Early yesterday BJ complained that his bike felt sluggish. I teased him that he was the sluggish one and we pedaled on. BJ was dragging, though, and kept lagging behind.
Last night in camp he went to air up his tires and found the back tire was down to 30 psi. Normally he keeps them at 80 or 90 psi. No wonder he was sluggish.
This morning he pumped up both tires before we started out of town on Rte 21. By the time we had gone 4 miles, he was down to 30 psi again. We stopped on the roadside to make the repair. BJ's rear tire was in about the same shape as the ones I replaced in Havre.
As BJ was finishing up the tire a farmer came by on his tractor.
"Do you guys need any tools or anything?" he asked. "I have lots of wrenches and stuff, metric and standard."
"We're okay," BJ answered. "It's just a flat."
"I'm sorry you have to fight these North Dakota winds," he said, as if he were personally responsible.
We talked for a few minutes more exchanging the usual "Where you from? Where you going?" information.
"Where are you heading for tonight?" he asked.
"Lemmon," I replied.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, once more as if it were his fault. "You're going the wrong way."
His wife was walking across the road about 20 yards away.
"Honey!" he yelled. "Point these guys which way Lemmon is."
She pointed the way we had come.
He said, "You came down the Enchanted Highway, didn't you? Everybody makes that mistake. The good news is you only went four miles out of your way."
He gave us the proper directions and we were on our way again. Once we were faced the right direction the winds favored us.
We took Rte 21 to Rte 8 and turned south until we reached US 12. After we crossed into South Dakota we lost our shoulder but the traffic volume was low and most of the drivers courteous.
By chance the first person we spoke to in Lemmon was the director of the Chamber of Commerce. She oriented us to the town, suggested a place to eat, and apprised us of our camping options.
"You can stay in the city park for free. I'll call the chief of police and let him know you're there. Or there is a little campground if you need a shower."
We investigated both places. The campground only cost $5.00 but it was small, ugly, surrounded by industry, and close to the highway. The shower was dirty.
We're staying in the park.
Downtown Lemmon has a strange, delightsome Petrified Wood Park. Rather than try to explain it, I refer you to the attached photos.
I told BJ that if we could find fuel for his stove I'd cook tonight. Neither fuel nor an alternative stove could be found. Supper was a rotisserie chicken and a variety of salads from the IGA.
It looks to be a cold night.
Today's mileage: 61.5 miles including navigational errors. But, hey, every mile counts. Trip total: 1442.
We'll walk up to the R Bar in a bit to post this using the free Wi-Fi.
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