SUPER POWERS

First things first: ONE of the papers I'm seeing now is the state's paper of record, THE MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE. That's right, we've giddyuped and ridden into the great state of Minnesota, under clear blue skies.

We took a little bit of time in Fargo, and it was nothing like I expected. What does the average person think of when they try to imagine a town like Fargo? I don't know---but I now know that it is a really cool town. We spent most of our time downtown, an area that has been refurbished, yet maintained in a deco style. Lots of neat-o neon, and beautiful inlaid mosaic tiles at all the downtown corners---complemented by sculpture and informative panels. I loved it!

I've discovered that cross country cyclists have *S*uperpowers, and although I'm still figuring out what they all are, I know one for certain. When a cross country tourist goes to the local bike shop and explains to a mechanic that something is a little sketchy, the bike goes straight to the rack---no waiting, no "take your turn, bub". Such as it was in Fargo, where my tires were giving me some concern. Actually only the rear tire. The front one was okay, but the rear one looked like I had smeared it with peanut butter and thrown it in with a litter of teething wolverines. The mechanic checked out the stickers on my bike and helmet, said, "cool stickers!" and got me right back on the road in no time flat. Speaking of "flat"---I've had NONE so far! Kami got a replacement screw for the one that rattled out of her brake lever---I've lost a rack screw, and we tighten them up all the time because the ride is extremely rough fairly frequently. People often ask about specific body parts, and whether they are hurting---but no one asks about what is becoming most painful for me, and that's my elbows. The constant jarring and shock absorption is wreaking havoc on them.

We also went to the renovated deco theater, the FARGO, to see an independent film, and enjoyed the bits and pieces they had in the lobby from the movie, FARGO. Including a larger than life sized wood chipped sculpture of Frances McDormand as MARGE from the movie. Afterwards, we had a knockout meal at a gem of a restaurant---another oasis I wouldn't have expected in Fargo. The menu had "Copper River Salmon" on it, and so I asked if it was *really* Copper river salmon, and they assured me it was! It was delicious, and a nice break from the mostly unremarkable food we've been eating.

AND---as we were pedaling into Minnesota, on a shockingly bad road that resembled a crocodile's back, if the crocodile had unusually bad skin for a crocodile---Kami alerted me that someone was coming up behind us on a bike. I had been listening to the Indigo Girls on my iPod, and daydreaming about the cattails that were growing in the marshy ditch. My grandad used to fish with cattails rolled in something called "stinkbait", and cattails always make me think of him. So, I slowed down and who should we meet up with but the "other girlz" we've been hearing about! Shannon and Liz, from Missoula and Colorado. We said a quick "hey" while negotiating the rotten road, and got the details. I found it amusing that we all asked the same questions that we've been asked countless times a day "where'd ya start, where ya going, when'd ya start, when ya finishing" etc. etc. But, we also asked names, and where they'd be tonight. They're on a different route, maybe up to the headwaters of the Mississippi in Itasca State Park--perhaps we'll see them again later.

Meanwhile, we'll ride tomorrow and again the next day, only on Sunday we'll ride to one of the hospitals that Kami visits and ride right up to our car which a friend has left for us! We'll take it and the gear and the bikes about 45 miles to St Cloud and be there to watch the fireworks exploding over the Mississippi River, which runs in front of our house. Life is too sweet! We haven't decided when we'll hit the road again, but expect that it will be a few days later.