77 miles 1,168 feet.

I left my motel in Moorhead after a surprisingly good motel breakfast. They were very supportive of cyclists, even offering a bucket of clean rags to use for chains. I traveled east through the Glacial Lake Agassiz flat lands and then…drum roll...after 30 days heading east, I turned south(east)! I continue in this direction until passing south of Lake Michigan and then turn northeast, but that is long in the future. For now, the flatlands were very flat. And then gradually the waves started appearing again and I began, almost imperceptibly, to gain altitude. At some point, unannounced this time, I reached another continental divide in which water began flowing not north to Hudson's Bay but south to the Mississippi. Since my current elevation is 1,230' and Fargo was 900' it didn't take much.

Now there are lakes—lots of them. My route masterfully designed by ACA took me through small towns, and more small towns until in Fergus Falls it deposited me into the Central Lakes State Trail, a gorgeous 55 mile rail-to-trail separated bike path through trees and lakes usually far from traffic. For 17 miles there were no other bicyclists. Why is this? It was true also in Bismarck and in other cities with great bike infrastructure. On cool beautiful summer days, I have these trails to myself! Well not exactly: there were lots of deer who were not shy, and I saw one hiker. It is significant and important to me that with all these safe biking options people aren't using them.

I took the Central Lakes Trail right to my motel for the night, on a gorgeous Minnesota lake. Much of my biking in Minnesota will be on separated bike routes which is one reason Minnesota gets the reputation for being so supportive of biking.

Most of you have heard of Murphy's Law. For bicyclist, it works like this: When biking on a road with no shoulder and no traffic, when 2 cars eventually appear, one coming towards you and one from behind, they will inevitably pass each other exactly when they both pass you, so the vehicle to my immediate left cannot pull into the opposite lane. This happens so often as to make one believe in Murphy's Law.

When I'm passed by trucks in a Murphy's Law moment, or when I'm on a hill or curve where the driver can't see ahead, they almost always slow to avoid passing me too closely until it's safe to drift into the opposite lane. I know they are braking on my behalf because I can smell the brake pads as they pass. I'm a fan of professional truck drivers.

I haven't met that many Northern Tier cyclists but when I do and we talk, often the subject of tires comes up: how many flats, which tires one has or one wishes one had. I'm so happy with my Schwalbe Marathons. It is extremely comforting to check my tires in the morning and find them full and ready for the day. Flat tires are a royal pain, and I haven't had one so far. The bigger Schwalbes also do well when I hit gravel which happens often.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I'm self-supported, but that's not entirely correct. I'm supported by my family. Molly biked with me from Seattle to Mazama; Jenny who has done this trip is always available for my questions and offers very helpful route/food/sleeping location suggestions; and Amy is always encouraging me as are my beloved sisters and friends. So I have lots of support!

Today in addition to biking to Ashby I called to make reservations for a bike tuneup in Minneapolis. This led to the question of what time I would arrive. To answer, I had to plot out the next 4 days and make reservations. I did this on my cell phone in the morning at a truck stop. So now I have a reservation for a bike look-over/tuneup at Tangletown Bike Shop on Saturday thanks to Nick, and I have timing of my arrival in Minneapolis worked out so that I can meet my Amy!