Fisher

July 8th, 2000

Today, I decided I wanted to go for a bike ride. I wanted it to be a lengthy one, so I decided to ride to Crookston (about 20-30 miles from here) and back. I never made it to Crookston. It was far too humid and hot, I started to feel a bit sick. I was sweating buckets, but none of it was evaporating. I was overheating. I stopped at a rest stop about ten miles from Grand Forks, and it turned out it was also an "MN/ND travel information center."

I had stumbled upon a massive library of travel information. There was a large counter with an entire wall of maps, pamphlets, and travel brochures neatly arrayed behind it. The woman behind this counter asked me to sign the guestbook, told me that she had already had 300 visitors today alone, and asked if there were any maps I could use. I said I'd like a Minnesota map, since I didn't have one. She quickly grabbed one for me. She asked if I wanted any info on hiking/biking in MN or ND. I said that would be nice, and before I knew it I had quite a bag of stuff. I wondered if she had given a thought to where I, a sweaty biker, was going to place this massive amount of literature. Luckily, I had my trusty pack strapped onto my bike and, with a little work, was able to stow it all there.

Thus, if you ever want to know anything about a trail or bike route in Minnesota, I can help you out (or you can ask the friendly, ever-so-helpful woman at the ND/MN travel info stop and rest area along Highway 2).

To continue my trip, I left the air conditioned comfort of the rest stop/info center and noticed clouds had moved in and given me a bit of shade. It was considerably cooler now, and I decided to keep going toward Crookston. I had planned to turn back to GF because I wasn't feeling well, but I decided to head to Fisher instead. Fisher is a smaller town than Crookston, just a few miles from the rest stop. I pushed on to Fisher and, upon arriving in the city, biked through town in search of the "Historical Marker" that was advertised so plainly along the highway. I found that, read it (something about Fisher's Landing being a civilization along there before Grand Forks got the railroad, I believe), and decided to hit the local Cenex C-Store. I love Cenex. Whenever you need an ice cold beverage on a hot day of cycling, they're there -- even in the smallest of towns. I downed half a powerade while enjoying the A/C in the store, poured the rest into my one empty water bottle, and hit the road.

I was exhausted, and began to wonder if I had a bit of heat stroke. The wind was behind me now, but I had lost the cloud cover and things were heating up.

Here in the Red River Valley, it's rained so much for so long that the fields and ditches are flooded and flowing like rivers. It didn't rain today, except perhaps early in the morning. As I pedaled, I estimated the temp to be in the middle to upper eighties with mercilous sunshine. Despite the heat and lack of recent rain (since yesterday perhaps) there were puddles of water on the pavement. It was so humid that the water wasn't evaporating.

I pushed on and stopped at the exit to the rest area, considering if I should stop there again and chat once more with the info lady. I decided against it, and pushed on. The mosquitoes were unbearable, no doubt a direct result of all the moisture we've received. On my way back to Grand Forks from Fisher, I stopped only briefly to rest. Each time I gave up my attempts to relax because of the swarms of insects. I thought to myself,"This sucks. This is no fun and I wish I was back in Grand Forks." But I was still miles from home.

When I finally arrived at my apartment, I had a pounding headache. A nice long shower, a few glasses of juice, and a dose of ibuprofen brought about that ever-so-pleseant feeling that only comes after a physically exhausting experience. I still had a headache, but I always enjoy taking it easy after a tough ride. The relaxed, satisfied feeling that comes after such a ride is almost reward enough for the experience.