Brutal day from a number of aspects. Needed to run to Bismarck for an unpleasant task. Didn’t need to be there until the afternoon, so not a lot of time pressure on the way out. Was going to take the back roads out of town to avoid construction, but the fuel light went on before the edge of town so I caught the last-chance gas station before hitting the Interstate. Might have found a new route because of it. Kinda liked hitting the road from Main Ave in W. Fargo.

Stopped in Jamestown for some gas and a stretch of the legs. Made a quick run over to the H-D dealer to pick up a quart of oil. Bike is scheduled to go in for service in a couple of days, but with 300 miles to go and a full quart down and the bike feeling rough, I thought it was worth the $5.

Also stopped at Apple Creek just outside Bismarck. Was pretty tired/stiff by then so I just plopped down on a picinic table. The Highway Patrol had taken the back side of the rest area for a truck inspection site. Used to be involved with that somewhat through work, so it was kinda fun to see the guys in action. They of course looked at me like I was strange.

Got to Bismarck early enough to stop at Starbucks for lunch. Somehow chaps are just out of place in Starbucks, but whatever. It was good to catch my breath for once before jumping into meetings right away. When it was time to head in, I had a bit of a time finding a parking spot. Didn’t want to do the ramp again after the trouble I had last time, so I thought I’d try the street. It’s supposed to be 90 minute parking, but I think I was there more like four hours. No ticket though. Got lucky. Usually they’re pretty tough.

Lost my sunglasses somewhere along the way too. So before I could hit the road, I ran over the the H-D store to pick up some replacements. Got some clear ones too in preparation for Sturgis. I hear that’s important down there. And once again I needed gas before leaving town and found a new way out of town, through Mandan this time.

Ride back was what was really brutal. Fighting a bit of a wind from the front-right. And the bike was still picking up a vibration at about 65 mph so it wasn’t a speedy trip home. But there were watches out for rain, baseball-sized hail, 70 mph winds, and tornadoes out to the west, and I was keen on keeping that behind me. So other than a quick 5-minute stop in Jamestown for gas I pretty much rode straight through to home. Took about 3:45 minutes. Takes 3 hours by car, but I think the extra 45 minutes are well worth it. Needless to say though, my butt went numb around Casselton, about 20 miles out of town. Wasn’t sure if I wanted to take the Interstate directly home or avoid the construction again. Debated with myself which would be safer in my state of stiffness. Well, there was a detour where I would have usually jumped off the Interstate and even the Main Avenue route seemed like more work than it was worth. So straight through town on the Interstate in the construction zones it was. Speed was reduced to 45 mph in the zone, so that was actually a good thing. By then the sun was going down and I really was hell-bent on getting home ASAP. Think I had to put my feet down at one stoplight, but otherwise it was straight into the driveway to put the bike away and then straight to bed.

And it was interesting that the next day my right tricep was really stiff and sore. I knew my back was getting knotted up, but I hadn’t paid attention to the fact that my right arm had been fighting that head-/cross-wind the entire trip. Add that to all the painting, lifting, and other house chores recently – yeah, it was messed up. That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

Started this blog post right before drifting off to sleep, but couldn’t really feel my fingers. Again, partly from painting and partly from riding. A hot bath is soon on the schedule…

Also, passed this guy on the road. I thought I was having a time with the wind until I came upon him. These guys have intestinal fortitude. I’ve been there and done that, and it sucks.

(from the Fargo Forum)

Odometer: 1683 miles