can tell the ups and downs are more dampened compared with prior days, and I can see from the map that this trend will continue. There are gently rolling hills and a few streams and an increasing number of lakes. All in all, very nice for cycling.
There is one annoyance biking on county roads in Montana and North Dakota: Every 5-20 yards there is a crack perpendicular to direction of the road that causes a jarring bump when you ride over it. Once or twice this is more easily tolerated but mile after mile this bumpy jarring experience becomes tiresome.
I ended up in a pretty little town—Napoleon—which is on the edge of several small lakes. Folks at the local restaurant are friendly and pleasant. Lots of children. But the census shown in Wikipedia indicates a gradual population decline here as in most small towns I've visited. I don't know why but I suspect job opportunities are reduced as agricultural becomes more industrialized. The farm equipment I've seen for sale is enormous, far larger than I remember seeing earlier in my life, and they must be very expensive, perhaps out of reach for some small farmers. I also notice that CHS Inc., the owner of the grain elevators in town has a history as a farmer's cooperative but is now in the oil industry too.
Tomorrow farther east!
I had a leisurely start—10 am—because of the long day yesterday and the time change. The route out of Bismarck was just as nice as the way in, on a protected bike lane that bypassed urban streets. Though it was raining lightly, it was still surprising that I had this beautiful bike route all to myself! By the time the trail ended I was miles from the city in rolling countryside.
I am very lucky to have cool weather in North Dakota. Temperatures of 90 degrees in July are common and bike blogs often mention hot, humid days. Though I have had some rain, generally the temperatures are cool and very pleasant for biking. The forecast is for gradually warming temperatures with 90 degrees a week from now but I'm over halfway through the state—168 miles from Fargo.
The terrain is getting flatter but isn't flat yet. I can tell the ups and downs are more dampened compared with prior days, and I can see from the map that this trend will continue. There are gently rolling hills and a few streams and an increasing number of lakes. All in all, very nice for cycling.
There is one annoyance biking on county roads in Montana and North Dakota: Every 5-20 yards there is a crack perpendicular to direction of the road that causes a jarring bump when you ride over it. Once or twice this is more easily tolerated but mile after mile this bumpy jarring experience becomes tiresome.
I ended up in a pretty little town—Napoleon—which is on the edge of several small lakes. Folks at the local restaurant are friendly and pleasant. Lots of children. But the census shown in Wikipedia indicates a gradual population decline here as in most small towns I've visited. I don't know why but I suspect job opportunities are reduced as agricultural becomes more industrialized. The farm equipment I've seen for sale is enormous, far larger than I remember seeing earlier in my life, and they must be very expensive, perhaps out of reach for some small farmers. I also notice that CHS Inc., the owner of the grain elevators in town has a history as a farmer's cooperative but is now in the oil industry too.
Tomorrow farther east!
