Rt. 2 across North Dakota

[fredlonas]

    I road the northern tier rt. in 2009 for my 70th bd and now would like to do the same route for my 75th in June 2015 as I enjoyed that area so much. I understand most of the oil work is in the western part of the state so I'm thinking of riding to Minot ND the head north and back south just before Mt. border or after and landing in Culbertson Mt.
   Does anyone have thoughts or ideas on this route?

   Thanks for your help, Fred Lonas

    email @  fredlonas@gmail.com

[geegee]

Summer of 2013 I rode on US 2 between Church's Ferry ND (just west of Devil's Lake) to Grand Forks and onwards to Duluth and the Michigan border. The highway is good for the most part in ND, lacking shoulders in some sections that are four-lane divided but traffic was really light. I had come down from Manitoba via Rolla, so I can't speak on the western stretch towards Minot. I did not see that many trucks on the road, but I did get a strange warning from a local who said to watch out for drunk drivers on ND's rural roads during late afternoons/early evenings

[John Nelson]

Maybe now that oil prices are down, it won't be so bad. I know a couple that rode US 2 all the way across the country in 2012 and lived to tell about it.

[indyfabz]

I understand most of the oil work is in the western part of the state so I'm thinking of riding to Minot ND the head north and back south just before Mt. border or after and landing in Culbertson Mt.

Maybe I am misunderstanding this, but heading back south just before the MT border would put you in the Williston area, which is the epicenter of ND oil activity. It's my understanding that that activity also extends into pats of eastern MT.

Are you aware that since 2009, ACA had rerouted the Northern Tier route in that general area to avoid oil-related traffic? See this, Sections 3 & 4:

http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/adventure-cycling-route-network/northern-tier/

[CMajernik]

Here is a link to the blog that was written about the route changes in North Dakota:
http://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/blog/big-route-changes-in-north-dakota/

The Bakken oil field stretches up into Canada so you will encounter just as much traffic and unsafe road conditions if you try to go north to get around the area. We looked at that as our first option to avoid the Bakken. Even on our new routing to the south folks are encountering oil and gas traffic but it's much less than the area around Williston. To avoid the area entirely you'd have to drop down to South Dakota to cross.

[John Nelson]

Even on our new routing to the south folks are encountering oil and gas traffic

Yes, there's an oil dump in Fryburg, ND, and even I-94 can't handle all the traffic to it, so there's considerable oil truck traffic on old US 10 on the Northern Tier route between Belfield and Fryburg.

[ggwbikemt]

On US 2, the oil traffic starts at Culbertson, MT and extends east through Williston to Minot, ND.  US 2 now has more traffic than I-94 in Western North Dakota.  I-94 is the lesser of the evils and is the only east-west highway in the state with continuous paved shoulders.  On I-94, the oil traffic is mostly limited to between US 85 and Dickinson. Low oil prices will not kill the boom right away. Some areas in the Bakken cost as little as $30 a barrel to drill.

[John Nelson]

I-94 is the only east-west highway in the state with continuous paved shoulders.

That shoulder would be nice if it didn't have 8-foot-wide rumble strips. To miss the rumble strips, you have the choice of either the one foot on the right next to the dirt or the one foot on the left next to the white line, both of which are a bit dangerous. Do they really need rumble strips that wide? I know that the ACA conducts a campaign against inappropriate rumble strips, and that bit of advocacy is one reason I support the ACA.

[fredlonas]

I have read all of the comments and appreciate the response and suggestions. I think I will stick to rt. 2 and and if it is to bad I will make adjustments to my route.
Keep the comments coming.

[fredlonas]

I really appreciate all of the feed back and I think I will forgo rt.2  After getting responses from others I think I will get the ACA map 4 running from Fargo to Dickerson, I'm going east to west, but first try rt 200 after leaving Itasca state Park, Mn. and use map 4 as a backup if 200 is to bad.
I plan on continuing on rt.200 into Missoula, Mt. then head up to Sand Point, Id.
I would appreciate any comments as this route is a work in progress.

Thank you, Fred

[CMajernik]

Fred:
Send me your email address and I can send you a pdf showing information about services between Missoula and Sandpoint.

cmajernik@adventurecycling.org

[indyfabz]

Bull River Campground (U.S.F.S.) just before the junction of MT 200 and MT 56 was nice.

Assuming it still goes that way, I recommend following the official Northern Tier route on the south side of the river between just beyond Noxom and Clark Fork, ID rather than staying on MT 200. Nice and quiet back there. There was some packed dirt both times I rode it, but nothing bumpy or technical. From Google Maps, it looks like the old truss bridge across the river into Clark Fork has been turned into a bike/ped path. That river crossing was one of my favorite little gems of the Northern Tier. I can still see the giant Osprey nest atop the old bridge.

[fredlonas]

Thanks for the info. on Noxon to Clark Fork. I'll make a note on my map.

[ggwbikemt]

Rt 200 in North Dakota has Bakken traffic from Sidney, MT to Beulah, ND. Where it is co-located with US 85, west of Watford City, it averages 11,000 to 14,000 vehicles a day with 4000+ large trucks a day.  Watford City is the one of the main epicenters of the Bakken oil field. East of US 83, Hwy 200 has light traffic expect where it is co-located with US 52 west of Carrington (long haul Canadian truckers use US 52 to connect between I-94 and Western Canada) and near Mayville. Hwy 200 has narrow shoulder rumble strips most of the time across  ND.

[fredlonas]

  Thanks for your insight on rt.200. I guess that takes care of riding on 200. Another response said 8 ft,rumble strips on 94 so that is out. I guess I will use ACA map#4 and maybe drop down after rt 1806 and come back up at Dickinson or 85 to get back on ACA's route to Wolf Point.
  I'll just see what the area is like when I get to that point. A little adventure never hurt and might meet some great people.

  Fred Lonas
  703-618-1230