New Town, ND

A tough day of peddling. The westward head winds were in full force today. I was on the road by 6AM which helped me for the first 40 miles...After that I was welcomed with a stiff head wind and an afternoon shower that lasted 20 minutes. Once the rain was gone, the sun came out and was extremely hot. I made it to New Town ND at 3PM. The reason for spending the evening here is that the next town of Williston is 74 miles away. There are no services between New Town and Williston. My route is 4213 miles. Of all those miles tomorrow's ride to Williston is the only time Adventure Cycling warns you to be careful and bring enough water and food. It should be an interesting ride. I've talked to several cyclists over the past few days who were traveling East. They all said that the 74 miles is breath-takingly gorgeous. Over the past 4 days I've been very surprised of how pretty ND is.
I'm writing this entry at the New Town library. The computer is from the Carter administration and will not allow me to download photos.

Future story to tell: Yesterday I decided to take a shortcut through a wildlife refuge. BAD IDEA. There wasn't a listing of the animals in the refuge. About a mile in I came across a herd of buffalo on the road in a wooded area. My first instinct was to "ride through" the herd. But because my only experience with buffalo is eating buffalo wings I decided to turn around. I captured the herd in pictures and look forward to sharing them with you.

In a previous entry I thanked my friend Kenny for visiting me in Dyersville IA. A few days ago I received a phone call from Jenz. He somehow knows Kenny and is a journalist for the Waterloo Courier. He wanted to write a story on my bike trek. Last night we chatted for an hour and then he called Liz to ask her a few questions. To make a long story short...If Monday is a slow news day...There will be a story on me in the Waterloo (Iowa) Courier.

Strangely, this morning as I was riding in the middle of nowhere ND there was a news crew interviewing 2 female cyclists who were traveling East. I think they were cycling for charity. I stopped by and the reporter asked me tons of questions. There was a guy there with a TV camera. I think the reporter was from the local CBS station out of Minot. You may be able to go on their website and download the story...If it was aired. If they air it...I'm sure I will be seen.

When I get back to town I'll let you know when and where I'll be signing autographs.

Until next time...Jamie

3 Days...317 Miles

I couldn't wait to get back in the saddle after my day off. Tuesday morning while leaving Fargo I had a stiff head wind for about 40 miles. I knew this was coming. I started peddling a little after 615AM and reached mile 40 at noon...That was not good. I stopped at a bar to eat lunch and regroup. When I got back to peddling the wind had changed in my favor...I was off to the races! I finished the day with 110 miles. On Wednesday the cycling Gods looked well upon me again and granted me a great tail-wind for a second day...107 miles peddled. Today was a scorcher...Very hot. I finished the 3 day section from Fargo to Minot (317 miles) in 3 days.

This is all I have time for tonight. Until next time...Jamie

SELF PORTRAIT 2

This was taken last Wednesday on my 135 mile day. I was about 20 miles south of Prescott WI on Hwy 35. The Mississippi River is in the background.

DAY OFF

I took day 30 off. Over the last week I had a large "growth" about 6 inches above my left knee. As it increased in mass it became more and more sore. Friday was not good. Although it didn't hurt while I peddled...Walking was another issue. There were times on Friday that I had to hop on one foot into stores or walk with a severe limp to get water or snacks. Saturday morning the "growth" popped and by Saturday night the swelling started to decrease. However, it was a bloody mess. This morning I decided to go to a clinic here in Fargo. I'm glad I did. The "growth" turned out to be a boil. Some people who saw the growth thought it was a spider bit...Some thought it was a gunshot wound! I received two anti-biotic shots in my rear and a prescription of anti-biotics...4 pills a day for seven days. In 2 days I need to call the clinic to get test results of a culture they did from the boil. If they didn't give me the correct anti-biotics for the bacteria that was growing in the boil...I will need to get a new prescription in Minot ND...317 miles away.

All is well. The boil has stopped draining. The swelling is gone as well as the pain. It was nice to relax today. My goal is to be in Minot ND by Friday evening.

Jamie

Kentucky Country Views

Eastern Kentucky had many beautiful country views. The landscapes were very green and lush. However, the state has a major trash problem. I peddled next to and over many small creeks and rivers that were riddled with garbage...Lots of garbage. Western Kentucky wasn't as lush, but it had much less garbage.

Do dog owners in Kentucky feed their dogs? I think not. I used mace several times on some unfriendly canines in this state. Not only would they chase me, but they would try nipping at my feet. I didn't think I would need mace. Luckily a fellow cyclist I met in Mineral VA insisted that I take one of his 5 containers. His name was Sandy. He was from New Jersey and he had retired two weeks before his trip across America.

ROADS OF VIRGINIA

The eight days spent in Virginia seemed to always be going up hill. These are typical views of the "road ahead" as I straddled my bike waiting to regain my wind.

RAIN ON THE PARKWAY

Luckily there was a bridge that provided shelter from the rain. However, it was a little late...my hands were pruned. Currently, this was the worse weather encountered on the trek. I've peddled through a few showers here and there but nothing as serious as the Blue Ridge Parkway.

BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY

The Blue Ridge Parkway was day 4. Someday I'd like to go back and DRIVE on the parkway so I could see the sights. To be honest I didn't look around to often. My head was down tring to keep the rain out of my eyes. It was a HOT hazy day on May 31.

Colonial Parkway

My trek started on the Colonial Parkway. The Parkway way took me to Yorktown, Williamsburg, and Jamestown. The above pictures were taken in the first 10 miles of the trek.

Mineral, VA

In a previous post I mentioned sleeping in a fire station. This picture is proof.

Hank

This photo was taken where Hank and I started to ride together...on a draw bridge.

29 Mornings Ago

This photo was taken a few minutes before I began my trek.

HEAD WEST YOUNG MAN

All is well. Made it to Fargo ND around 1pm this afternoon. Before getting to the CIS I stopped by a bike shop for a tune up. The next bike shop is a little over 300 miles away so I wanted to make sure my bike is in tip-top shape. Tomorrow the real cycling test begins. Over the past few days I've been subject to a good head wind. This will intensify over the next couple weeks. I will change my riding habits to getting up early to beat some of the wind and heat and I will carry more water and food than what I've done to this point. The towns are few and far between for the next 600 miles.

A few stats:

Route miles complete: 2435
Miles peddled: 2244.82
Miles ahead of schedule: 555.8
Days ahead of schedule: 8.5
83.9 route miles / 77.4 miles peddled per day
Last time I shaved: May 25th

Last night was the first time I had a difficult time finding a place to stay. I passed at least 10 campgrounds that were full and all of the motels/hotels were booked. I should have known better. I was traveling in a lake resort area near Pelican Rapids. To make things worse the last 25-30 miles that I peddled was in a steady rain. No fun at all. Finally I sweet talked my way into a campground that was booked. I convinced the owner to allow me to pitch my tent behind his storage shed. All's well that ends well. I set up my new tent in the rain and once I got the fly on...the tent held up nicely in the rain.

Thank you Kenny for visiting me in Dyersville IA.

...And thank you to the following for visiting me in La Crosse: Dean, Bill, Pat & Todd from PH. Bob, Michelle, & Bryan from Rochester. And Tracy from BRF. Your visit meant a lot to me. In fact, it meant so much to me that the 4 days afterwards I rode 429.33 miles! I was inspired.

This will be the last entry for awhile. Remember...If you haven't heard anything...nothing bad has happened.

If it wasn't difficult...more people would do it. Jamie

The 23rd Floor

St. Louis had its advantages. These were the views from my 23rd floor hotel room.

SELF PORTRAIT

...Taken on a bridge crossing the Iowa River.

CHAIN OF ROCKS BRIDGE

I had a difficult time getting out of St. Louis. In fact, it was so difficult that I decided to go back to Illinois to escape St. Louis. My passage?....THE CHAIN OF ROCKS BRIDGE. This bridge was on the original Route 66. Today, only walkers, joggers, and cyclists have access to this mile long bridge that crosses the Mississippi. In the second photo from the bottom you can see downtown St. Louis...Included the ARCH. The scenes of the bridge and from the bridge were very impressive. When in St. Louis...I recommend you checking it out. When on the Illinois side I peddled 20 miles to Alton IL on a great bike path, and then continued along the river to Quency IL.

More Pictures

The top picture is my "new bike". It features a new set of panniers on the front wheel. This upgrade is also minus the trailer that I dumped in Carbondale IL.

The bottom picture features the first time that I was about to cross the Mississippi River. Currently, I've crossed the Great River 3 times.

Pictures: Part 3

The top photo was taken on a ferry that crossed the Ohio River from Kentucky to Illinois.

The photo below was taken on top of Falls of Rough Damn in Eastern KY.

Pictures: Part 2

The first picture is near the VA / KY boarder near Elk Horn KY.
The second picture below was a typical view of what I saw riding up the hills of Virginia. Two things let me know that I was on a long hill. The first was...the only sky I could see was the sky directly over my head. The second clue was when vehicles came down the hill... If I could smell burning breaks...I knew there was a long way to go.

Pictures

The above was taken on a foggy morning near Christainsburg VA.

The above was taken on my way to Damascus VA.

IS THIS HEAVEN...?

I've completed 22 days of the trek. Spending the evening in Dyersville IA. For none movie fans, FIELD OF DREAMS, was filmed here.

Liz met up with me Friday afternoon in Muscatine IA. It was nice to see her. I've missed her greatly. It was also nice to have her haul all of my stuff the last 2 days. It was the first time this year that I've ridden outside without panniers attached to the bike. Extremley lite!

Last night we spent the night in Wyoming IA. After getting settled in we drove to Anamosa IA. While there we ate dinner at a winery and then went to see X-Men. The theater was very old. Tickets were $3 per person and a medium popcorn cost $1.50...what a deal! Popcorn never tasted so good.

Tomorrow I'll peddle to Prairie du Chen WI and then on Tuesday I'll peddle to La Crosse. The terrain between here and there will be more hilly than the last 4 days. Illinois and southeast Iowa was very good to me. The wind was at my back for 4 days and the terrain was extremely flat. On Friday I had my 4th century day of the trip...100.30 miles. On Thursday I peddled 113.89 miles...this was the first time that I've had back to back century days of my cycling career.

STATS:

I've covered 1796 route miles and peddled 1635.79 miles...I continue to shave off a mile here and there with short cuts. Today I cut out about 14 miles. I'm 370.4 miles / 5.7 days ahead of schedule. I've averaged 81.6 route miles per day.

My body is holding up well. Besides a sore ass, left elbow, left knee, a numb big toe on my right foot, and a little chaffing...all is well.

I'm looking forward to entering Minnesota and starting a more west-wardly route.

Until next time...Jamie

Alive & Peddling

Hello All...I'm ok. Sorry for the lack of activity. Access to internet has been scarce on my trek and Liz has been swamped at work.

Quick stats: I've peddled 1450.17 miles. I've taken a few short cuts...the biggest being going through St. Louis. ...and when I say through St. Louis...I main I peddled through every ghetto section of the town...I even rode right downtown...but I made it and the short cut knocked off at least 125 miles.

Total route miles peddled: 1595...which translates into 83.9 route miles per day. I'm 363.8 miles/5.6 days ahead of schedule. Tonight I'm in Keokuk IA.

A few comments...

I had to dump my trailer...it was killing me. On Sunday my brother Matt met me in Carbondale IL. The next day he took the trailer home with him along with 2 dry bags. The difference is night and day. I can't Believe I hauled it over 1000 miles!

I've had 3 century days. Day 9 104.16 miles from Elk Horn KY to Buckhorn KY. It was my first full day in KY...Couldn't wait to get out.

Day 12, 115.99 miles from somewhere in KY to Falls of Rough KY...I really wanted to get out of Kentucky.

Today, Day 19, from Hardin IL to Keokuk IA. Today was a perfect day for riding...flat, wind at my back, and about 85 degrees. I started a little after 7Am and was done by 4PM...great day.

Thank you to Brad, Stacy, Todd, Joe, and Tammy for calling and checking up on me. Also thanks to everyone who has left comments on the blog....they are all appreciated.

Friday and Saturday will be short peddle days as Liz is meeting me in Burlington IA for the weekend. But on Sunday it's "back in the saddle" again. I should be passing through the La Crosse area Wednesday or Thursday of next week.

...And from the "it could only happen to Jamie" file...Liz's brother Aaron (he has left a few comments on the blog...the guy who went to Mexico) was hit by a car on Tuesday...while doing what? Riding his bike! He was in ICU for 2 days and suffered a broken leg which required surgery yesterday. Currently he is still in the hospital and is doing good. Hang in there Aaron. Liz was freaked out by the incident and I thought I was going to have to cut my trek short...but cooler heads prevailed. It's funny, Tuesday, while peddling as fast as I could through St. Louis I kept thinking..."Jamie, you're an idiot for taking this short cut, you could suffer much bodily harm...if not from trafic...from the locals".

Until next time...Jamie

Week One In the Books

All is well. Tomorrow I will cross into the state of Kentucky. Its been a challenging 7 days. I knew the hills of Virginia would be tough...But not this tough. Tonight I'm in Damascus VA...A great little town that I hope to vacation to in the near future...It is an outdoors person's paradise. I'm staying in a hostel with a guy from Alabama and a couple from Holland who are going opposite directions on the Appalachian trail. Nice people. Today was a day of rest...I rode just over 50 miles. The last 18 were downhill...It was a beautiful ride that rode along a river that had waterfalls. Several times as I zoomed down I was sprayed by the water of the falls. Lots of great fly-fishing opportunities were abound. I also met another cyclist named Rob from England. I rode with him until the downhill section...I lost him. I was up to speeds of 40 mph...Could have gone faster but the owners manual of my trailer said to stay under 15 mph. Hope all is well at home.