We rode northeast into Fargo on September 14th with thunderstorms on our heels and 1,700 miles on our bikes. The forecast was for showers and thunderstorms overnight and Friday. We decided this was our cue to take our second "zero" day in 26 days on the road. A zero day means no mileage ridden towards our destination and implies a "rest" day. I put both these words in quotes because neither are particularly accurate....
We arrived early in Fargo as we started the day the earliest yet in order to try to avoid the afternoon storms. We were on our bikes before 7am. We were in Fargo by 12:30.
The first order of business was to find a cheap motel. We had already researched options the night before and selected the Scandia hotel near old downtown. It was inexpensive and near the Great Northern Bike Shop. One of our planned visits.
The rain started right after we arrived at the hotel. Good timing! We unpacked our bikes and then walked the 4 or so blocks to the bike shop and checked it out. I went across the street to a barber shop and got my hair cut, then we found a place for an early dinner (The Wurst Pub) and were back to our room for the 6pm news. We watched a bit of a movie then hit the sack for some much needed rest.
Friday morning we awoke to rain showers. We walked .75 miles to a breakfast place (The Fryin' Pan) and then began our quest for a Minnesota and Wisconsin highway map. We needed these to help plan our route for the coming week. It was no easy task to find them locally! After several inquires in person and by phone we ended-up walking several blocks to the Metro Area Transit (MAT) and took a bus for $3 round trip to the West Acres Mall some miles away. From there we walked nearly another mile to the visitors center on I94. There we finally found our maps. While there we got to see the infamous woodchipper from the movie 'Fargo.' It was signed by the directors.
We hiked back to the mall and took the bus back to the transit station, then walked several blocks back to our motel. When we arrived I found my rear tire deflated on my bike. * Sigh. I had patched this tube two days earlier after finding a glass shard in it. I pumped up the tire and rode it to the bike store. I bought two new tubes (one for a spare) and had the bike tech check my chain for wear. It had been skipping a tiny bit over the last 300 or so miles. He said it was showing wear and he could change it for $25. I told him I would think about it, then rode 2 miles to the grocery for needed supplies.
I returned to the motel and not only replaced the tube in my tire, but rotated the tires as well. It is close enough to half way across the country and would need to be done soon anyway. Then I rode back to the bike shop having decided to have the chain replaced as suggested.
The tech changed the chain and as he was doing so it began to thunderstorm. I waited briefly, then rode out in the rain back to the motel to meet Jerry for dinner. The chain skipped severely on the way, so back to the bike shop I went.
This time the rear casaette was replaced for an additional $35. It had 8,000 miles or so on it anyway, so it was time. This fixed the issue, but the cassette was a 11-30 versus the 11-34 of the original..... I lost my 'Hail Mary' gear and never even got to use it ! :-(
Back to the motel, park the bike, then walk several blocks to dinner in town with Jerry. We finished and got back to the hotel at 8pm. That is when I began to work on my journal and use the motel PC to do some on-line work with my blog and such. Flopped into bed at 11pm.
We were up at 6:30 on Saturday to resume our ride.
That is a 'zero' day on a long distance tour... non-stop chores, probably 5 miles worth of walking and another 5 riding around town, and about 6 hours of sleep. Now can I take a rest??
Photo 1 - Checking into the Scandia hotel
Photo 2 - The storm picture
Photo 3 - The wood chipper
Photo 4 - Bike repairs in the hotel room
Photo 5 - Bike repairs in the shop
Photo 6 - Fargo at night
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