Date: 2007-07-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

7-5-07Fosston, ND72 miles today1652 Northern Tier miles5737 total milesIt was very hard waking up this morning after being up so late last night. Flatlander said to call him when we got up and he'd come over and pick us up...well, I think it was about 7:30am before I called.Flatlander did come over and we loaded our bikes up in the back of his van, then went to town for breakfast.Wombat came in and joined us for breakfast before she headed off to work.Flatlander took back towards Grand Forks, ND, stopping along the way to show us where an old missile site used to be. It was just gravel inside a fenced area in the middle of a soybean field now.We headed on to where we had stopped yesterday in East Grand Forks and Flatlander dropped us off.Thanks a lot Flatlander!!! It was great getting to meet you and your family and thank you for some real North Dakota hospitality. :-))We headed east and had some tailwinds. It was a warm day and we stopped McDonald's in Crookston for a late breakfast/early lunch.We rode on and made good time, stopping in Mentor for a soda at the Mentor C Store. The clerk asked how far we've rode our bikes and when I told him, I'm sure I saw him roll his eyes. ;-))We flew into Fosston next. There was quite a bit of traffic when we saw a westbound rider, so we didn't get a chance to talk to him.We got a room at Super 8, then went next door to a cafe.We were the only ones in the cafe, but we were early. Their special was prime rib, which we both ordered and were very glad we did!! That was the most tender cut of beef I've had on this whole trip...it just melted in my mouth.Another great day on the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail. :-))7-6-07Bemidji, MN48 miles today1701 Northern Tier miles5786 total milesI forgot to write this yesterday, but...We made it to Minnesota!! :-))I had the continental breakfast at the motel, then finished up my journal entry and sent it off before we left at about 8:30am.Ethan had called and we planned on meeting him at the bike shop in Bemidji at noon. His wheel was shot and he was hoping to get a new one.I also had new wheels due in at that same bike shop...long story which I'll talk about more at another time.We checked out of the room in Fosston, then headed east.We stopped in Shevlin for a light, late breakfast and some cold drinks because it was getting pretty warm out.We got passed by 3 big trucks carrying 1 windmill blade each once we were on the road again. Each windmill blade must have been 80 to 100 feet long.I would love to see the wind generator that those go on once it's up.It was a short day and we got into Bemidji pretty quickly.Bemidji was one of those towns I heard about before, but had never been in. It turned out to be a nice town...probably my favorite in MN.We came to some huge statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe, the ox, so we stopped for photos. :-))While we were there, another bike rider pulled up to talk. He lives here, but saw our panniers and had to see where we were heading. Turns out he did the Northern Tier Trail a few years ago.Ethan saw us a pulled up about that same time. He was all smiles because he had just left the bike shop and had a brand new wheel on his bike.Mrs Gorp and I went to the bike shop hoping my wheels were in. They weren't, but UPS hadn't been there yet.We got some snacks and sodas and went to a beach on Lake Bemidji to waste a little time.The beach was full of little Bemidgians. They were yelling and screaming and swimming around in the water. Their mothers were sunning themselves on this very warm day and every once in a while would look out into the water and count the little Bemidgians to make sure they were all still OK. :-))I wonder if those little Bemidgions knew they were swimming in the headwaters of the Mississippi River??I took a short nap on the bench of the picnic table. We headed back to the bike shop after about an hour...and my wheels were in!!.The mechanic put them on my bike, but I heard him pop a tube on one of them.More of the long story that I'll talk about another time, but I ended up popping 3 tubes there and ruining one of my good tires.I didn't know what to do, so I had the mechanic put my old rear wheel back on the bike with a new tire to replace the one that got ruined from a faulty wheel.We rented a car and headed towards northern MN. I didn't know what to do about the bike. We decided to tour a wolf interpetive center after driving to International Falls. We were going to to the interpetive center tomorrow, but Dwan from Co-Motion called and said he really would like one of his dealers to look at the wheels. When I asked where the closest one was, he said it was Minneapolis.I still wasn't sure what to do, but decided to give up the day of the wolf interpetive center and head for Minneapolis...a LONG way away.We drove till almost midnight, getting south of Duluth, then got a room. That set us up to get to Minneapolis the next morning.A good day, but a bit frustrating because of the bike troubles.7-7-07Bemidji, MNZero day1701 Northern Tier miles5786 total milesIt was hard waking up, but the Starbuck's helped. We didn't get the room until almost midnight and were up at 6:30am to leave by 7am.We headed towards Minneapolis in the rental car, stopping for breakfast on the way down.It was still over 100 miles of driving this morning, but we did find the Co-Motion dealer.I went in and talked to Patrick, one of the mechanics. He got started working on my bike and he really seemed to know what he was doing.He checked out my old wheel and really thought he could loosen up the freewheel, but it still dragged some.He worked on the new wheel. I warned him about it popping 3 tubes yesterday, so he was extra cautious. The other mechanic even walked away when Patrick started filling the tire up with air.He put in about 95psi and was saying that even though the tire went on pretty loose, it seemed to be holding.He was checking it for true when the tube popped right next to his head, almost hitting him in the eye.That was all I needed to see. I had him put both my old wheels back on and I shipped the new ones back to Co-Motion.I had other things done to the bike to make sure it would be in as good of shape as it could be for now.We drove back to Bemidji...almost 200 miles of driving.This was 7-7-07 and every motel was full because of bookings for weddings. I guess lots of people are looking for an edge in marriage and they think that getting married on 7-7-07 will give them luck.We found one of only two rooms left in Bemidji and took it...at $105.00.I have brand new tires on the bike too. I didn't trust the other ones being blown off the new rim.It was a long, tiring day, but ended with a good meal. :-))7-8-07Grand Rapids, MN75 miles today1776 Northern Tier miles5861 total milesI was extra slow getting ready this morning. Even though we took a zero yesterday, it wasn't a good zero because of everything we did and all the driving involved.I had 2 pots of Starbuck's, then went downstairs for the continental breakfast.I read the newspaper, then watched some weather reports, then packed up.We had to return the rental car back to the airport. We put our bikes together there and got ready to ride.It felt great to be riding again!! It's going to be tough when we get to our destinations in the east and are done with this adventure. I have really become accustomed to riding everyday.The airport was back 5 miles from the bike shop, so we got to ride that 5 miles over again. That was OK because I really have enjoyed Bemidji.We rolled through town and the new tires seemed to be doing fine.It was muggy out and pretty warm. This is supposed to be the last of the hot days for a while.We stopped at Cass Lake about 20 miles down the road at a grocery. I wanted a soda and a snack, but came out with a 4 piece fried chicken dinner. :-))I stood out front and ate that, then the 2 donuts I bought before we headed on.We've been riding Rt 2 for some time now. It's not the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail. We left that about 300 miles ago, so I guess I need to stop calling it that.We decided to stay north of the real trail and head into Canada at Sault Ste Marie, then ride across Ontario, crossing through Ottawa, then down into far eastern NY.I'll name the "new" trail at the end of this entry. :-))We headed on and got to Deer River just at the end of a parade. That made for lots of traffic, but it was all going slow.We stopped long enough for a soda and headed on until we rolled into Grand Rapids, our destination for the day.I walked in and checked on the price of the motel. I guess I was feeling cantankerous because I started bargaining. The clerke wouldn't come down any, so I walked out and we started looking on the GPS for the next motel.The clerk came out and dropped the price $6.00...and I smiled and took the room.I don't know why I decided to bargain for the room tonight. I just felt like I've spent enough trying to get my bike right. Between the car rental, the gas, the new parts I needed and the new tires...and mechanic fees and postage, it cost well over $700.00 in the last couple days.At least I saved $6.00 on tonight's motel. :-))We walked next door and had dinner at a Subway. That actually tasted pretty good tonight.Another great day on Stumpknocker's version of the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail. :-))