May 22, 2007

- Staying organized - - Church first thing every morning! -

May 22, 2007 Pick City – Bismarck

Yup, North Dakota folks. Long, stretchy, and flat. But she’s real perty in these here parts. The riders are quiet now, with their heads hung low, enjoying the peace and the gentle winds. Long, bladey grass tells the tale of accommodating tail winds.

The guys rode another 88 miles today in the dreary but comfortable weather. It’s a great road

to cycle with hardly a car in sight for the first 20 miles. Green pastures for miles…baaa-aaaa! Mooooo!
This stretch of the Missouri River is gorgeous and lush. It makes us wonder what it was like in 1804 when the Lewis and Clark expedition came through. The guys had a lunch stop of the Interpretive center of Lewis and Clark before their last stretch into Bismarck. Along that road, the team met up with Angela from KFYR TV crew for an interview and some footage.

In Bismarck, we take advantage of the city life and visit the Epic Sports bike shop for a wheel repair and a swag box from the THF. Thanks Dierdre!!! And thanks to the Best Western for sponsoring an evening in their hotel.

May 21

May 21, 2007

Parshall to Pick City - 88 miles

Just another leisurely 88 miles within the grass lands of the Dakota’s. Today Grey Davis has retired his position as support driver, personal motivator, nutritionist, cook, and keeper of man in general, to head back to Sandpoint on the train. It is good for me (Cassandra) to be back with the team again and to be around such inspiration. “These are my people…” was a great song to blare through the van windows this morning for the riders. “ It ain’t always pretty, but it’s real.” Well, ain’t that the truth!

The boys are taking it easy today – so they say – in order for Dick to bounce back from his ‘against the wind’ episode yesterday. The winds are easier on them and the tornado coming through North Dakota this evening should push them along nicely:) The duo take turns leading every two miles and take a slower pace. After lunch, energy is draining more quickly than it can be replenished but to my surprise, Dick comes back with “WE GOT POWER”! – Must have caught a piece of tailwind in our eastward ways.

Following the Lewis and Clark Trail still, we pass over Lake Sakakawea and will stay in Pickstown, ND on the lake. Thank you to Debbie at the Sakakawea Motel for sponsoring a night at her lovely little place.

As we near the end of the day, the meadow larks song was soon tuned out by the rumbling of thunder- yet somehow still a peaceful noise in the distance- and the riders are happy to make it to shelter before the lightning strikes. (see photo)

…a beautiful ride today, to say the least…

A note from Dick

Hi Everyone,
We are about to head out for what appears to be a day of "riding in the rain". No complaints. The weather has been good to us so far. Grey, our driver for 11 days, has left us. He was an awesome support. Fortunatly he has been replaced by Cassandra who is also a great source of help and strength for us. I am finding this journey as challenging mentally as it is physically. We finish every ride tired in the head and heart as well as the legs. This is nothing like what those with MS face everyday, but it gives me a slight insight into their mental as well as physical challenges. We look forward to every day. Now I hand our thoughts off to Cassandra who will fill in the details. I miss family and friends at home.

Day 15 Williston ND to Parshall

One would think that a day off would be beneficial, maybe not. Bill’s first day back in the saddle turned out to be a good one, he was refreshed and ready to ride. Dick on the other hand, seemed to be hindered by the day off. See frustation photo. He pushed through it and with Bill as a wind break they made the 90+ mile journey with an average speed close to 15 mph.

The weather today was all over the place, in the morning it was cool, overcast and very little wind. There was an hour or so break midday of beautiful warm sun, then the head wind started and the clouds came back. By the end of the day the headwind had swirled around to be a tailwind and the sky kept its overcast grayness. The sceanery on the other hand was beautiful the entire time. The team pedaled along the north shore of Lake Sakakawea, on ND 1804, which meant they were off the easy grades of Highway 2 and back a little closer to the true terrain of western North Dakota. In other words the hills are steep and the roads straight, there were a total of five turns the entire day. Sometimes it would take the riders a full five minutes to pedal through a right turn. A big thanks to the gals at the Parsahll Motor Inn, because of folks like you this journey is closer to reaching its true goal, raising awareness of MS and the benifits of exercise.

This is the day I say farewell to team THF and Cassandra takes over the driver seat for the completion of the trip. I wish the team the best of luck in the completion of the journey and will remind them again that there safety on the road is the most important thing. PEDAL ON BOYS...

A note from Dick

Hi Everyone,
Grey and Cassandra have done a wonderful job keepiong our blog current. We would not be as far along without their constant guidance and support. They watch over us 24/7. We have just finiashed our first day off and are moments away from getting back on our bikes. A bit sleepy but ready. Before leaving I wanted to take this opportunity to once again thank all of you for your interest in our efforts, love and support. So many thoughts go through our minds as we continue across the country. But one theme has been constant. Bill and I are dong this journey by choice. Some days are wonderful and others are exhausting and hurt. Those who battle MS and other challenges daily do not have a choice. So Charlie, Jimmy D, Mike, Karen and so many others, we can't appreciate what it is like for you every day, please know that you are constantly on our minds. We hope that our journey, in some way is helping you with yours. We have been blessed with so much support on this trip. We have come to "Believe in the Power of the Bike."

Day 14 Glasgow MT to Williston ND

Got bike butt…Day two of role reversal and I’ll be glad to get back in that comfortable drivers seat. Yesterday was a fun one. The tailwind was steady between 15 and 20 mph which made the 123 miles much easier and kept the average speed around 19 mph. We had thought we would pedal the entire 156 miles to Williston, but we learned there was a ten miles section of major construction about fifteen miles from where we were to start the day. Rather than pedal for fifteen then ride for ten we opted for a twenty-five mile ride and continue from there, the day was plenty long as is.

The day started on old route 1 which parallels hwy 2, for about forty miles, this was a welcome relief from the high speed, shoulder lacking straights of hwy two. One surprise was a small section of hoodoos that were just along the road, no fees charged just a pull out and a few photos. We are starting to love the Blue Highways. The last eighty miles seemed to go pretty fast, knowing we had a lot of ground to cover we just kept our heads down and enjoyed the tailwind to its fullest. All in all, I loved getting back in the saddle, but the motel room was a welcoming sight for my tired eyes. We need to thank the whole crew at The Marquis Plaza Suites; they were gracious enough to donate a room for two nights. That’s correct the team is taking some time off, welcome relief to get laundry done, sleep and do some maintenance on the bikes.

Day 13 Malta to Glasgow MT

Role reversal day. I try riding for the day, Bill drives the van and Dick does his best impression of a bug deflector.
Right out of Malta there was a side road; we figured this would be good fifteen miles to warm up on. Great idea, bad road. It was decent at first then progressively got worse, at the end of the fifteen mile loop it was loose gravel and took some skill to stay up right. In the midst of dodging potholes, craters and car size ponds the mayflies were thick and hovering all over the road. Highway 2 was a welcome sight after that horse trail.
Back on highway 2 the team was able to cover some ground and make up a little time. The road to Hilsdale, where we stopped for lunch, was light on hills and the headwind softened through out the day, a welcome relief to the team. Soon after lunch was when I had to call it a day and the rolling hills started to appear, Dick had to finish the last seventeen miles on his own. I wanted to save a little of my back-side so I can offer some assistance pedaling tomorrow. I heard some crazy plan to cover the hundred and fifty three miles between Glasgow to Williston SD in one day. With those painful thoughts I bid you farewell. The comfortable bed that was provided by The Cottonwood Inn of Glasgow is calling my name.