Bike the Border
Cyclists tour Minot’s back roads
BURLINGTON – The camaraderie, scenery and joy of cycling more than made up for gale-force winds and cool temperatures as participants in the annual Bike the Border spent the past two days touring the Minot area.
Cyclists finish the final leg of the 152-mile tour today. They were counting on a forecast that showed a reduction in wind speeds that had reached more than 40 mph at times during the tour.
Uphill against the wind might not have been the choice of Darren Kabanuk of Burlington, but still, he was undaunted.
“I enjoy the challenge of it,” he said. Kabanuk is a veteran of Bike the Border, now in existence for 13 years.
Bob Resech of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, was making his second ride and his wife her third. Although he was too busy fighting the wind to view the scenery much of the time, the hospitality of host community Burlington and the other towns along the tour more than made up for the exhaustion, he said.
“I will probably be back again,” he said.
The tour, which came together Thursday night, registered 97 participants through Friday, and organizers hoped to gain some additional riders today. Today’s route takes the group north of Minot, to Foxholm and Ruthville. Friday’s ride took roads east of Minot and included Surrey. Saturday’s ride traveled through Des Lacs and Berthold to circle back around toward Minot to Burlington.
The tour included numerous riders from the area and also a number of riders from Canada and other states, including New Jersey and Montana. One couple from New York who has been skiing or biking every state made North Dakota their 49th stop with Bike the Border, leaving only Oklahoma left. Riders range in age from 18 into their 80s.
Janet Cron of Lignite, who assists with the sag crew that prepares the routes and sees to cyclists’ needs, said this has been the peak year for participation.
“We couldn’t do this without the kinds of towns like Burlington that invite us in,” Cron said. As a host city, Burlington provided meals and camping space. After expenses, the nonprofit Bike the Border donates registration revenue back to community groups in the towns that support the tours.
St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation also has been a major benefactor for Bike the Border, helping the group acquire portable showers and toilets.
Cron said Bike the Border began when economic developers from Burke, Bottineau and Renville counties met to talk about ways to promote the small communities. This year is the farthest south the route has gone and the closest to Minot.
“We see the country and we see it through the secondary roads mostly,” Cron said. Host communities also line up entertainment and extra activities, such as a concert, winery tour and art painting session in Burlington.
Many of the cyclists chose to camp in Burlington, including some who live in the local area.
“If you are not camping, it’s not like a bicycling trip. It adds a different flavor to the whole thing,” said Virgil Borman, a cyclist from Lake Metigoshe.
For more information on this year’s event or if interested in future events, visit www.biketheborder.com.