Devils Lake

Day 128, August 7, 2011, Devils Lake

Route from Erie to East Bay Campground, Warwick, ND

121.3 miles, averaging 16.4 mph

Worst Moment – Any flat tire is a nuisance, but two, both before I left the campground, is ridiculous!  This morning as I was filling the tires, the valve stem on the rear tire broke off and the tube had to be replaced.  As I was filling the rear tire, the tube exploded and I had to start all over.  

Best Moment – Thank goodness that this part of North Dakota is fairly flat and has good cycling roads.  I really enjoyed the ride after I finally got started – even though it was 121 miles long.

After the rain showers of yesterday, the air was clean and cool.  Everything was green.  There had been weather warnings about the danger of flooding and in fact there were a couple of places today where there was actually water on the road.  A lot of water on the road!  The road had become part of the adjacent lake. 

There were miles upon miles of corn and other crops.  I saw the first field of sunflowers – they were just beginning to bloom.  I imagine that will be an incredible sight in a couple of weeks.

Sort of interesting

One of the other things of interest today was the missile silo and there was a sign letting everyone know that it was there.  In Cooperstown, one of the small towns on the route, there was even a Cold War Museum. 

East Bay Campground is not on a paved road.  But going 10 miles on a dirt road, on a skinny tire road bike was a challenge.  Fortunately, things had dried up enough after the rains to make things not too terrible.  Although there was one scary moment when one trucker felt he had to pass me on a hill going much too fast for the road and came close to hitting the oncoming car.   

Devils Lake is too full of water.  The view we have from Ruby is spectacular.  The water level is two feet higher than it had been.  The campground has lost an entire row of campsites.  One can still see the water faucets sticking up out of the water. 

If you would like to donate to my ride, my link for the Lance Armstrong Foundation is http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/billsbigride197.  I really appreciate your support.