grand forks, north dakota

Just a thought!

 Some days just happen and things don't go as planned but they still go. Today was such a day. It was a good day even though our plans went awry. We were planning to pedal from Devils Lake to Grand Forks, North Dakota. But . . . last night we had a terrible storm with lots of rain, thunder, lightning, and more wild wind. Some of that was forecasted for today so we did not pedal our route. As we drove east, we were certainly glad we had not pedaled. The road was wet in places, under construction in many place, and had very little or no shoulder. I mean, the shoulder was the smallest we've seen thus far. The closer we got to Grand Forks, the more orange barrels and cones we saw. Road construction was everywhere! So, here's what we do when we have to reroute or detour along the way. We make up those miles in other places so that we stay on track with our mileage. We did makeup some of the miles today on the Greenway Trail as we pedaled from East Grand Forks, Minnesota to Grand Forks, North Dakota, and back to East Grand Forks to the State Park where Phil and Gale have their RV.

On the way to Grand Fork, Margaret and I stopped at Grand Forks Air Force Base to do some shopping at the Commissary and Base Exchange. We bought some healthy snacks for pedaling, an Air Force sticker for the car top carrier, and a new baseball cap, and a few other items. After our stop at the base, we headed to our campsite, Hampton Inn in Grand Forks. We were too early to check-in so Margaret suggested that we find a bike shop where I could get one of my bike wheels checked for possible repairs.

Since I was having a bad sounding front wheel on one of my bikes, we looked for a local bike shop where, hopefully, I could get the necessary repairs. We found The Ski & Bike Shop in Grand Forks. Inside, I asked someone if he could check the front wheel of my bike and soon I was met outside by Dave. I didn't even have my bike off of the bike rack yet and he was there asking me questions about the wheel. Soon, we were inside the shop with the front wheel off and Dave checking everything from the disc brakes to the spokes. The problem ended up being bearings in the axle. Dave told me it really needed to be replaced but he would fix it as best as it could be fixed. He put new bearings and grease in the axle, adjusted some spokes, adjusted the disc brakes, put the front wheel back on the fork, and told me it would be safe to ride the rest of the trip. He did say I should get a new axle as soon as possible but this repair should handle the rest of the ride. Dave also suggested that I needed to be sure to pedal The Greenway, which we did, and eat lunch at Darcy's Cafe, which we also did.

Darcy's Cafe is one of our hole-in-the-wall kind of places where everybody wants to eat. Margaret and I could tell that Darcy's had a lot of regular locals coming in every day. Their big seller must be burgers since burgers were the featured items on the menu. We did order burgers and they were very tender, tasty, and good. We also had fries and huge onion rings, also very good. Service was quick and the place was busy. In fact, as we exited, I noticed that every table in Darcy's was filled. Margaret told me that she saw a sign suggesting that when finished with your meal, please leave. I suppose that's because Darcy's is a favorite place for Grand Forks folks to eat. Darcy's Cafe is another hole-in-the-wall eatery that we would visit again. Thanks, Dave.

We also took Dave's advice to ride The Greenway, which borders the Red River of the North. We pedaled out of the Red River State Recreation Area north to a pedestrian bridge to North Dakota, then south to another pedestrian bridge and back to the start. It was a nice ride even though we got lost twice. How can you get lost on a bike path, you ask? For the two of us, that's not a problem. It did give us some extra make-up miles for the lost miles today. I asked someone at the bike shop how Route 2 was in Minnesota. The staff member told me, "Minnesota spends its tax money much better that North Dakota. You'll find Route 2 smooth and with wide shoulders. It's great for riding." With that said, we are looking forward to pedaling in Minnesota. 

We can check North Dakota off of our list as we pedal America. We enter Minnesota tomorrow and by the middle of next week we plan on spending two or three days in Duluth. We sure enjoy Duluth and look forward to sitting along the water and watching the lift bridge operate to allow some pretty big ships to enter and exit. I think we'll also eat a meal at The Green Mill, one of our favorite restaurants there. Look out Duluth, here we come!

This certainly was a day that required flexibility. Some people don't like change. I love it. Change stretches us and challenges us, too. It makes us better. 

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." -Maya Angelou

"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always be where you've always been."

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" -2 Corinthians 5:17

Don't be afraid of change. Every change can be an adventure and who doesn't love adventure? A guy named Paulo Coelho said, "If you thing adventure is dangerous, try routine. It's lethal." Routine is like being in a rut. A rut is a grave with both ends kicked out. The choice is ours . . . we can take the change, the adventure, or we can take the rut, the same old same old.

Embrace the adventures that come with change.