Bike to Alaska

 Chapter 10: Big Sky Country   May 29, Thursday: 43.4 miles (2811) It was tempting to stay another day at the Lindvigs', but I moved on.  I stopped in Culbertson, because beyond that is the Fort Peck Reservation, and a lot of people have told me I don't want to camp there. I spent the afternoon writing, napping, and cooking the venison Curt and Debbie gave me. The moon is full, and it looked huge when it rose this evening.    May 30, Friday: 110.6 miles (2921.6) "Hard day, but got through the reservation without incident. Actually, I didn't see much to be afraid of. I made it to Glasgow, where I met a guy named Marlin Alverson. He said I could stay at his place, and promised me an interesting evening as well. We drove from his house to see a sheep rancher and wagon builder named Roger. An amazing man, Roger. 'Healthy Face,'  someone had once called him, and it was an apt name. Roger and his wife Vi and a helper were administering worm medicine to their floc...

 Chapter 9: Badlands, Good People Memorial Day Weekend in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Unit  May 24, Saturday ~30 miles, in the park (2525) An amazing pre-dawn ride to the end of the park road started the day. I followed a dozen buffalo for miles as they pounded along through the grassland beside the road. I had that spectacular beauty entirely to myself for several precious hours; no one else was up that early. Maybe it's just the change of scenery, or the feeling that I surmounted the challenge of crossing the Great Plains, but I feel a shift. "Riding this morning, so alone in this vast countryside, I suddenly realized that I possess myself in a whole new way - I am somehow a different person than when I rode out of base camp 7 1/2 weeks ago."   "Back in camp, the word is out about me! 'There's a guy here who's going to Alaska by bike!' I'm famous. People approach me and ask what I'm going to do in Alaska, and I've nev...

 Chapter 8: North Dakota Crossing the Plains: only 500 miles of this! Shouldn't take long.   May 19, Monday: 59.1 miles (2318.7) "Tougher day today. Late start and then had to deal with my first "prairie headwind." Actually, the things that were hardest to deal with were the heat and my sore, sore bottom. This all-flat riding and [therefore] constant pedalling are taking a toll. I'm cursing my lousy leather seat. Also broke a spoke; on the left side for the first time, so at least it was easier to replace." "I stopped in New Rockford, because there's free camping, and I was pretty tired anyway. I treated myself to a DQ milkshake, bought a little food, and went back to the campground. While I was sitting here writing, a man and his father stopped to talk, and told me all about Glacier Park. I'm excited about it. May 20, Tuesday: 60.1 miles (2378.8)  "Another tough day. Some construction with dirt and mud, the wind was worse than yesterday, a...

 Chapter 7: Trip Magic  A little something for everyone this week: a tidbit for the romantics, some meat and potatoes for the bike nerds, and some musings for the philosophers. I'm not out of the woods yet, literally or figuratively, but this is a photo of things to come soon!   May 14, Wednesday: 50.8 miles (1909.8)  I rode away from the Outward Bound school feeling awful, the base camp manager's angry words running on a continuous loop in my head. I couldn't say goodbye to Jo McLellan in person before I left because she was in town that morning, so I had left a card for her. As with almost everything I wrote back then, I made a copy to keep in my journal. Reading it now, it's clear that I felt a genuine fondness for her, some connection deeper than just a passing infatuation. She had a warm, easy smile, and she was generous with it. In Laura's first letter to me after she arrived there, she wrote, "I met Jo today; I can see how you fell in love." To m...

 Chapter 6: Cosmic Fate Purely by luck, my arrival at the Minnesota Outward Bound School was timed perfectly; it landed in the middle of staff training for the summer instructors. That made for the most people to hang out with, and no courses in the field or students in base camp meant some free time for staff and a relaxed atmosphere.  To be clear, however, I really had no business being there. As a former student, I had a standing invitation to *visit,* as in "poke my head in at the office and say hello!" Being an instructor at a "sister" organization that hired from the same pool of talent might have stretched that hospitality to spending a night. But there was absolutely no justification for staying seven nights, inserting myself completely into their staff training, eating every meal there, offering an unrequested critique of their ropes course, and distracting a significant portion of the female staff with pointless romantic intrigue. Yet somehow I managed t...

 Chapter 5: Easy Riding, Hard Writing The next two chapters will be harder to write, and possibly harder to read, at least for those of you who only came for the broken spokes and flat tires. But I don't want to shrink from the challenge. The struggle against loneliness, and the craving for companionship, especially of the female variety, was as much a part of my journey as the struggle against wind and weather. It feels more embarrassing to talk about it, but I don't want to pretend it was not an issue, or gloss over it. If it gets too personal for you, please feel free to skip the next couple of weeks. Otherwise, hang in there with me, and we'll cringe through it together! First, though, let's appreciate the leafing out of the trees! "In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love." Alfred, Lord Tennyson  May 3, Saturday: 34.6 miles (1594.6) On the way into Thunder Bay, a woman on a bike caught up with me - not hard to do at my touri...