CANDISC 2009

Spent a week this summer Cycling Around North Dakota in Sakakawea Country (CANDISC), a 426 mile loop ride around eastern North Dakota from August 1-8. It was my first visit to North Dakota and I was struck by the emptiness. Roads stretch off in front of you until they disappear into infinity. The route was not flat. Most days we had nice gentle rollers and occasionally a decent climb. Traffic was mostly nonexistent (as was sunshine this week). It seemed like the towns we overnighted in had a smaller population than our tour group. We got lucky with the wind, having a couple of days of stiff tailwinds and only one day of really trying headwinds. Rest stops were well organized and occasionally very tasty. Bison burgers on day one was one of my favorites. Mornings were chilly. One morning it must have been close to freezing. Definitely the coldest I've ever been in August. Overall, a very well organized tour with very little variation in the scenery from day to day. A nice change of pace, but I sure missed trees by the end of the tour.