Katie MacDonald - Bike the US for MS
Day 47 - July 13 - Glendive, MT to Wolf Point, MT - 102.9miWe wanted to get an early start on the century, so Vikki, Alison, Catherine, and I left at 5:30am. The winds weren't as bad today, but I couldn't move fast because my legs were so tired from yesterday's brutal ride. At some point near the beginning of the ride, a deer ran right across the street in front of Catherine, and gracefully jumped the highway barrier. Rest stop two was in a town called Circle. Recently, we've been able to see towns from miles away as were are approaching, but this one was hidden away around a hill, so we didn't see it until we were basically right there. We got lunch here, and rested for a bit before moving on. We had a slight tailwind coming out of R2, which was nice for a change, and we stopped to talk to a cross-country group heading east. There were, however, a number of bad trucks along this road which made for a stressful ride to the next rest stop. About a mile before the rest stop, it started pouring. The rain was coming down so hard, I thought it was hail. Catherine and I booked it to the van, where we hid out with Chandler, Connor, and Eddie, waiting for the rain to stop. When the rain stopped, we rode out with Luke and Grant. This is probably the first time I have ridden with Grant for more than a few minutes, as he is normally going way faster than I am. We are camping in Wolf Point tonight, in the city park next to the pool. For dinner I got McDonalds with Chandler and Ethan, and on the way there we were followed by dog that Ethan decided to name Peter. Back at camp, I had to set up Ethan's tent, as per out wager back at the bowling alley in Wabasha. Very excited to sleep in tomorrow! Day 48 - July 14 - Wolf Point, MT to Glasgow, MT - 54.5miWe had an amazing sleep in this morning (8:15am), followed by breakfast cooked by our fantastic route leaders. This was the first time we've ever really chilled in the morning, and certainly the latest we've ever left camp. Andrea, Alison, Vikki, Catherine, and I rolled out together, and took it really slow for the first part of the day. It was nice to have a relaxing ride after so many long, windy days. We got caught in some rain just before the rest stop, and it was on and off for the rest of the day. The winds also started up, although nowhere near as bad as the past couple days. The worst part though, was the traffic on highway 2. People kept passing way too close, and we spent a fair amount of time riding on the grass on the side of the road because the shoulder was too narrow. We stopped for ice cream along the highway, and also stopped for a picture at a sign that says "Canada →". We are staying at a baptist church in Glasgow tonight. After arriving and getting set up, Vikki, Catherine, Chandler and I went out to do laundry, grocery shop, and grab dinner. We also got DQ, although it took 20min to get our orders because it was so crowded. After getting back to the church, we hung out and watched a bit of Sherlock Holmes. This morning we got the devastating news that there had been an accident on one of the Bike and Build rides, where two cyclists had been hit by a car. I honestly don't have the words to describe how awful this is, and how deeply saddened I am by this news. My heart goes out to the friends and family of the cyclists, and to the entire Bike and Build community. Day 49 - July 15 - Glasgow, MT to Malta, MT - 72.3miI slept on a church pew last night, which turned out to be surprisingly comfy. Vikki, Alison, Catherine, and I had breakfast in the church kitchen, and then we set off for what turned out to be an amazing day. The winds were finally blowing in our favour, and we had a tailwind almost the entire day. At times, I was cruising along a flat at 20+ mph, without having to work nearly as hard as I have the past couple days. Our first rest stop was at an adorable ice cream shop called Sweet Memories. I got lemonade, some people got ice cream, and everyone chilled for a while. After leaving, I rode mostly by myself and listened to a new podcast that Stefan suggested - 99% Invisible. The miles flew by, and soon I was at the next rest stop, on the side of highway 2, which we got on yesterday, and will be following for the next few days. After this stop, we turned onto a detour that took us through a wildlife refuge. The map said that only the first 5mi were gravel, but it turned out to be closer to 12. It was a loose gravel, which meant that I was occasionally getting pelted by rocks thrown up by people's tires. I enjoyed it though, even with the myriad of cyclocross jokes Ethan was providing. We made it into camp by 3, and had our second spigot shower of the trip - much better than the one in Kathryn, ND. After washing off, Catherine and I made avocado, bean, and cheese wraps for lunch, then went into town with Megan to use wifi at a local BBQ restaurant. When we returned to camp at around 6, we discovered that the dinosaur museum nearby was having a lecture, so a bunch of us decided to go. It turned out to be a fascinating talk about dinosaur myths and truths, and they even had a bonfire going so we could make s'mores and hot dogs. Small world - the palaeontologist giving the talk is moving to Toronto next year to start his PhD at the ROM! After the lecture was over, we went back to the BBQ restaurant, Ray J's, for dinner. They cooked brisket, pizza, and pulled pork for us for free! It was so delicious, and we left completely stuffed. Day 50 - July 16 - Malta, MT to Havre, MT - 89.4miAfter packing up camp this morning, we headed back over to Ray J's for a free breakfast. Ray has been so amazing, and inspiring with the story of how he started up his business. So thankful for everything he has done for us! The first hour of riding was amazing. We had a nice tailwind, and were cruising at 18mph. We didn't stop at the first rest stop for long, but had avocado wraps for lunch at R2. After R2, things went downhill. The road had almost no shoulder for us to ride on, and the drivers were terrible. Fortunately, we made it to R3 unscathed. We grabbed some ice cream at R3, and then Vikki and I went to check out the local fair. After the fair, Eddie, Catherine, Vikki, and I left together for the final stretch. Even though the winds had shifted, and we were battling a headwind, we were going decently fast at about 15mph. We made it to the church Havre, and went to go shower at a local motel. Apparently, the owner of the motel had been walking by the van as Stefan and Megan discussed the shower situation, and offered us a room to use! After getting cleaned up, a bunch of us went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner, and then to the theatre to see The Secret Life of Pets. The movie was hilarious, but I was so tired that I fell asleep near the end. Day 51 - July 17 - Havre, MT to Chester, MT - 61.6miGot to sleep in until 7am, and then ate a delicious breakfast provided by the church. We set out at around 9:40, and enjoyed the vast expanse of Montana's scenery. R1 was on the side of the road, where I ate some cereal and a PB&J. I rode to the next stop mostly by myself, and listened to some music and a podcast episode. The next rest stop was at a restaurant, where we were able to grab a late lunch. Turns out we officially made it to the 1000mi to go mark, and Eddie made us a sign to take pictures with. It was a quick 14mi into camp after that. At the church, Eddie shaved an arrow into Catherine's head, which turned out pretty cool. We then headed to the showers at the pool, made dinner, and I got some stuff done on my laptop. Later, we walked to the convince store in town for ice cream, and then finished watching Sherlock Homes. Day 52 - July 18 - Chester, MT to Cut Bank, MT - 66.4miWhat a great day! Catherine and I had some great conversations during the ride to R1, which was on the side of the road. After R1, we rode alongside a train for a few miles, and raced it for a little while. Shortly before getting to the second rest stop in Shelby, we caught our first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains! It was a really amazing moment, and it really hit me all of a sudden that we had biked here from the Atlantic Ocean. At the rest stop, we went grocery shopping and ate subway. The third part of the day was a bit hillier, but the day flew by and we made it to camp by 2:30. We are staying at a youth church tonight, that has a basketball court/theatre upstairs, and a lounge area in the basement. We played basketball for a little bit, and I watched Connor and Ethan played bike dodgeball. A little later, we walked to the grocery store, where I got ingredients to make a pizza bagel for dinner, as well as a couple things I forgot to pick up earlier. After making dinner, we had a bear safety talk with the route leaders, and then ended the night by watching a movie.
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Day 39 - July 5 - Fergus Falls, MN to Fargo, ND - 86.2miIt thundered during the night, but was dry when we woke up and started getting ready for the day. There was even a rainbow over the lake at our campsite. The first 30mi brought us through rolling hills, and into rest stop one in Pelican Rapids. It was here that we were informed that the route leaders notes were not quite accurate, and that the day would be 84mi, rather than 64mi as we had been told initially. I didn't eat enough for breakfast at camp, so we stopped for breakfast at a cute little place called The Muddy Moose. By rest stop two, we were out of the hills, and back to the flat farmlands. With the flats, came the winds, which were somewhat manageable, but pretty tough in sections. I spent most of the day listening to Unbroken on Audible, which is fantastic. Rest stop three was at a general store, and I was able to stock up on Clif Bars and Powerade, and get an ice cream cone. After R3, it was a quick 12mi to camp. We crossed the border into North Dakota, but there was no state sign to take a picture with. Once we got to camp we met Connor, the new route leader/mechanic, showered, set up our tents, and headed out to see Fargo. Jen, Vikki, Catherine, Frank, and I took an Uber to grab Thai food. After that, we met up with Alison, Chandler, Luke, Sharon, and Ethan for Jenga and corn-hole at a local brewery. Day 40 - July 6 - Fargo, ND to Kathryn, ND - 76.9miMy alarm failed to go off this morning, so I slept in an hour later than I wanted to. I probably would have slept longer, if I hadn't woken up to a FaceTime call from Griffin. Since I slept so late, I told the group to go ahead without me, and set off on my own about an hour later. I cruised along on my own, listening to Unbroken, and enjoying the landscape. I stopped for a quick snack at R1, then headed out again. A little while later, I caught up to Chandler at a construction sight. The flagged told us how terrible the road would be, and we were offered a shuttle across, but we decided to go for it. I haven't missed a single mile yet, and I didn't want to start today. Warned about there being a lot of dust in the air, I used one of my arm warmers as a dust mask, but barely ended up needing it. The road was nowhere near as bad as the flagged had described. At rest stop 3, I caught up with Alison, Julia, and Andrea. I grabbed some pizza, relaxed for a bit, and then we set out for the last 21mi, which included some decent sized descents and climbs. We made it into Kathryn (pop. 52) at around 3:30pm, and I joined some people for a snack at the town's only restaurant. After some onion rings, I had my first spigot/hose shower of the trip. Catherine, Stefan, and I walked over to the nearby RV park, and took turns hosing ourselves off with the freezing cold water. Later in the day, I made soup for dinner, which was promptly followed by a couple bowls of corn flakes. We had a safety talk with the route leaders, and then a bunch of us watched Top Gun on my laptop. Day 41 - July 7 - Kathryn, ND to Napoleon, ND - 100.2miToday was our first complete century (100mi ride) of the trip! We started the day early, as a group, but I lagged behind listening to my audio book and rode most of the morning by myself. The first rest stop was on the side of the road, about 30mi into the day. There, I caught up with almost everyone who left before me, except for Andrea who left at about 4:30am and was way ahead. I made a PB&J tortilla, then set off again. At rest stop two, we finally reached a town, and stopped to get lunch. After eating, Andrea, Julia, Alison, and I left together. I stopped to take a number of pictures of the landscape, which was pretty beautiful today. I was starting to feel a bit drained, but eventually I made it to rest stop 3, also on the side of the road, after approximately 80mi. The final 20mi were the hardest of the day, as we had to fight hills and headwinds. It took me over 2 hours to get through that last stretch. When I eventually got to camp, I realized I was 0.8mi short of hitting the 100mi mark, so I did a couple laps around the block to round out the century. We are camping in a town park tonight, so after completing the ride I made a quick run to the grocery store for dinner ingredients. When I got back from the store, I discovered that Eddie had taken my bike, and was cleaning it for me! So sweet of him. I attempted to make scrambled eggs on my camp stove, but somehow, something went wrong and I ended up eating a bowl of cereal instead. After dinner, I had a quick shower at the town pool, which was certainly the best pool shower we have had to date. Vikki, Frank, Catherine, and I then biked into town for ice cream. After ice cream, since I've had no service for over a day and a half (thanks T-Mobile), Catherine and I hung out outside a local bar that had wifi, and dealt with some emails, texts, and other internet related things. After this, I set up my tent, and got ready for bed. Exhausted after such a long day! Day 42 - July 8 - Napoleon, ND to Bismarck, ND - 69.2miSlow moving this morning, and I hit the snooze on my alarm clock at least twice. Set off on my own again, and had finished my audio book by rest stop one. Tonight is brom (bike + prom), so at R1, I hid something in Ethan's trunk bag with a note asking if he'd be my date. Brom is a BTUSFMS tradition, where everyone finds a date (girls have to ask guys), and then gets dressed up in crazy outfits. Ethan didn't end up finding the note until R2, after I hinted about getting something out of his bag. After we got to camp, we took a van into town so that some people could do laundry, and some others could go to the bike store. I was on the laundry team, but after we put the laundry in the wash we headed to a nearby thrift store to find some brom outfits. Thrift store shopping was crazy fun, and Ethan and I decided to go with a tourist themed outfit - Hawaiian shirts, funny hats and sunglasses, and old school cameras. When we got back to camp after laundry/shopping, we got dressed and commenced brom celebrations. The outfits were absolutely insane, and everyone had a great time. Ethan totally committed to the tourist role, and was going around pretending to take pictures with his old camera. Everyone took prom photos with their dates, and then we got some group pics. Catherine, Luke, and Andrea even got some magic marker tattoos to complete their outfits. At 10pm, when camp quiet hours began, we piled into the van and enjoyed a night out on the town. Hands down, on of the most memorable nights of the trip so far. Day 43 - July 9 - Bismarck, ND - Rest DayI woke up to a thunderstorm this morning, my tent rustling in the wind. It wasn't raining though, so I was able to get up and get ready to go to our service project. We had two today, so we split up into groups and headed out. The group I was in went to help Suzie. We did a lot of landscape work, including righting a grape vine that had been blown over by some wind. It was a lot of work, and took about 5h, but the garden looked pretty good after we left. At the other service project, the family offered to let us sleep in their house so that we wouldn't have to camp out in the storm tonight. They're group was also on TV! You can check out the clip here. After packing up our stuff, some of us did a Target run, and then Alison, Catherine and I went out for Mongolian food and frozen yogurt. It was 96F outside, but we had a great afternoon. At Nettie's house, we hung out and watched TV, showered, and did laundry. So happy we're not sleeping outside in this heat! Day 44 - July 10 - Bismarck, ND to Hebron, ND - 69.7miWe woke up this morning to Nettie and Jack's three dogs squealing, barking, and running around the house. Can't complain though, the dogs are absolutely adorable. When I started to pack up my sleeping bag, the biggest of the three dogs came over and curled up in my lap. We finished packing up, had a lovely conversation with Nettie and Jack, and then left for the day. We knew it was going to be hot, so we left relatively early. I rode with Alison and Catherine for the morning, and we quickly got lost on our way out of town. Who designs a city to have two streets named 10th Ave less than 2mi apart? Eventually, we made it to the first rest stop, where we met up with Eddie, who rode into R2 with Catherine and I. Eddie's wheels broke about a month back, and he just got the replacements while we were in Bismarck, so today was his first day riding in a while. It was really hot today, close to, if not over, 100F, so we rolled into R3 at about 12pm, and chilled really hard. We stayed there for over two hours, and I even got a nap in. Eventually, Eddie, Catherine, and I left to wrap up the day with a quick 17mi. The last 17mi were probably one of the best rides of the trip. We took a bunch of photos, and even traded bikes for a bit. We had a nice tailwind, so we made it to our campsite in no time. When we got to camp however, we heard that there was a major storm with softball sized hail and possible tornadoes coming our way. Thankfully, the church next to our campsite let us sleep in their basement for the night. We hung out at the town bar for the night, playing darts, and celebrating Stefan's birthday. Eventually, Catherine and I went to the cafe to get dinner, and Eddie ended up joining us. We were in the cafe when the storm hit, and it was absolutely insane. I have never seen a thunderstorm this bad. We had to run from the cafe back to the church, through the wind and rain and flooded streets. We stayed under the pavilion for a while and watched the storm, and then we cleaned off and watched a movie. Pretty fantastic day! Day 45 - July 11 - Hebron, ND to Medora, ND - 76.2miI rode most of the first section by myself today, and had a pretty solid ride until R1. We had heard that it was going to be really windy, so we were all nervous starting the day, but I had a bit of a tailwind for the first section! We also officially crossed into mountain time. At R2, I caught up with Catherine, Alison, and Vikki, and Catherine and I went to subway for 'lunch' at around 10am. After R2, the wind started to pick up, and Catherine and I took turns drafting off each other. I was feeling pretty good, but the wind was tough. Today was probably the worst headwinds we've had so far on the trip. By R3, we were both pretty exhausted. Leaving the rest stop, Chandler rode with us, and we headed to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park visitor centre, which was on route. The ride down the highway was pretty scary in the wind, and I got blown off the road by a strong gust at one point, but the view of Painted Canyon was absolutely gorgeous! After that, it was a slow, but scenic 7mi ride to camp in Medora. We were supposed to camp tonight, but the campground we were booked at had flooded in last night's storm, so we ended up at a motel called The Bunkhouse. After getting settled and showering, a bunch of us went for dinner and then ice cream. We had a great conversation with the lady at the ice cream store about our journey. Winds are supposed to be the same tomorrow, so heading to bed early! So nice to have a real bed for the night. Day 46 - July 12 - Medora, ND to Glendive, MT - 79miCatherine, Vikki, and I woke up super early, and left at 5:15am to do a quick ride around the national park before setting off for the day. The park was stunningly beautiful, and so worth the extra 12mi. We got tons of pictures, and even saw some prairie dogs. After the park, Catherine and I headed back to our room to pack up. We were procrastinating hard, and sat in the trailer for a while, eating breakfast. Eventually, we headed out for the day at around 8am. I've mentioned headwinds before in this blog, but I had not experienced truly awful headwinds until this morning. As soon as we got on the highway, my iPod starting playing "Blown Away" by Carrie Underwood, which was a good indication of things to come. It took us about 3h to make it the first 25mi, during which time I went through every emotion possible. Catherine and I drafted off each other the whole way there. By the time I got to R1 (which was in a town called Beach, and is nowhere near a real beach) I was more tired than I usually am at the end of a long day. We got subway to refuel, chilled for a bit, then headed out. Shortly after leaving, we entered Montana, and stopped for the obligatory state sign photo. We also crossed the highway to get a picture with the North Dakota sign, as we didn't see one on the way in to Fargo. Less than two miles after leaving, I heard a loud BANG behind me, and turned around to see Catherine with a blown tire. Since the tire itself was wrecked, not just the tube, we had to call the van for help. Stefan and Megan arrived quickly, and we attempted to put a 28x700 tire on Catherine's wheel, to no avail. We were out of the tires that fit her bike, which are slightly different than everyone else's. In an act of desperation, we tried to fix the blown tire with BTUSFMS stickers, but this didn't work. Without a tire, Catherine was forced to get in the van for the next 8mi, so I took off by myself. Catherine actually started an attempt to run the 8mi she was unable to bike, absolutely determined not to miss a mile, but realized it probably wasn't a safe idea and got in the van. I met up with the group again at R2, at a rest stop off the highway, and ate/rested while we waited for Connor to arrive with a new tire. Once the new tire was on, we set off again. The winds in the afternoon weren't quite as bad as the morning, but they were still brutal. There were times when the crosswinds were so bad, I worried a gust would come and push me off the road or into traffic. Thankfully though, there were no such incidents. We made it to camp exhausted, having finished the hardest day of the trip to date. We got in just before 7pm, meaning we were out on the road for almost 14h. A number of people had to get in the van and be driven to camp because the winds were just than awful. I was almost zombie-like as I ate my dinner, set up my stuff, and took a shower. So unbelievably tired. Tomorrow we ride 100mi, but the winds shouldn't be as bad as they were today. Day 30 - June 26 - Brownsville, MN to Wabasha, MN - 77miAfter a lovely breakfast prepared by Barb, we set off on our 77mi day. Turns out, Minnesota is stunningly beautiful. It was foggy this morning, and we literally biked through a cloud. We stopped about 10mi in to visit Sara, Barb and Dan's daughter, and then started biking the climb Barb had warned us about. It was a decent climb, but the view was well worth it. The descent was also amazing, and I hit 43mph on the way down. The day was long, but the scenery was nice, and the rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. When we got to the church in Wabasha, we were able to shower at the pool across the street, and then a bunch of us walked to town for Mexican food. Trailer/cubby clean out came next, and involved Ethan auctioning off unclaimed items that people had left in the trailer. After clean up, Grant, Eddie, Catherine, Ethan, Megan and I went out for bowling, which was an absolute blast. On the way there, we all tried out each other's bikes. Seeing Grant ride Catherine's bike was pretty hilarious. At the bowling alley, We ended up in a wager where the losing team would set up the winners tents for two days. We then proceeded to lose pretty badly. We stayed out pretty late, and ended up biking back at around 10:30. The guys had walked, and left the alley a bit earlier so that they could hide along our route and then jump out and scare us. We may or may not have retaliated by temporarily locking them out of the church. Day 31 - June 27 - Wabasha, MN to Prescott, WI - 69.2miGot to sleep in a little this morning! We didn't leave until 7:30am, so I got a whole extra hour to sleep in. The guys all got up really early so that they could make it to Minneapolis in one day instead of two. Megan rode with us today, which was really nice. More stunning views all day long. A bit hilly in parts, especially the last segment, but as per usual, the descents made up for the climbs. I rode with Megan until the second rest stop, 45mi in, and then did the last segment on my own. We crossed over the Mississippi River and into Wisconsin, our tenth state. Looking forward to biking into Minneapolis tomorrow! Day 32 - June 28 - Prescott, WI to Minneapolis, MN - 52miGreat ride today! We left early again to try and get to the city as early as possible. We crossed back over into Minnesota, and had an easy ride to R1 that took us through some pretty scenic little towns. Because it is Catherine's birthday, we recorded a quick happy birthday video to send to her. After R1, we hopped on an amazing bike path that got us basically into the city. At rest stop 2, we arrived just in time to see animal control jack up a car to free a stuck snapping turtle. From there, it was a quick 6mi through the city to the dorms. Minneapolis is so bike friendly, it's insane! We're staying at the U of Minnesota dorms tonight - Middlebrook Hall. So strange being back in residence! After a shower, Vikki and I went out for lunch and grabbed some amazing Thai food at Sober Fish. We wandered around for a little bit after, and checked out some cute shops. I took a nap in the afternoon, and then we went out for dinner at a Japanese place. Afterwards, Vikki and I got some great ice cream at a place called Izzy's, and got mistaken as mother and daughter. Day 33 - June 29 - Minneapolis, MN - Rest DayI love rest days. This morning we split up into two groups to tackle two different service projects. I went with Megan, Cassie, Eddie, Luke, Ethan, and Vikki to Stephanie's house, where we helped her clean up, and fix some things around the house. Ethan and I patched two holes in the wall, and mixed cement to fix a broken step. Stephanie's almost 2-year-old daughter Stella was adorable, especially when she pickpocketed my phone and pretended to make a phone call. After the service project, we headed back to the dorms and I got some laundry done. We also met Andrea, a segment cyclist who will be with us for the rest of the trip. At around 4:30 I headed out and met up with Carlos from HGSE. We grabbed a drink at Black Forest and caught up for a bit, and then I met up with the BTUSFMS group at Matt's Bar for Juicy Lucys. Apparently, Juicy Lucys are a famous Minneapolis dish. It's a cheese stuffed hamburger, and it is absolutely delicious. Possibly one of the best burgers I have ever had. After dinner, Eddie, Megan, and I went to the airport to pick up Catherine, who was coming back from her conference. We headed out to celebrate with the group, and ended up going out for karaoke at the recommendation of our waitress. Pretty fun night! Day 34 - June 30 - Minneapolis, MN - Rest DayRest day number 2! Slept in a bit, and then went to the St. Paul MS Achievement Center to make a donation. This visit was so moving, and I could barely hold myself together when we walked in and everyone started cheering. We all had a lunch buddy, and I was partnered with Cat. It was really nice having lunch with Cat, and I learned that she has been to Toronto many times. Paul, another MA patient at the center, gave us all buffs that say "Paul's People", and John wrote a song for us. Absolutely incredible place. We gave them a cheque for $15,000, which will help fund the center. Moments like this really remind me why we are doing this, and how much this money that we are raising is needed. After leaving the center, Megan, Andrea, Ethan, Chandler, Eddie, and I took the train to the Mall of America. We grabbed Mexican food, wandered around for a bit, I got a massage, and then we all saw Finding Dory. Later in the night, Catherine, Chandler, and I went out for ice cream at Izzy's again. So good! Day 35 - July 1 - Minneapolis, MN to Dalbo, MN - 58.1mi - Happy Canada Day!While I could have used another couple days to explore Minneapolis, today was a great day on the road. I wore my Canada jersey in honour of Canada Day, and we grabbed breakfast at Hard Times Cafe before leaving. It was a nice ride along the Minneapolis bike trails into Anoka, the first rest stop. The weather was a little chilly in the morning, but was pretty perfect for cycling. It was smooth sailing until about 3mi from camp, when Catherine's back tire blew out. When we stopped to fix it, we also got news that Andrea had had a pretty nasty fall, and was going to urgent care to get a cut on her leg cleaned up. Unfortunately, Catherine had to get in the van because the spare tires were in the van that was with Andrea. When we got closer to camp though, Catherine came out to meet us and sat on the back of Jen's bike for the last few meters. We are staying at the Adventure Cyclist Bunkhouse tonight, which is an old farm and silo that has been converted into a cyclist only bunkhouse. I'm sleeping in a grain silo tonight! We chilled for a bit, and Ethan ended up doing a barn photoshoot which was hilarious. The owner of the bunkhouse, Donn, made a delicious dinner for us, and Catherine brought out some maple candy that she had bought in Niagara Falls in order to celebrate Canada Day. Day 36 - July 2 - Dalbo, MN to Royalton, MN - 58miWoke up in the silo this morning, and headed into the kitchen where I was met by breakfast prepared by Jen. The ride this morning was fantastic, and probably one of my fastest. Can't tell if it was because of the new tires I put on, or because I was simply well rested. Either way, we were cruising. Today's theme, as decided by Sharon, was horses, so we stopped and took a selfie whenever we saw a field of horses. This lead to us meeting a lady and her daughter, and taking a picture with their horse Clyde. We got to Royalton early enough to have lunch there, and stopped at a bar called Scottie's to eat. After that, it was only 3 miles to camp. The last 3 miles were slow, but not for the usual reasons - headwinds, heat, or hills. It was slow because I had to stop every 200m to take pictures of the motivational signs people from the town had put out for us. It really made my day seeing these on the way into camp! We're camping along the Mississippi River tonight, and got invited to go out tubing. We all piled up into a hay bale trailer with our tubes, and were driven a little ways up stream and then floated all the way back to camp in the current. It was an absolute blast! We all tied our tubes together, and even enjoyed a drink provided by some locals. Definitely a highlight of the trip. When we got back to camp, dinner had already been prepared by the owners of the campsite, and some members of the MS society. During dinner, we all stood up and said who we were, and why we were here. Not gonna lie, it was pretty emotional. After dinner, we presented an award to the two ladies who hosted us. Day 37 - July 3 - Royalton, MN to Osakis, MNAnother beautiful day on the Northern Tier! I slept in the hammock last night, bundled in all the layers I had, plus Vikki's blanket and Catherine's sleeping bag liner, convinced I would not get cold this time. It worked pretty well, although I was slightly on the chilly side for one part of the night. A breakfast of donuts and muffins was provided by the same group that cooked dinner last night. After eating and putting everything in the trailer, we set off, only to stop less than 10 minutes due to Frank getting a flat tire. We were on a bike trail for most of the day, which was gorgeously scenic, flat, and free of cars - a winning combo. Today's theme was playgrounds, and there was plenty of opportunities to stop for photos. Now that we're at the halfway point, we keep running into cross-country cyclists who are going east, and it's always really cool to stop and chat with them. At rest stop two, Catherine, Frank, and I stopped at DQ for blizzards, then rode the final stretch together. The combination of flat trails, good conversations, and a slight tail wind made the last 15mi pass very quickly, and we were in town in no time. At this point though, we discovered that our plans for camp had fallen through, and we had nowhere to sleep. Thanks to Luke and Grant, who struck up a conversation with locals at the restaurant we went to for lunch, we are able to sleep in the high school. We hung around town for the afternoon, did laundry, and walked down to the lake. In the evening, we went to the grocery store and then got some ice cream. Day 38 - July 4 - Osakis, MN to Fergus Falls, MN - Happy Fourth of July!Back on the bike path today! We started out as a big group, almost the entire team, but eventually broke into smaller groups. I rode with Luke, Ethan, Catherine, Chandler, Frank, and Sharon today, which was nice because I rarely ride with the guys. We cruised along at a pretty fast pace, and discussed a variety of math problems, including "how many pedal strokes will we take to get across the country?" and "how many extra miles will we ride because of slightly wobbling?". At around 12:30, we pulled into camp and decided to go into town for lunch, which was about 3mi further. Because it is the Fourth of July, the entire town was basically closed, and the only things open were the fast food places. We ended up going to Applebee's, which was another 2mi further. On the way back from Applebee's, we happened to pass a movies theatre, and stopped to see what was playing. In a spur of the moment decision, we decided to see Central Intelligence. We missed the first 20min, but it was still pretty great. Upon returning to camp, we hung out, and ate the BBQ dinner provided by our super amazing route leaders. We then played a charades-like game, and made s'mores. Later, we closed out the night with sparklers and fireworks. Pretty great way to celebrate my first Fourth of July in the states! |
katie macdonald
Summer 2016, I biked 4,295 miles, coast to coast across the USA to raise money and awareness for MS. March 2017, I biked self-contained from San Francisco to San Diego with my friend Carissa. August 2017 I connected the dots and biked from Seattle to San Francisco. Summer 2018 I am heading to the UK! Follow my journey here! Miles biked for MS:
6,800.13
Updated August 27, 2018 Archives
January 2019
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