Seat Problems

Day 31: Minot to Rugby, ND--69 miles

Today was the journey to the center of North America--so we must be halfway through the ride to somewhere--we just don't know if it's our route or not!

Yes, Rugby, ND really IS the geographical center of North America! We spent about 5 hours getting here from Minot. We can vouch that the center of North America is FLAT. We had almost no hills and VERY hot weather today.

We left Minot early to try and beat the heat. You can tell by the humidity in the air that we have hit the Midwest! Those beautiful, dry, Western days are behind us...

About 20 miles into the ride, the seat problem started. You're probably thinking I'm referring to my derriere, but you would be wrong! This time, it was my actual bike seat. It started shifting during the ride--and of course the shift was into a very uncomfortable position (nose up--ouch!!!). We stopped for David to take a look, but when he tried to adjust the seat it came completely loose because the bolt had sheared IN HALF! This is a problem! With all the gear on the bike, I can't really ride standing up, and I'm just not willing to sit on the seat post. David did some extreme exclamations, and then proceeded to jerry-rig the seat to attach it in any way he could. The nose ended up tilted way down, but it was at least something I could sit on (although it threw my weight forward onto my arms). So it wasn't comfy (and I do mean that in a relative sense) but it was better than standing! We pedaled about 3 miles in this fashion until we came to the next town--Granville.

Now this town probably has about 50 people in it. We rode through the few streets and found an auto body shop. David conferred with the owner and found a bolt that worked to hold the seat. They installed it and we were on our way! It may last for the rest of the trip, but David bought a spare just in case...

The rest of the ride was uneventful--thank heavens! Rugby is a very nice town. I think it has about 3,000 people, and a cute downtown area. I believe North Dakota is trying to build up some of these small towns by providing incentives and tax breaks to new homeowners (just in case you want to head north). We had dinner at a rejuvenated hardware store that had been turned into an old-time soda shop called Rockin' Relics. This place had great sandwiches--and the ice cream looked great but we passed on dessert (we had some back at the hotel). We met some nice folks there who told us a little about the town. They said it is populated by "Norwegians and some other folks too." And I believe it. What nice folks!

The only down side we have found in ND is that it is a "beer with taste" and "good wine" desert! David discovered the desert at every bar and pub we have been to. No dark beers at all, and I haven't even tried with the wine for a long time! Oh, well. This is a time to discover what we can REALLY live without! As Jen Maddox says, desperate times call for desperate measures. David ended up at the local liquor store (which DID have some beer with taste, but would not sell any less than a 6-pack). He bought two Jose Cuervo mini tequilas and some Dole Ruby Red Grapefruit juice, and we made desperation margaritas out of that! They were awesome!

We also discovered the Cottage Cafe, a local place that opened recently with good coffee, chai, and PIES! Did I mention that David LOVES pie? Well, we bought pie for dessert as well as old-fashioned custard pie for breakfast the next day (it's made of eggs and milk--what else do you want?). I'm sure David made their day with the pie purchases, and they started us out with a great breakfast!