Day 33: To Mandan, ND

Sun.,  Jun 25, 2017
Stats:  Today - 67 miles; 1658 miles to date
  Elevation climbed:   1877 ft;  50,576 feet to date
  Temp. Low: upper 30's High: lower 70's
  Cloudy morning, sunny afternoon, little wind

Last night was one of only two nights where the temperature was in the 30's on our trip.  Even though it is about 10 degrees warmer in our tent than outside it was chilly and not conducive to a good night's sleep.

When morning came we were up at 7:00 and as we were packing up, a few drops of rain encouraged us to leave our sleepy thoughts behind and move quicker.  We also had the benefit of the roof of the pavilion in the city park to help keep our things dry.  After packing and eating a little breakfast we were off with no more rain, for now.

The morning started out with a heavy cloud cover, but the rain was to our north and the radar (we had cell phone access, yeah) suggested it was moving east, so we proceeded with rain gear ready if needed.

For the first twenty miles we were fine, no rain. But now we needed to ride the next thirteen miles on the freeway.  Since we didn't want to have to stop on the freeway we each decided what rain gear to wear for the next thirteen miles.  (On the freeway we just want to keep to the business of riding and not take more time than needed.)

Eight miles into our ride on the freeway there was a rest stop, so we took advantage of a restroom break.  (There are not many trees along our route.) Besides, it's not everyday you can stop at a freeway rest stop while on a bike ride.  Even there people asked us questions about our ride.  One guy commented that we were the first bicyclists he had seen today.

Since we didn't have any rain to this point we decided to pack away our rain gear.  Just as we entered the freeway again we started to get some sprinkles.  We just rode on.  By the time we exited the sprinkles stopped and we just continued our ride.

For lunch we ate at the Sunset Cafe in New Salem.  After lunch the rain clouds were gone and it had warmed up nicely.  On the way out of town we waved to Salem Sue by the Morton County fairgrounds - a sign claims she is the world's largest heifer (see pictures below) - and we were on our way.

It was a beautiful day for the last twenty-three miles of our ride.  Our destination was the town of Mandan, just west of Bismarck, ND.  In Mandan, we got a motel room for two nights so we could enjoy another rest day.

At the start of our ride for the day.

Just before we got on the interstate.

The rest stop

"Salem Sue"

Sunny afternoon (with just a few clouds)

This area was hilly.  Notice the houses built between the hills/mounds.