John and I had a long discussion last night after I did the last blog post and can to a dramatic decision.
Be both agreed that we are not making the daily mileage needed to get him to Kenai, Ak. in order to start work on next Monday. It is not any one's fault but between the heat, wind and lower driving speed through Canada, getting him to work is going to take much more effort than it is safely possible so we opted for plan "B".
Plan "B" means that John is going to fly out of Minneapolis, MN., and I will continue riding to Alaska. This way, John can get up there and start making some money and get the training that he wants and I can ride up without over doing the daily ride mileage. Neither John or I am happy about not getting to make the ride together but he needed to get there and I didn't to ride really long days from dawn to dusk.
John will then fly back to Minneapolis and pick up his bike and ride home when he completes his training.
Now for today's ride.
When we went to bed, it was still above 85 degrees and when we arose, the sky was overcast and the temp was 48 degrees!!!! We knew a weather front was moving in but did not think it would change that much. We were both very pleasantly surprised. This would make John's ride to Minneapolis and my ride to Canada much more comfortable than any of the past few days.
We loaded up our bikes and had a nice breakfast at Perkins restaurant. We then headed our separate ways. John to the east and me going north and west.
John and I ready to go in Fargo, ND.
My path was directly north into a 30 mph north wind. With the wind in that direction, it made riding easier than a wind from the side but the fuel mileage was reduced by about 5 mpg.I did not know that this is an area where they grow and process sugar beets in such a large scale but now we all know. I passed several processing plants for sugar, grain and malt.
I also passed my first triple trailer semi truck.
The town just before the border is Pembina, ND., and is famous for being the oldest community in the Dakotas. That tidbit is compliments of my buddy Mitch in Hollywierd, Florida.Since this was my first border crossing since the rules have changed, I hoped I was properly prepared. The line at the border crossing went quick and smooth. All I needed was my passport, vehicle insurance and vehicle registration. I also had to answer a few questions.....why am I going into Canada...to get to Alaska....do I have any guns......no.......do I have enough money....yes?...Have a nice stay.
Bing, Bang, Boom and I was in Manitoba, Canada. I stopped at the welcome station to get a map, some info, exchange for some Canadian $$$, make a restroom break and finally get a picture in Canada. Things went well.
I headed north and then took a couple of roads that routed my around Winnipeg. This worked well and I was about to see a very large wind turbine farm at the roadside. I also saw some of the blades for new turbines in storage along the road...see pictures below.
This part of the world is flat, flat, flat for miles and miles. The soil is a very rich loamy black that is great for growing all kinds of stuff. The same goes for North Dakota. The soil did not change when I got to Canada.
My goal was to get on TransCanada Highway 16. This will take me through Saskatoon, then Edmonton and on to British Columbia and Alaska.As I joined Highway 16 the wind that had been with the at the beginning of the day finally lost some of its strength and then subsided to just a gentle breeze at about lunch time. The overcast clouds broke up at Grand Forks, ND., and then they were just puffy clouds so I was in a partly cloudy day with bright sunshine and average temperature of 61 degrees. This has been the most comfortable day of ride so far.
It also seems that there are several areas of flooding in this area due to the heavy rains lately and the fact that it is so flat the water just sits in small lakes in the fields.
With all of this water and cropland, the air is full of flying insects and birds. Here is a picture from inside my helmet so you see what I saw. Also, these birds work hard when flying in the constant winds so the must eat a lot and there is a lot to eat...bugs that is.
After several hours and miles of riding, I entered Saskatoon on my way to Yorkton, my stop for the evening.Today was a ride of 514 miles(829 kilometers). I had to change to kilometers on the GPS so keep my speed somewhat legal. The highway speed today was 110 kph on divided highways and 100 kph two lane roads. Most of my riding was two lanes but I was able to run 110 without trouble or 68 mph.
Going to try for Edmonton tomorrow. Wish me luck.
Mike
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