From the September 13th to the 23rd myself and two other fine riders from the local bike club here in Toledo Ohio went out west purely based on one members goal of riding 100 miles or more in four states in his goal to ride at least 100 miles in every state. It was the sort of nobel idea I love.
The above pic was taken as we road out of Roosevelt National Grasslands park North into SE North Dakota. It was one of the most remote sections of our ride.
No paved roads. No cellular reception. No towns. Barely an odd farmstead at which to get water for 60 miles. Endless heavily washboarded gravel roads, endless headwinds, stark beauty, thousands of cows and a few grouse. We traveled through some beautiful badlands and crossed the Little Missouri River on a concrete wash bridge.
We ran into five people the whole day and stopped to chat with all of them. The most common greeting was "are you lost" and in a manner of speaking we were. We had no maps, no GPS, only a sense of direction and a nose for adventure. It worked out well as that evening we ran into our first and only bonafide trail angel of the trip in Golva North Dakota. I have a nice Golva Saloon beer cozy to remind me.
Though camping was available our trail angel offered to put us up in the town's recreation hall with carpeting, heat, a kitchen and bathrooms. She then offered to cook us a pizza at the local saloon which was closed, brought us eggs from her neighbor and some fresh tomatos from her garden.
Heaven sent after a long day of tough riding.
More pics to follow in the comming days / weeks.
