Day 33 Grafton, ND to CANADA to Cavalier, ND

67 miles
4:34 ST
14.6 avg

It was okay to leave a bit later than normal - 6:55 - because we knew the wind was going to blow us north. And, it did. Our average for our first 28 miles was 18.6. (That soon changed.)

This is the result of the rain in the Grafton area yesterday: big "lakes" in the fields.

The storm system spread 28 miles up the road where they are pumping water out of the fields. You can't see it in this picture, but in the next field the water was almost in white caps from the wind.

 

You know, the farther north we go the more it feels like we're going into no man's land. Tracy called it "the great white north". Whatever it is, this is what it looks like...the road disappearing on the horizon, a farm here and there, and only four cars passing us in 28 miles.

When we turned west into the wind, our speed dropped down to 10 mph, and that was giving it all we had.

Then 14 miles north again to..........O Canada! 

God did it!! 

After being questioned by the official about where we live (Montana), what are we doing (fund raising cross country ride), when did we start (May 28), do we have any hand guns- because he's from Alberta and knows that Montanans like their guns and conceal/carry permits (no), where are we going (Gretna), how long are we going to be in Canada (long enough to eat lunch), he scanned our passports and okayed us to go through. (We were bummed that we didn't get a stamp in our passports but he explained that because we are friendly neighbors, Canada and the U.S. don't do that unless you have travel restrictions.)

We rode the quarter mile to

where we had lunch right on Main Steet, in front of the post office, near the diner that was closed and the grocery store that's open from 1:00-9:00 pm. Canada's national hot spot.

Tired of the biting flies, we quickly finished and turned Silver Streak south and started our trek toward home,

back into

and straight into the jaws of the 24 mph SW headwind. For 14 miles we rode south into it, then turned west for four more miles.

Do you think the wind blows here?

All the while we're grinding into the wind, we're watching the clouds move toward us, praying that God will allow us to get to Cavalier before they let loose. It's one thing to ride in rain, it's another thing to ride in driving rain that almost blinds you as it pounds down.

God was gracious to answer those prayers and about 20 minutes after getting the bike inside, it started raining and hasn't stopped. We saw on the news that the wind gusts have been up to 38 mph and will continue through tomorrow. 

Which is why we're staying put. We just can't physically ride 62+ miles, our next segment, into a headwind of that velocity. Plus, Gerry has come down with a sore throat and cold.

We had wanted to eat out in celebration of reaching our first goal (Canada) but didn't really want to walk a half mile to the downtown cafe in the rain. There's a little restaurant here at the motel but it's closed on Sundays. Maybe we'll try tomorrow.

As we creep toward home over the next couple weeks, we know it's going to be difficult because the prevailing winds are from the west. We would so appreciate your prayer for perseverance and endurance, and maybe that God would minimize those winds during that time.

Thankful, eh?

Pat