Bismarck, ND July 9

Today was our first day riding without Dad. It seems as if more than just a person is missing from the ride; it actually seems as if the whole atmosphere has changed. Maybe that's due to the fact that Alex and I had to adsorb a lot of what Dad was carrying and now we are more weighted down and have to push harder to do the same distance, or maybe it was just the slight headwind and the sun blazing down. Either way, things have rapidly gone wrong since our arrival in Bismarck. First, I flipped the unflippable Burley. No one was hurt, but it was a close call. I just hit the side of a curb and over she went. Funny how dad rode with it for a whole month and never flipped it and I do it on the first day...Next, I did something I have never done before: walked my bike up a hill. I feel ashamed saying it, but there was no avoiding it. The bike paths in Bismarck are not well planned and out of nowhere, there was a hill with what must have been more than a 20% grade. It looked like a vertical wall rising in front of us as we turned a bend on a bike path on the route. I tried to build up momentum, but it was no use and soon I was standing in my lowest gear and still almost falling over. I was lucky to clip out before the whole bike fell over! Then, to make things even more fun for us in Bismarck, my front derailleur stopped working. After a few stops fiddling with things at the side of the road, it appears to be at least functioning, but I foresee some definite mechanical work tonight at our campsite. Luckily, I think Alex has the know-how to (hopefully) fix this problem. Finally, to top things all off, tomorrow we HAVE to do 80 miles south (there is nothing between Bismarck and the next town, Pollock, SD) and we just learned it will be 94 with a wind from the south. I'm suddenly starting to feel about North Dakota what I felt about Montana.

Maybe Dad was just our good luck. Maybe he should think about just rejoining the ride. Who needs a job anyway? Regardless, he is greatly missed on the ride and it just doesn't seem the same without him. - post by Andrea