Day 33: The Good, The Bad, and The Unexpected

Fergus Falls, MN to Cormorant, MN

Stats!
Miles biked today: 35.3
Total miles biked on trip so far: 1301.7
Max speed: 24.5 mph
# of new species spotted: 1 (buffalo/bison!)
# of hours we could have been biking, but weren't b/c of bad weather forecasts: 4

Today was a short day. We had hoped to get to Fargo today, but it was an 80 mile ride, with bad thunderstorms predicted for the entire afternoon, and with no towns in which we could take refuge after Cormorant. If we passed Cormorant, we'd have to go the whole way to Fargo, and we sure do hate getting soaked.

The winds were terrible all day, and they were not with us. Very strong winds, mostly hitting us from the sides. The sidewinds, to me, are worse than the headwinds, because you get blown into busy roads, or off the road into gravel pits. Sometimes we nearly get blown over. There were scattered showers on the way to Cormorant, but we were grateful to have missed the massive thunderstorms that were predicted.

The thunderstorms never came. It's beautiful out. We probably could have made it to Fargo. Oh, well. We got some fun pictures today, anyway, as you can see. :)

Someone's front yard has it all!

But I thought I'd dedicate the majority of today's post to going over the good, the bad, and the unexpected things about our trip so far!

THE GOOD:
Scenery -- We've seen a good bit of the country now, and it's been really gorgeous for most of the trip. The scenery is the only redeeming part about hills! We've seen mountains, lakes, fields, forests, plains, and amber waves of grain! (well, greenish waves of grain)

Exercise - We are getting pretty ripped. Our quads and calves are pure muscle now, and my biceps and triceps are even getting defined, which they definitely weren't before. Not as big of an arms difference for Dean, since I think he had plenty of muscle before, and holding himself up on the bike all day wasn't a physical challenge. Plus, we can (and kind of need to) eat TONS of food, which is sometimes fun and sometimes a chore. We are not losing weight, I'm pretty sure.

Blogging - Blogging is fun! Whenever the road gets monotonous, I just think about what I'll post that day and it becomes fun again.

Useful stuff - I am so glad that I brought some of the things that we seriously considered not bringing. For example, this netbook, my Camelbak, and my mom's handlebar bag. We almost didn't bring those things, and I use them all multiple times everyday. This blog would be super lame if we had to post it on Dean's phone, so many thanks to my dad and brother for making it happen!

My bike - My bike has performed BEAUTIFULLY through all of this. It was a wedding gift from Dean's friend Benny and his wife. So far (knock on wood), no flats, no broken spokes, no trouble at all. Fingers crossed that this good luck streak continues! Dean's bike has had a lot more problems (3 flats and 2 broken spokes, plus his wheel gets out of true a lot), but it's still a good bike. It won't be going on the "bad" list.

People we meet: Overall, the people we've met have been wonderful! Everyone seems very interested in the trip and most wish us well. We've only gotten a few jerks, mostly yelling stuff at us out of cars. I'd say 99.9% of people we've encountered have been friendly, helpful, and interested. It's great!

Wildlife - It's been *amazing* seeing all the beautiful birds and furry critters and reptiles along the route. We see new creatures all the time, and it's fun to see animals we'd never see at home normally.


THE BAD:
Steep Hills and Mountains of All Kinds - We're getting better at the climbs, but hills and mountains are still a pain and still really slow us down. It's hard to enjoy the good stuff about the trip when you're trying to push yourself up a steep hill. Little hills can be nice and fun, and a break in the monotony of plains.

My body - My body is just not cooperating on this trip. I have knee pain, numb fingers, saddle sores, heat rash, and I've been getting a lot of cuts, etc. Dean is definitely having more bike trouble, and I am having more body trouble. Nothing too serious, though. Just annoyances, and it can slow you down.

Road conditions - Road conditions have been rough throughout much of the trip. Bumpy, cracked roads are hard on the butt, hard on the bike, and can slow down the trip considerably (especially if it's so bumpy that you can't just fly down hills).


THE UNEXPECTED:
Weather concerns - I guess I just hadn't thought about what we'd do when it rained for 5 days straight or when tornado warnings were announced. I was just hoping for the best, and I think I figured we'd just hide out if it rained. It's actually really hard to do! The route includes 20-30 mile stretches of nothingness sometimes, and you just get rained on. I thought summer = nice weather. It has been really unpredictable, and we try to make do as best we can.

Aches and pains - While I knew I would have some soreness, I never expected the ulnar nerve issue, for example. I certainly was surprised that the muscles that hurt the worst were my triceps, on those first few days!

Free lodging - We've now stayed 7 nights for free on the trip -- a full week and we've just barely been on the road a month! Free nights are great for the wallet, but sometimes rough sleep-wise (Oxford Junction?). Sometimes it's a great night's sleep, too!

Conquering tough hills and mountains - We knew that we'd encounter hills and mountains, but we were totally unprepared for just how hard they'd be. As I've previously said on the blog, we thought we'd just downshift to our lowest gear and chug on up, but with a 50 lb load, plus your body weight, plus the bike weight, plus a steep incline, it's just too much sometimes. We do a lot more walking than I ever expected, and I never thought we'd skip a whole state, but we did what we had to do to keep the trip rolling on.

Use of the Android phone - We use Dean's phone practically every day to figure out where we are, where we're going, get through big cities, find places to eat, check the weather forecast etc. Dean got the phone specifically for use on this trip, but we never thought we'd use it as much as we do. I'm so glad he got it!

How little free time we have - Previously mentioned in the "day in the life" post, I thought we'd have about 5 free hours every evening. We have .... none. Finding lodging, going to eat, doing laundry, writing the blog, and doing basic bike maintenance take our entire evening most nights. We need rest days more than I'd thought, as a result.

Overall, I am still totally loving the trip, and Dean is, too. We have our frustrations and we're tired sometimes, but those things are minor and dwarfed by all the amazing, wonderful things. This is truly the trip of a lifetime, and I'm so glad we could do it!