Post 6- Great Falls, ND to St. Cloud, MN

It finally happened, I had that moment that you can’t quite describe in words, that moment where there is nothing but the road before you, the birds chirping, the wind in your face and breathing, in and out, in and out. I had become one with the world for just one second, yet that second seemed to last an eternity; and then I was back again, back aching, legs burning, but I won’t forget that moment, it forms the basis for what we are all striving for in some form, enlightenment, salvation, nirvana, call it what you like.
The 70 miles to Fargo went by in a hurry, and I made it to the University Post Office, where I was supposed to pick up my reading glasses that I left in Diablo. They were closed, in fact they were only open from 10 am to 1 pm Monday-thru-Thursday. I called my friend Ada, in Seattle and found out that the glasses were never sent to Fargo so I breathed a sigh of relief and headed towards the bicycle shop that used to be a train station. Something had come loose on my rear wheel about ten miles outside of town and was sliding up and down the spoke.
The guy who checked it out said that I had cracks all over the place and several of the spokes were completely blown out. Oops, didn’t notice that one! It turns out that both of my tires were worn so thin that he could pinch the material right off, and my chain was stretched out beyond its limit. Hmm, well I guess that it was good that I made it to Fargo, the first serious place to get any real bicycle parts since Seattle (also known as the place where your map folds in half).
My host Tyler called and we made plans to meet, and while I was getting my bike worked on, another cross country biker came in to the shop. His name was Joe and he was on his way to Portland to find whatever it was that he was seeking, that being work, happiness and a possible education in Naturopathy. I asked my host if Joe could also stay, and he did. We all made dinner together and enjoyed the stories that we both had to share with Tyler. We drank local beer (of course) and decided to go to the local Irish Bar/venue. We had beer, scotch, watched a great cover band and I narrowly avoided a fight with a very large, rude, inebriated white guy. I slept on the couch and Tyler’s friend took us to breakfast at the Marriot, which happened to be an extremely delicious buffet (including a wafflemaker, piles of bacon, and sausage, and fruit).
I convinced Joe that he needed to go through Glacier National Park, instead of south through Billings, and we had lunch at Pita Pit. I didn’t leave town until about 2 pm and the rain had just started to dump so I geared up and just kept pedaling towards the Eastern Horizon. The rain turned into lightning and thunder and I pulled off in some small village that had an ice cream shop. The lightning was crashing down all around the building and it was raining so hard that the gutters were overflowing In rows of waterfalls. I talked with a nice lady and her daughter while we all took shelter, and then ordered a huge bowl of ice cream. The storm quickly passed, and I headed out again. The county side turned into rolling hills and small lakes all around me, it was exhilarating to pump up a hill and then come swooshing down the other side, it was almost like flying. I didn’t quite make it to Pelican Rapids, which was unfortunate because I had to buy an RV site at the local campground. The owner of the permanently set up RV had an outdoor canopy set up so I squatted for the night under the cover. I was just waking up when I heard someone outside say, “you up yet? What are you doing here?” I replied, “some of the neighbors said it was alright to set up for just the night”. He wasn’t very happy, as it was the camp host who sold me the RV site next to the one I was at. I told him that I would leave right away and he said, ”you better do that, the owner is usually here on the weekends”. I left quickly and without a shower.
I stopped in at Pelican Rapids and had breakfast, I finished my book and took my time. There was a lot of traffic because WE Fest, a country music festival had just ended. I traveled through more gorgeous countryside and saw bald eagles and other large birds of prey. I came upon a place called Little Swan Lake and went for a swim. A nice lady with three little girls and one friend offered me ham sandwiches and gummy candies. I gladly accepted and went on my way. There were a lot of dogs that came chasing after me that evening and each time, it rose the hair on my arms, I really don’t want to ever get mauled by some farmers attack dog. The sun started to set that evening and after I passed a beautiful sunflower field, I made it into Long Prarie. I couldn’t find any place to set up my tent so I asked a motel owner if I could set up my tent in the back. She was nice, and I had some nice asphalt that was dry to set up on. I was even able to pickup internet and watched a couple of South Park episodes that night. In the morning I picked up some groceries and said hi to an Amish family that came trotting in on horse and buggy. The ride in to St. Cloud went extremely smooth, the wind didn’t seem to slow me down at all. At this point I had ridden about 2000 miles, and I arrived in St. Cloud around 5 pm, Monday the 10th of August. I crossed the Mississippi and called my host, Holly...