74 miles

We got our early start at 6:20 am from the Radisson in Bismarck. We had a gentle tailwind for almost the whole day, and there was a long bike path to start. With my body rested after yesterday, I was feeling great, cruising at a fast clip all morning and feeling strong.

After about 30 miles, I stopped for a snack. Danielle caught up about 20 minutes later—I had been enjoying my newfound fresh legs so much that I hadn’t realized she was not feeling the same way. I adjusted my pace so we could ride together.

We met a guy headed west, and stopped to chat. He told Danielle that she shouldn’t “give up” in Minneapolis. I hadn’t thought either of us had considered her new departure plan to be a form of “giving up”. It struck me as a changed decision (and I think a wise one) born from a new understanding of what she wanted…so his suggestion was maybe not the helpful advice that he might have hoped it was. He was clearly trying to be kind and encourage her, giving the advice he would have wanted, but it didn’t quite land. I think healthy decisionmaking involves having the humility to absorb new information on a rolling basis, and having the courage to change your mind when you need to.

We made it to Napoleon, where there is a park/campground. Today is national Blow Shit Up Day in America, so we had the privilege of hearing a million fireworks being set off all around us in the campground (lest we forget what our nation truly stands for). We talked to a retired oilfield worker in a Grateful Dead t-shirt. He told us he originally left North Dakota because he was a single farmer in his 20s and had to spend all day inside farm equipment—“solitary confinement”, as he put it. He moved to Cheyenne, WY and worked there for 28 years. He met his wife in Thailand.

Earlier in the day, we tried to use the bathroom at a church, but despite it being Sunday morning, it was closed. I think we were in a town called Moffitt. In desperate need, we knocked on the door of the nearest house. A couple who seemed to only speak Spanish graciously let us in to use their bathroom. Their (maybe?) 5 kids were inside watching TV. I chatted with the oldest boy, who translated for his mom.