The Royce Files

I know that the University of North Dakota recently approved their new mascot- although much talk surrounds that and I do not intend to enter the fray. However, I do not think that they approved of new school colors. A few weeks ago I was visiting the former coat purveyor now a bizzaro TJ Max clone Burlington and discovered these UND branded slippers in red. Red is not a official school color to my knowledge. But pink is. So how did these get past the NCAA trademark legal eagles (or fighting hawks)?

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...

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...

The next few weeks you'll hear about my incredible journey that took me just over 400 miles on a bicycle in 5 day in North Eastern North Dakota. To the left you can see how the trip ended for me. But I am not giving anything away.

I n a highly unusual act, State Representative Scot Kelch decided to press for a resolution to honor Bono in North Dakota. The measure failed albeit amongst some confusion as some lawmakers perceived the resolution would honor the late Sonny Bono (whoses birthday it happens to be today 16 Feb) and failed to see it as important. I believe Bono, the newly christened spokesperson for peace on earth and goodwill toward man, has made no comment concerning the snub. He just kept playing in his band, U2. Far from being a ludachrist legistlative stunt to grab headlines the world over for North Dakota, the resolution would have honored a fellow who has used his gigantic fame to move this generation into action concerning poverty, AIDS, and numerous associated humanitarian concerns. [My personal favorite is clean water.] But does he need anymore praise? I think the praise sometimes overshadows the work and then creates backlash because of jealousy or what not. I'd invite him over for spaghet...