It’s the last day of the first month of this adventure.

First, I’ll give you some stats. 62 miles covered today for a total of 1761 in 30 days. This is not my total mileage, but point to point mileage. Total mileage would be a bit higher, but I haven’t been tracking that. That’s an average of 58.7 miles per day or 411 per week. One thing that’s changing a bit is that I’m thinking in longer timeframes now, which is why I calculated miles per week, as well as per day. The per day average is far more than the 40 to 50 that I originally expected to achieve.

I have crossed parts of 5 states, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota. I have also travelled completely through 2 time zones and am currently in a third.

I’ve had two mechanical issues, a slow leak in my front tire and a flat in the front tire. I suspect the slow leak was due to a failed patch in the tube that I originally had in that tire. I first noticed it on that very hot day when I had such a big, difficult climb to do. I’ve wondered if the patch failed because of the heat that day. As far as the flat goes, it’s impossible to know for sure, but based on the tiny hole I eventually found in the tube, I’ve speculated that that leak was due to running over a piece of tire cord wire.

I also grew a beard for 30 days, but took care of it today. The mustache is still there for now.

Todays ride was pretty routine. One semi-funny event occurred when I stopped at a convenience store to take a badly needed bio break. I was just outside the bathroom, when a man stopped me to ask a bunch of questions about my adventure and equipment and so on. I hope I wasn’t too short with him.

A lot of people wave or honk their horns when they see me. I don’t often do more than nod back. Sometimes I’m almost embarrassed by my feeble replies to these greetings. I still sometimes get choked up a bit when people say complimentary things about me and my adventure, but not as often as when I first started.

I really enjoyed my week long tour of North Dakota. I decided that since I was finishing North Dakota today, I would reward myself with a restaurant lunch and dinner and a motel room.

Lunch was at a very busy place called Randy’s in South Fargo. It was one of those kind of places that serves breakfast all day. I ordered French Toast and eggs and finished with a slice of carrot cake. I would recommend this place if you are passing through the Fargo area.

After lunch, I rode through downtown Fargo, which seems like a pretty happening place, then over the Red River to Moorhead, Minnesota. The place where I crossed, didn’t even have a sign saying you were entering Minnesota, hence no picture.

After picking up supplies at Walmart, I rode down to the river and followed it for a ways. This picture shows part of Fargo on the far side of the rapids.

Finally I arrived at the motel, the Bison Plains Lodge, which seems like a decent place.