I was tired this morning when I got on my bike around 08:30. The humidity was down quite a bit and there was no fog so it was a nice change. The roads were pleasantly hilly and winding and no steep bluffs to climb! After another detour for a washed out bridge, Google Map tried to get me to go down a long dirt road but, remembering my new rule #4, I went past it and completed my ride on all paved roads. The only issue I had today was that for > 3/4 of the ride I was on roads with shoulders that were less than 2″ wide and had a dropoff into gravel. That means I had to be very focused on riding on the white line and didn’t see nearly as much scenery. There was moderate traffic, including semi’s, but the drivers gave me as much room as they could and I did not have any close calls. I had lengthy conversations about the ride with interested strangers at a pie rest stop and my lunch stop and another one at the brewery tonight. Most people are amazed I am riding 4,000 miles and don’t realize that almost anyone could do it- it’s just a question of pace. I hope that just one person tries it after an encouraging conversation with me. The wind was either still or a light tailwind and I averaged a bit over 16 mph today! The WS people I am staying with are avid cyclists and do RAGBRAI- a ride/party across Iowa each year on a tandem bike. I would love to do that one year. Mark says I (and any of my friends) can go with his bike club and thus are assured of getting in. There are more applicants than openings so there is a lottery to pick the 10,000 participants. We went to a local brewery and had mexican food so I am happy and tired now. Tomorrow I will leave Iowa and cross the Mississippi river going east into Illinois. Daily mileage: 87, trip miles: 2,432.
Nice hilly roads today:
The scenery was mostly corn, amd just corn…
But a little bit of variety:
The Wapsipinicon River- all the rivers I have seen are slow moving and very muddy. I took a picture of this river just because of the name:
I rode a bike path for 1.8 miles to near my WS house and it was sooo relaxing:
My WS hosts- Mark and Julie:
Finally, the Mexican restaurant, next door to the brewery, did a “chip flight” to go with your beer flight! What a great idea, chips with 4 different salsas, guac and queso- all served in a muffin tin!
