Strange Bird

It was yet another rainy and windy day here in ND. I was on the road at about 9 a.m. and with a NE wind of 15+ mph I averaged just over 10 mph while headed East. At the 40 mile mark, the road turned South and my speed was up to a steady 15. The last 9 miles however were to the East once again and now the wind picked up and so did the rain. By the time I got to Cooperstown, my hands were so cold my fingers refused to follow my brain's command. When I stopped, I asked someone to help me take off my helmet; I couldn't feel the snaps.

It wasn't all about pedaling today though. Much of ND is flooded and I went through some areas with lakes that weren't on the map. I coasted down one hill to a lake and noticed some large white birds. Most flew off as I approached, but I got a picture of one on the lake.



It may be a little hard to make out, but that is a pelican. I never thought I'd see a pelican this far North, but the locals tell me that they are seeing a number of new species of waterfowl since this multi-year wet spell began.

For lunch I stopped in a bar in Pekin for coffee and sandwich. It was pretty quiet, until Caroline walked in. Caroline has been bike touring for years. In fact while in college in 1978, she and her husband rode Schwinn 10-speeds from Minnesota to NYC. No great feat? She was pregnant with twins.



Real biking enthusiasts, her husband gave her titanium for their 25th wedding anniversary.. a titanium road bike.

Dinner tonight was all-you-can eat pizza. I met two bike touring couples, one older and one younger. The younger couple, Dean and Meredith have a blog and the name says it all:

http://honeymoononabike.blogspot.com


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Location:Cooperstown, ND