Well, I've finally gotten around to starting my CANDISC '99 page. I must say if every CANDISC were as nice as this one, everyone would get a perfect image of North Dakota. Light winds, almost no sprinkles, nice temperatures and sunshine provided one of the best environments for riding this year.
Day 1- Des Lacs to Minot
I rode bike into Minot late tonight so I could start the trek to McClusky from Minot.
Day 2- Minot to McClusky
I've done several rides before with no sleep of longer length, so today's wasn't bad. I was working at Miracle Mart from 10:30 PM to 7 AM the night before so I just skipped sleep and rode down to McClusky from Minot (after riding from Des Lacs the night before).
Day 2- McClusky to Rugby
I left McClusky quite early to make sure I had a good start. As I continued I noticed the level of cloudiness increasing. Luckily, only sprinkles emerged from the clouds so we didn't have to put up with a repeat experience of the Killdeer day last year. When I made it to Rugby my tire went flat just as I went into town! Talk about perfect! If that would have happened anywhere else it would have been a complete pain, but since I was already at my destination it wasn't too bad. I did want to do the century option so I waited for my friend to complete it and then I borrowed his bike! Thanks, Jason!
Day 3- Rugby to Rolla
Today was another great day. I thought my tire may have been losing a little air, so I rode the last 10 miles to Rolette standing up to minimize the pressure on the tires. After filling the tires (which really weren't losing much air at all), I progressed on my way to Rolla and rolled into town just a couple minutes before 10.
Day 4- Rolla to Metigoshe
We swung up into Canada this morning and back down to Metigoshe. Since the port of entry where the cyclists entered isn't normally open this part of the morning, special arrangements were made. I arrived there just before they opened it, so had to wait, but it was no big deal. The only purchase I made in Canada was a 2 liter bottle of Coke which I drank quickly. We didn't stay in Metigoshe but at Jason's mom's house. It was a nice change not to set up tents.
Day 5- Metigoshe to Towner
Speed was the main word today! Everybody seemed to fly due to a nice tailwind. I couldn't believe I was already in Towner a few minutes before nine! It's days like these you almost wish you could ride on!
Day 6- Towner to Des Lacs
Instead of going to CANDISC's destination of Velva, I rode back home so I could get to work in time. I was riding with the group for the first portion today but continued on Highway 2 while the rest of the group parted off in a southwest direction.
Here are my daily statistics from the '99 ride (I didn't follow the exact route all days):
July 31-Des Lacs to Minot------------------------------14.7 miles----20.2 MPH
Aug. 1-Minot to McClusky------------------------------85.1 miles----17.7 MPH
Aug. 2-McClusky to Rugby----------------------------102.0 miles----18.7 MPH
Aug. 3-Rugby to Rolla-----------------------------------59.2 miles----18.2 MPH
Aug. 4-Rolla to Metigoshe-------------------------------85.1 miles----17.7 MPH
Aug. 5-Metigoshe to Towner-----------------------------60.0 miles----20.5 MPH
Aug. 6-Towner to Des Lacs------------------------------62.0 miles----19.1 MPH
'99 Total------------------------------------------------468.1 miles-----18.8 MPH