CANDISC '98 Page
The 1998 CANDISC was a trip full of varying conditions. Rather than driving down to Garrison, I opted to cycle down the first day. I was in for a stuggle from the very beginning. Strong southerly winds quickly dropped my average steadily downward from 15, 14, 13, 12, and finally 11. Especially about 40 miles before Garrison, the winds really slowed me down. I often cycled along under 8 MPH. This is slow, even for a mountain bike (I can't use my road bike now since it's in the shop). Anyway, I finally made the 60+ mile voyage to Garrison where I met my mom, sister, and friend. After lunch at the Four Seasons restaurant, I hopped on my bike and made the short 4 mile trek to Ft. Stevenson park where the journey would begin the next morning. My friend, Ira Signalness, who also rode, helped me set up the tent I would spend the night in. Later in the evening, a storm approached and we experienced quite a brief thunderstorm. After a few cycling trips to Garrison and the park and just riding around, my total for the day exceeded 100 miles.
Day 1- Garrison to Beulah
Today's ride greeted us with a stiff headwind from the northeast. Luckily, this stretch only lasted 6 miles until we reached highway 83 to head south. So, we assumed the turn would make the journey slightly easier. Unfortunately, by this time, the wind died down and actually changed directions a bit, so we didn't get the benefit of tailwinds at all. The sky continued to remain cloudy as we pedaled. The threat of rain looked great. It seemed to take forever to reach Beulah. The hills just kept coming as well. Finally as we got closer to Beulah, the skies opened up. I just got to Beulah a little after the rain. Once I made it to the park, we decided that staying in the Civic Center would be the best idea.
Day 2- Beulah to Killdeer
My friend woke up to a bad stomach ache and didn't want to leave quite so early. I felt bad for getting up so early and disturbing him, but I knew it was a good idea to get an early start. As we got about 10 miles out of town, we looked back and it appeared as though Beulah was getting drenched with rain. We continued to ride with only sprinkles in our area. I felt lucky that we had left before the rain. Since no one appeared behind us for a long time, I assumed that they had a long rain delay to wait out. The conditions remained dreary, but we continued on. Hill after hill once again presented a few challenges. As we approached Halliday, we decided to eat breakfast. We hoped the clouds would pass as we left, but no such luck would come our way. We were one of the first riders to show up in Killdeer (mainly because we left so early). Just as we set the tent up, the skies burst with rain. The majority of the riders had to continue on in these conditions. In the meantime, their luggage got wet since it was left out in the rain. Maybe some tarps could be a good investment for future CANDISCs. While Ira and I were lucky and missed the rain, I really felt bad for the others. After a couple of hours, I decided to make another 34 mile trek. I went to Dickinson and back which ended up at almost 70 extra miles both ways.
Day 3- Killdeer to Watford City
The hills just kept coming today. The skies once again produced a few sprinkles and remained gray for the morning. Our journey took us down a three mile hill and finally back up another three mile hill. I never remember doing so much climbing in such a small distance. Along the way, we managed to help save a dog who was crying out for help. We flagged down a pickup who took the dog to the nearest rest stop where help would later be found for the dog. We arrived in Watford City a little before noon. The sun finally appeared and we set up the tent.
Day 4- Watford City to Williston
Once again, I woke my friend up earlier than he would have liked. He mentioned to me earlier that he would have liked to do the century option, so I thought I was doing a good thing since it's not very fun to ride in hot conditons later in the day. Anyway, we stopped in Arnegard for a breakfast and continued on. My friend didn't feel good, so he opted to take a direct 46-mile route to Williston rather than take the 74-mile CANDISC route. I gave him my cell phone in case he had problems and I continued on the regular route. I decided to push things quite hard today. As I left the corner where my friend departed on the shorter route, I made my way over to Fairview, MT where I tried the century option. The stretch going west of Sidney and back to Fairview was quite hilly. I finally rejoined the main CANDISC route and managed to push my average to almost 18.5 MPH by the time I reached Williston. Once there, I struggled to find the campground and did 13 miles of in town riding, which dropped my average to almost 17. Finally, I found the campground and I went to my friend's aunt's house where I would spend the night.
Day 5- Williston to New Town
It seemed as though no one really felt like riding today. Stiff headwinds and more hills wasn't the combination most were looking for. I left a little late in the morning (6:20). The headwinds were already evident this early. Nevertheless, I managed to push on. Today was one of those days where a 15 MPH average seems speedy. I made two quick stops at the rest stops today. One cost me $5.25 just for a roast beef, PowerAde, and a Pepsi. The next stop cost me just $1.75 for a ham and cheese and a huge PowerAde. If it weren't for the rest stops, today would have been nearly impossible. This stretch would have been 72 miles with nothing. I finally got to New Town just around 11.
Day 6- New Town to Garrison
Actually today's trip was only scheduled to go to Makoti, but I decided to finish the whole trip today since the last two days were quite short. I left around 5:25 in the morning. The winds were in my face, but weren't too bad. I arrived in Makoti around 7:20 and finally reached Garrison around 10:20. My average speed hovered around 15 for the whole trip. I'm glad I left so early before the stronger winds hit.
THANKS
I would like to personally than Nathan Turner for being a good samaritan and allowing my friend and I borrow his air pump for a short stretch on the Watford City day. If it wasn't for his trusting us that we would bring the pump back, we would find ourselves walking the rest of the day! CANDISC seems to be full of nice people ready to help others in their situations. Several times I've been asked if I need help when I'm simply standing alongside the road. This is the kind of people that makes CANDISC such a joy to participate in.
Also, the job Rory Schell from Val's Cyclery does is nothing short of spectacular. Although I didn't need his services this year (other than getting a cycling computer), I really understood how much his presence is needed in such a tour. I can't believe he doesn't have more help with the quantity of riders needing help. How he manages to do repair after repair constantly for this entire week amazes me. If you're ever in Minot, make sure to give Val's Cyclery a visit!
The jobs Jim Fisher and Dick Messerly do really make CANDISC possible. If it weren't for these people, we might never have experienced what we now know as CANDISC.
Here are my daily statistics from the '98 ride (I went a few more miles off the route):
Aug. 1-Des Lacs to Garrison and around Garrison-----100.2 miles----12.7 MPH
Aug. 2-Garrison to Beulah------------------------------71.0 miles----14.0 MPH
Aug. 3-Beulah to Killdeer (Also to Dickinson)---------136.3 miles----14.0 MPH
Aug. 4-Killdeer to Watford City------------------------67.5 miles----15.0 MPH
Aug. 5-Watford City to Sidney, MT to Williston-------126.6 miles----17.2 MPH
Aug. 6-Williston to New Town--------------------------74.4 miles----15.3 MPH
Aug. 7-New Town to Garrison--------------------------75.0 miles----15.2 MPH
Total-------------------------------------------------------651.0 miles-----14.9 MPH