The Royce Files

Experienced the 2nd Streets Alive ( http://www.fmstreetsalive.org/ ) event this weekend. I rode the entire route with my friend. I wasn't sure what to expect for an event of this type. However, I was surprised. The only drawback was the few kids who got in the way on Broadway otherwise Streets Alive was like a leisurely tour around the community. Afterward, Cindy, my roommate, and I made the most delicious hamburgers I have ever made. They were the most delicious morsels we had ever had. The memory of them lingers on as does the roasted corn on the cob, guacamole, and beer. So far on the blog, I am right in the beginning stages of detailing my annual bike trek. I just left off as I went to sleep in a park in Walhalla, ND. A real street party had been going on with a live band and it made trying to sleep a little harder. The next morning we would hit a remarkable natural feature that would prove challenging. But I'll leave that for the actual post about the trip. However, if ...

It was a cool and slightly wet night in Fargo. But it didn't matter much to the home team. The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks again won the Northern League title defeating the Kansas City T-Bones 3-0 in the a 3 game sweep. Pitcher TJ Stanton (he has no beard in that linkage) had a 1 hit shutout and struck out the first 8 batters he faced. The game was sort of unbelievable considering the last time I was at Newman Field. The RedHawks were also facing the T-Bones about a month ago and they got rocked big time. Nothing was clicking for the RedHawks that night. Tonight, however, was a pitcher's duel. The T-Bone's offense was cold and the RedHawks were not much better. Thankfully a few errors and masterful placed hits put Fargo on the scoreboard. Later Eric Campbell hit a solo home run. It was chilly but fun to be with friends and also see The Champ. This was the only RedHawks game he's been to all season. At least he chose a good one. After the game and a whole bunch of champa...

The heat did not dissipate after leaving Hoople. Fortunately, I found a water spigot in Tatertown to refill my reservoir. The 18 miles of long straight road into Cavalier was generally uneventful. It was mostly fields of potatoes and an occasional farm house and barn. The Man of 3 Names and I arrived in Cavalier pretty exhausted. 3 Names sat a spell in a gazebo on the edge of downtown while I sought out a grocery store. I couldn't find it and it may also be closed. Unfortunately, I have found small town North Dakota generally closes up around 5 or 6 with the exception of bars and maybe a convenience store. We found nourishment at a convenience store. I supplemented my 20 oz Mountain Dew Voltage with a burger from the nearby Pit Stop Diner . The Pit Stop appeared to be a locally owned eatery featuring burgers, dogs, fries, and ice cream that operated out of a property that may have been a Dairy Queen in the past. After a long day of biking anything tastes good and I gobbled down t...

Prairie Chicken WMA wasn't much to crow about. It just provided us with a small spot to camp. Not recommended but for the most hard core of bike tours. After eating one of the many oatmeal creme pies that the Man of 3 Names brought, I eagerly loaded up the bike to blow this WMA. It was almost blistering hot last night and the bugs were very thick. It was a pioneer experience. We discovered just before we left that a majority of the flatland grass good to camp upon was on the other side of a "moat." that surrounded most of this land. We were on a slice of land a few feet from the "moat." At night the discovery of unexpected water makes one stop. For all we knew it was one large wetland. Tip: Do not camp on wetlands, you will regret it. We hopped back on US 81 and pedaled north going through Ardoch, Minto and stopping in Grafton to eat and seek out the means to fix 3 Names' rack. While traveling I thought of some songs to go with the towns a...

This day is not be confused with Patriots' Day , the day the Boston Marathon in run. No, today is Patriot Day . And a moment of silence will be observed at 8:46 AM EST. You probably know the rest of the story. When the events of 9/11 transpired I was not even in the U.S. Nope. I was in the safety of the Great North- Canada. Far removed from the actual events. We were tenting at a KOA in next to the Olympic Park in Calgary. Early that morning we began to hear reports of a conflagration in New York. Later in the morning it got worse. We ended up leaving that afternoon for home and kept hearing reports of border crossing security tightened and surges in gas prices. It was a long ride home. From then on security would never be the same.

More editorial stuff. Although this story continues to smolder and I suppose the news will look to other fires to talk about Nonetheless, the burning of religious texts has been put on hold only after some deal to move a religious structure near Ground Zero was allegedly made. And get this, Donald Trump is also involved in some way! Sounds like mis-information will be we everywhere. Even this religious structure isn't as close to Ground Zero or as religious oriented as media make it out to be. In fact I think no one is sure what happened. Maybe the texts will be burning in private. (Personally, I would have called for Snooki to be thrown in jail.) Still, the huge reaction to the burn/not to burn debate has me wonder exactly what is important to those religions involved in the fray. So much value and emotion is placed in things which ultimately will fade away ( and even burn)- buildings and books. I thought religion would value the intangible- charity, perseverance in the the mi...

A bit of an editorial slant today. Did you know someone plans to burn a particular holy book in of all places, Florida? And get this:  a certain government official wants to stop it . To me the whole burning issue is a red herring. In particular how such an act by a few citizens could jeopardize foreign policy, really has me wondering how our government is picking its talking points. Thanks to the media attention this thing got (thanks CNN), it has turned into something bigger than it should have been. I guess it is just part of the time we live in. Will it anger folks? Sure. Will it lead to further killings and extremist recruitment ? Possibly but that's giving one event too much influence. Those things would probably have continued. There is ignorance on both sides. Altough I like the speech writer's choice of words- "recruitment bonanza." Which reminds me- the son of Laden apparently likes the television show. Too bad all the cast is dead. Pernell Roberts died...