I found my picture in full living color, on the front page of the Tribune this morning, and my head began to swell. At the coffee shop, the waitress recognized me, and my head grew larger. I figured I better get out of town before I needed a bigger helmet. So I checked out of my motel, and the woman at the desk gave me a copy of the newspaper. She asked where I was going, and I said Linton. She asked if she could call and book me a room, and the woman in Linton (60 miles away) recognized my name. It's like the entire state of North Dakota is one huge small town, where each resident knows everything about everyone else. Tonight I was interviewed at dinner, and tomorrow there is a 9:00 photo session. Thursday a TV crew from Fargo is going to chase me down highway 13. Holy cow, my head is getting HUGE!
My ride down the Missouri river valley was effortless. The fact that I was going downriver was irrelevant, because the river is backed up by a huge dam in South Dakota. The road I was travelling goes right along the banks of the river/lake and there was a big tailwind. I had a motel room, no scheduled appointments, and no commitments. There were no intermediate towns along the way. It was heaven. I could stop wherever I liked for as long as I wished. My biggest gripe is that it was over too early in the afternoon. As much as I dawdled, I arrived in Linton before 3:00. I felt a little decadent pulling up so early in the afternoon, but there were still lots of things on my TODO list.
While I was eating dinner, a man came over and introduced himself as an editor for the local newspaper and could we talk. No problem. It turned out to be a pep talk (not that I think I need one) as much as an interview, but he was a very interesting fellow. He is angling toward a position of economic development director for this part of the county. To me, this seems like a large task but he appears to have boundless energy. A job such as the one he described requires that at a minimum. Once again, everyone knows everything.
Babcock and Turner are beginning to find the going easier as they proceed across North Dakota. It has a lot to do with the presence of roads, which makes the cycling much easier:
We left Bismarck July 15 to complete our trip across North Dakota. We were beginning to get into farming country, and the sight of grain fields and evidences of civilization produced an agreeable effect upon our natures, which had been sorely tried by miles of sagebrush, cactus and railroad ties. We stopped at Jamestown for a few hours and were greatly pleased with the little city. It has good streets and has every appearance of prosperity. It is a good bicycle town; in fact, there are two or three more wheels than agents in the place, which can not be said of every town.
On the road in Linton, ND.
Dennis