North Gate Dam Campground, SD to 12 miles shy of Bonttineau, ND 86 miles

I had arranged to stay with a Warmshowers host in Bottineau, ND but I would need to ride 98 miles into a head wind. I got an early start but I was out of water before too long (The campground didn’t have potable water and the lake water looked like it would clog my filter). I stopped at a convenience store to get water, coffee and a donut. I got a whole gallon of water and sat down in the store with my coffee and donut. Soon an older gentleman came in and sat down with his coffee next to me. We had a nice conversation about how his grandfather came to South Dakota from Poland and lived in a town of Norwegians and had to learn how to speak Norwegian. He also told me of how he had played piano for an internationally broadcast radio show called the Lutheran Hour.

The weather was a bit unsettled in the morning but made for a dramatic photo.

I valiantly battled the headwind for 86 miles. I had to update my Warmshowers host multiple times with later and later ETAs. He offered to pick me up if I wanted. I said no thanks and then he asked if I was one of those guys that had to ride every mile. I said maybe I am. But 8 miles of mulling his question over and running out of water again made me realize I was out here not to torture or endanger myself. I called him and asked if he could pick me up 12 miles out of town. I could hear my friend Greg sardonically saying “Weak”.

Robert, my Warmshowers host, was kind enough to come and get me and my bike. And yes, I skipped those last 12 miles into Bottineau, North Dakota and don’t have plans to ever ride them. You can now call me out when I say I rode across the country, if you want to.

Robert met his wife Stephanie while on a bike tour around America, he was her first Warmshowers guest and after he was done his tour, he returned to Bottineau to marry her.

Stephanie and I bonded over our love of baking and her work in sustainable farming. I loved hearing about Robert’s ambitious and diverse history of bicycle touring and to eat the wonderful dinner he prepared and the wine he paired with it. Thanks Robert and Stephanie you are excellent Warmshowers hosts.