The Royce Files

Way back in July 2010 the Man of 3 Names and I set out from Grand Forks, ND on bicycles to sojourn to the Center of North America (Rugby.) I do not recall much from this part of the trip except my rear tire was causing me problems endlessly. However, now the conclusion of our journey. Barn in ND countryside Waking in a hotel was not my intention but it felt good. Moreover they did have breakfast- and what the construction workers did not devour earlier in the morn, I ate. I think 3 Names had some too but I am not sure. Before heading out we stopped at K-Mart a picked up a patch kit for my tire. They did not have a replacement tube for a 700x35 presta. Back on US-2 we made good time until I had another flat. I repaired the flat next to a round bale and we were on our way again. The shoulders were wider this side of Devil's Lake but the traffic was much heavier. We lunched in Michigan City and I noted that they grocery store was part of a complex that included a c...

Way back in July 2010 the Man of 3 Names and I set out from Grand Forks, ND on bicycles to sojourn to the Center of North America (Rugby.) I continue this story as we head east on US 2 from the cairn in Rugby, ND. changing size shoulders on US 2 From the Center of North America 3 Names and I got on US Highway 2 and headed east towards Devil's Lake. Little did I know that this would be the longest part of any journey I have ever taken on 2 wheels. As we leave Rugby we meet a lady and her family that are doing a cross country bike tour. She had a support van so we knew we were really the hardcore ones out on the wide shoulder. We were doing good time since we had a strong tail wind pushing us. Not long after I experienced a rear flat. Luckily we were close to a wayside rest where I was able to repair it in about a half hour. Back on the road we began to notice our large shoulders diminish to less the a foot of usable space. Pretty scary since cars and la...

Way back in July 2010 the Man of 3 Names and I set out from Grand Forks, ND on bicycles to sojourn to the Center of North America (Rugby.) It has been while since I have written about it so the details will be sketchy, but I felt I needed to complete this one before I move onto the latest bike trip.    Near Rolette, but not quite  Here are the previous posts for you to catch up on Part 1: Leaving Grand Forks Part 2: Towards the border Part 3: From Hoople to Walhalla Part 4: Out of the Gorge and a change of plans Part 5: Independence in Munich Part 6: Night at the Hawk Museum I continue this story as we leave the Hawk Museum and head towards the center of North America in Rugby.  Old farm machinery  I cannot say enough about the Hawk Museum camp we made. It was cool. We were surrounded by tons of old iron. There was a shower. And it was cheap. I think we may have paid just $5 for both of us. What a deal! With still a chill...

Way back in July 2010 the Man of 3 Names and I set out from Grand Forks, ND on bicycles to sojourn to the Center of North America (Rugby.) I continue this story as we head west towards our destination and spend the night amongst old things. It was a bit chilly the morning of July 5th. Dew had settled upon our tents. The bathrooms were still closed. We ate a bit then torn down camp. We stopped at the local watering hole to use the facilities before heading out. By then the sun had come up and it was getting a bit warm.  What we failed to realize was Munich was the birthplace of Quentin Burdick, former Senator of North Dakota. No plaque enlightened us to this fact. We headed south a bit then west along a rail road which happened to hold a lot of rolling stock. Not sure why these cars were stored here but we encountered quite a few spots along the tracks where there were a mile of cars.  We passed Calio which just looked like one big farm. We stopped at Egeland to have a rest. ...

Way back in July 2010 the Man of 3 Names and I set out from Grand Forks, ND on bicycles to sojourn to the Center of North America (Rugby.) This is the continuing log of that eventful journey. We left off as 3 Names and I descended upon Langdon along Highway 1. We arrived in Langdon about dinner time on July 4th. I stopped at the local grocery before it closed to get some food, including 1/4 of a watermelon. Afterward we rode to a local park to rest and eat and fill up on water. The park was deserted but had water and restrooms and if we so desired we could have camped there for $10. Not bad, they even had cable TV hook-ups. However, I wanted to make it a bit further today so we pushed on. Upon leaving town we encountered an obstacle which we would meet many times- farm dogs. This dog put up a good chase. We needed to push ourselves over 25 MPH in order to escape and even then the dog nearly kept up. Once that ordeal passed, we co...

Way back in July 2010 the Man of 3 Names and I set out from Grand Forks, ND on bicycles to sojourn to the Center of North America (Rugby.) This is the continuing log of that eventful journey. Part 3 left off  with 3 Names and I at a crowded campground in Wahalla on the evening of July 3rd. I finally got to sleep after the pre-Independence Day racket died down in the wee hours of the morn. We awoke, ate a little breakfast, filled up on water, then began our trek to the Pembina Gorge west of town. The wind was against us as we made our way up the first hill traveling out of Wahalla, but it was warm and I did not mind it much. Now the Pembina Gorge is unlike any other place in North Dakota except perhaps the Badlands. Most of eastern North Dakota is flat prairie but the Pembina Gorge region is hilly and wooded. An ancient and much larger iteration of the Pembina River of today carved out the gorge. Once the edge was reached we descended quickly reaching speeds of 40 MPH along t...

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...

I finally am getting to writing about my bike trip a month after it happened. As usual it will come in installments. Hopefully you'll enjoy my adventure I took with the Man of 3 Names. Early in June, or May,  I got an e-mail from the Man of 3 Names. He wished to join me on my annual bike jaunt if it was OK. It was. I left most of the the route planning to him since he had much more time than I and excelled at planning. In fact he could have won a gold medal in planning if he hadn't gone into landscape architecture. 3 Names set out a tour through Northeastern North Dakota that would pass through Pembina Gorge, the Turtle Mountains, stop by the International Peace Garden, and then go the geographical center of North America in Rugby. We discussed a train option that would reduce some time on bikes but Amtrak didn't support us. No baggage stops or something in Rugby. On the evening of July 2nd we set out from Grand Forks. We got a rather late start by most standards mo...