Ever since I have been a little kid on my bicycle or motorbike, when I saw a road that looks interesting I had to find out where it goes. That curiosity has never left me. When I fly I always want a window seat to look out and dream of exploring those roads down below. When I see a single track trail leading into the woods I want to ride or hike it. Lately, I have found myself lost in online maps and mapping software looking for new roads, lost roads and interesting features. For me, curiosity is a way of life and with few exceptions have always delivered something incredible.

Not long ago while up in North Dakota visiting family, I was looking for something new instead of riding my now familiar roads north of town in the Souris River Valley and surround area. I found a strip of rolling hills and green grassland that appeared to have a pathway through it and wasn’t private land. This isn’t always the case when you show up, but you don’t know if you don’t go look. I just had to go look for myself.

Side note: I was also riding my Tumbleweed Bicycle Company’s Sunliner flat bar touring bike that was released to the public today. For transparency, I work with Tumbleweed Bicycle Company and this prototype frame set was provided to me at no cost for riding, touring, testing and feedback. I’ve ridden this bike quite a lot and in a lot of different places & configurations. I'll have a lot more to say about this bike in the future. Just wanted to call that out now that the product is released to the public. I am a bit biased of course, but I am quite smitten with it.

Now…Back to the spot on the map. One of the things about North Dakota that people often comment about is how flat it is. It is of course fairly true, but if you live there or have spent any time there, you also know that there are some special places that defy the reputation. What I find real interesting in the Dakotas are the spaces and valleys where water runs through them. Many times they are hidden in plain sight and if you were looking at the horizon line you wouldn’t even know the existed. The valleys drop down from the flatter surrounding. They are green and filled with life. It is these places I often seek. Again, on this trip, I spotted a new one south of where we were staying and I had to go explore. This swath of land had a primitive looking road run through it. Many times these old paths have bridges that have failed, but zooming in on the map it appeared the bridge was still in place an passable. That’s all I needed. I headed out bright and early the next morning.

Can you see it? The hill referenced is actually a drop/down hill into a beautiful valley.

I love new roads. Boredom of the route is one of the things that often gets in the way of me riding. Riding is not only a physical activity for me. It’s a mental thing too and riding is what and where I get motivated to create images and art. I get so bored with the same sites and same roads. Finding those spots is one of the ways I get myself going and excited to explore. Even if I have ridden 99% of the route before and 1% is new, I am still excited to see that new spot.

On this day, every road and part of the route was new and I loved every minute of it. I was also happy to see that the section I wanted to ride wasn’t private and wasn’t blocked off. I simply road off into the grassland and followed the path. This isn’t always the case. I’ve done this before up in North Dakota and found myself in someone’s yard or a blocked road with “No Tresspassing”. These are things you don’t mess with up in North Dakota. But, again, today all was good and the path did not disappoint. Honestly, it was one of my favorite 1.5-2 mile sections of road I have ridden this year. Given the location, I am betting I may be one of the only cyclists to ever ride this section of land.

Here are a few pics from the route. My favorite moments were in the discovery, my brief stop a that bridge to eat an be surrounded by beauty and about a 1000 swallows! I’ll be back to this spot on another trip. Still a lot of land and a lot of roads to continue to explore.

Note: Click on any image below to go to slideshow mode. Hope you enjoy!