Fargo, ND

The day before yesterday, I pulled into Page (pop. 225) just as it was starting to sprinkle rain lightly. There is no formal hotel, but the bank has a spare room in back, managed by the local barkeep. I checked into room number #2, which although the only room in town, reminds one of those days where they were multiple rooms available. Page consists of little more than the grocery store, cafe, bar, bank, and a diminutive cinema that shows two movies a week, one Saturday evening and another Sunday. But as always, the residents are as hospitable as ever and shared stories of better days in Page.

Saturday, it proceeded to rain all day, so I took shelter and read and watched college football (notably, Michigan's and Notre Dame's respective, unconvincing victories). But today, I cycled the 60 miles from Page to Fargo, ND. The weather was cloudy in the morning and the roads still wet from the evening's rain storms. It cleared in the afternoon and I took a break just past the turn for Arthur, ND. While finishing my snack, I met Dale, the fellow wheelman pictured here, who at the age of 61 had recently taken up cycling and was embarking on a 40 mile ride into Fargo where he was going to meet his wife. So, we rode the rest of the way together into Fargo and had a great time chatting along these lightly traveled roads.

In a tribute to the movie Fargo, I'm staying at the same hotel Marge used when she was here, because, "yah, ya know it's the Radisson, so it's pretty good."