East Grand Forks - Fosston, Minnesota
August 1
Each day lately, I seem to be rising later and later. That's
because I'm getting in later and later each evening. Its a vicious circle.
This morning, I didn't get going very early because I had to walk too far
(about 1/2 mile) to breakfast, then a couple more blocks to a grocery store
and back to the motel. I suppose I could have ridden, but I hated to remove
everything from the bike and would have worried about it in as big a city
as Grand Forks. So, I walked.
Incidentally, I got an AARP discount rate on the motel room. I forgot to
bring my AARP card (or any other discount cards, like AOPA, etc) with me,
but they trusted me. Membership discount cards are a wise item to pack on
a long bike trip if there is any likelihood you'll be staying in a motel.
Time out: 9:45 AM.
Winds: from the southeast
Direction of travel: southeast
This part of Minnesota appears to be the potato belt and is a lot like the
parts of Michigan where they grow potatoes: absolutely flat. You don't see
very far because of the curvature of the earth.
Whatever they're using around here for fertilizer smells like an outhouse--not
the most pleasant of riding conditions.
As I rode along, I could see three separate crop dusting airplanes
at work; 2 biplanes and a P-51-like AgCat. The AgCat sprayed a line along
the other side of the road, but I was slow getting to my camera and managed
to miss. Apparently, that was the last on this farm, because the plane left.
I wasn't real enamored with the thought of getting dusted, so I wasn't disappointed
to see the plane leave. I am sorry I didn't get a picture.
Three men working on the railroad tracks asked me where I was coming from
and going to and I responded. It was difficult hearing them over the traffic
noise, but they cheered me on. That felt good.
As I ride along in these relatively boring flat areas, I try to come up
with something to occupy my time. This morning, I decided to count dead
frogs on the shoulder. In 2 miles, I saw 8 dead frogs and one red snake
(it didn't look squished or dead, but didn't move).
For quite a number of miles today, US-2 was paved with lateral grooves across
the road.
grooves in the road
I suppose the grooves do something like channel rainwater off
the road, but the noise made by radial tires crossing the lateral grooves
was incredibly annoying like chalk on a blackboard. There was a harmonic
effect as the tires crossed the grooves. At some point, I'll put a sound
file here--I recorded the screeching, but have to find the tape among many.
Crookston is the home of the University of Minnesota Crookston; a very attractive
campus.
University of Minnesota Crookston
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 |
I can tell I'm reaching "civilization." Instead of
pick-ups and motorhomes, I'm seeing flashy sports cars (a Dodge Stealth,
for instance). Crookston looks a lot more like home.
For lunch, I stopped at Hugo's market in Crookston, where I purchased "krab"
(suremi) salad $1.65), vegetable tray ($1.35), fruit salad ($1.75) and a
Gatorade. I then rode into downtown Crookston, where I ate at a picnic table
in the City park/campground.
The Crookston Carnegie Library is gorgeous, and with the adjacent modern
addition, there must be about 20,000 sq. feet of book space. That's spectacular
for a town of only 8,000.
Crookston Public Library
Carnegie building |
new building |
Crookston has a very nice downtown area.
Downtown Crookston, MN
The library is right next to the Red Lake River Bridge, which
is itself worthy of a photo because of its ornate railing.
Red Lake River Bridge, Crookston, MN
Crookston has a pretty nice museum too.
hockey jersey worn by Crookston
resident in 1950 Olympics (Silver Medal) |
1898 firefighting equipment |
Outbuildings at the museum |
1928 Stutz fire engine |
1934 radial engine airplane |
Electric permanent wave apparatus |
Display of old packaged goods |
|
Crookston was a good example of the advantage of touring by bicycle.
I've driven through Crookston, but never stopped. I saw a whole lot more
from my bicycle in Crookston (also in Grand Forks/East Grand Forks and Bemidji).
And, I got to meet some of the people.
Of course, stopping at the University, the City Park, the Museum, etc. was
time-consuming. As of 3:00, I'd only ridden 29 miles. That's pathetic: 9.4
mph.
The CatEye cyclocomputer now decided to die. It must have gotten jealous
of the repair accorded the Trek. Actually, I probably did it myself--I must
have severed the cable somehow grabbing the bike. Although I did get a new
Trek computer, I didn't replace the cable and the Trek stopped working for
0.4 miles this morning. I have to assume there is a wiring harness problem.
I called the bike store in Grand Forks from a pay phone in a rest area to
ask whether they could send the wiring harness assembly to me somewhere
down the road. Instead, they suggested I contact the Trek dealer in Bemidji.
I didn't realize there were moose in Minnesota until I saw a moose crossing
sign adjacent to a 100+ acre field of sunflowers. I didn't see any moose.
Moose crossing sign adjacent to sunflower field
Erskine claims to be the home of the "world's largest northern."
Though I haven't met Erskine's fish, I've seen northern pike far bigger
than the world record. While fishing off the Porcupine River above the Arctic
Circle in Alaska, I almost caught one such fish. I never managed to land
it. It was about as big as me. It took all of my 35 lb line, dragging me
upstream, until the end of the line--whereupon the line broke and the fish
got away. I would estimate it at over 60" and over 100 lbs.
At around 5:00, I stopped at the Dairy Queen in Mentor to try waiting for
the wind to calm down. It was coming at me pretty vigorously from the south.
I drank a shake and took off about an hour later. My wait paid off. It was
indeed calmer and I sped up. As of 6:51, I had 14 miles to go. At 7:55,
I reached Fosston.
I checked into the Daisy Motel and pedaled back to the Beaver Family Restaurant,
where I ate a taco salad. As I was eating, I talked to an elderly man who
had lived in Fairbanks between 1950 and 1957 and worked in construction
(paving Eielson Air Force Base, Ladd Field, the Richardson Hwy.). He wasn't
feeling well, so I begged off without getting his name.
74 miles.
© Ed Noonan 1996, 1997
