I am a little behind in my posting but the memories of my trips and my rides are fresh and at the front of my mind. When I need to escape the hustle & bustle of the city, as well as my stress from work, I often escape to my memories of the Souris River Valley outside of Minot, North Dakota. I first found this route many years ago when I was testing the first iteration of the Salsa Fargo. I wrote about that trip here. Since then, I have ridden it many times. Each time with a different bike (Salsa Vaya and Salsa Warbird) and a different route. I like to wonder in the valley. Go up. Go down. Turn right. Turn left.  Where does it go? That is a philosophy that works for me, both in life and on my bike.

This time I chose my Salsa Fargo as my bike of choice. Haven ridden these roads on a 40c tires the last couple of trips, I was looking for something a bit bigger and more capable.  My Fargo is spec’d with Nanoraptor 2.1’s and they proved to be just perfect for this route.  The valley is North West of Minot, North Dakota and goes almost all the way up to Canada. The Souris is one of those rivers that flows south, often flooding due to snow from the northern land. Parts are also a National Wildlife Refuge and home to waterfowl and fishing. It is a beautiful land. If you ever get the chance to be in north central North Dakota, do yourself a favor and go on an exploration adventure.

We capped the day of with a trip to my Father in Law’s shop and airplane hanger and evening fireworks.  I don’t think a day can get better than that.  I can’t wait to get back up there to keep exploring.