Saturday, August 23, 2008
Day 35: Muscatine IA to Kewanee IL
New state! We have a tailwind and it's unbelievably flat. Without even trying we can go 15 mph. If we pedal we're cruising at 18-20 mph. We could get used to this.
Day 34: Washington IA to Muscatine IA
August 22. An easy 46 miles to Muscatine. We actually have a tail wind which propels us at 18 mph with ease! Lunch at the Button Factory. THEY SERVE BOCA BURGERS!! We are back in civilization - or at least in an area where you won't be ostracized for serving Boca burgers.
Located on the Mississipi, Muscatine used to produce all of the world's pearl buttons. There is one button factory left - they make plastic buttons. Kind of sad really.
We run into a retired gentleman named Cork, who rides up to us and asks if we need directions. We tell him that we're looking for a bike shop (I need to replace a pair of cycling shorts that is on its last leg) and lodging. Cork points out that we can take the bike path that runs along the Mississippi all the way up to the interchange where the hotels are located. He says he's going that way - so he shows us the way and tells us a bit about the area.
While Mike is getting the hotel room, Cork and I talk a bit more. After it's clear that there is a room available at the hotel, we say goodbye to Cork and thank him for his help. In the room while Mike is taking a shower, the hotel phone rings. I think, "who could be calling us?" It's Cork. He's home now and he just had a thought. "The bike shop is all the way on the south side of town. I have some time. Would you like a lift to the bike shop so that you can buy shorts?" You betcha! Cork not only takes us to the bike shop, he also goes to the grocery store with us - AND gives us a great tour of town. He too is born and raised in Muscatine. His wife is from Washington. We note that she MUST know Babe. Everyone knows Babe! Cork drops us off at our hotel around 5:00 PM or so.
We are really overwhelmed with how hospitable and friendly the people of Iowa are.
Located on the Mississipi, Muscatine used to produce all of the world's pearl buttons. There is one button factory left - they make plastic buttons. Kind of sad really.
We run into a retired gentleman named Cork, who rides up to us and asks if we need directions. We tell him that we're looking for a bike shop (I need to replace a pair of cycling shorts that is on its last leg) and lodging. Cork points out that we can take the bike path that runs along the Mississippi all the way up to the interchange where the hotels are located. He says he's going that way - so he shows us the way and tells us a bit about the area.
While Mike is getting the hotel room, Cork and I talk a bit more. After it's clear that there is a room available at the hotel, we say goodbye to Cork and thank him for his help. In the room while Mike is taking a shower, the hotel phone rings. I think, "who could be calling us?" It's Cork. He's home now and he just had a thought. "The bike shop is all the way on the south side of town. I have some time. Would you like a lift to the bike shop so that you can buy shorts?" You betcha! Cork not only takes us to the bike shop, he also goes to the grocery store with us - AND gives us a great tour of town. He too is born and raised in Muscatine. His wife is from Washington. We note that she MUST know Babe. Everyone knows Babe! Cork drops us off at our hotel around 5:00 PM or so.
We are really overwhelmed with how hospitable and friendly the people of Iowa are.
Day 33: Oskaloosa IA to Washington IA
August 21. Here's a day in our life:
1:00 AM: Wake up to hear the pitter patter of raindrops on the tent. Jump into action. Get the rainfly on the tent, and put the raincovers on the panniers.
6:00 AM: Wake up to more rain. Make coffee and oatmeal. Try to keep the dry stuff dry as we pack up.
7:30 AM Roll out of Lake Keomah State Park onto Route 92 in the rain.
9:30 AM Doing battle with headwinds, driving rain, 18-wheelers and no shoulders.
11:00 AM Stop at the town park in Harper IA (pop. 134) to eat a snack and get out of the rain. An older man walks over to the ramada to meet us and tell us about his RAGBRAI experiences (seems most everone in IA has done RAGBRAI at least once.) He seems delighted when he learns that we are going to take the 14 mile Kewash Nature Trail into Washington.
11:40 AM Find the start of the Kewash Nature Trail in Keota IA (pop. 1,025). A man in a pickup truck stops us at the entrance to ask where we're going. He too seems delighted that we're going to take the Kewash Nature Trail. He says, "hang in there for the last 5 miles - that's the best part." Mike asks him if the overgrown trail stretching out in front of us gets any better further along. The nice man replies, "oh yes!"
12:15 PM Trail deteriorates. Bouncing along on the overgrown limestone path, we question whether we should continue on the Kewash Nature Trail or bail out at the next road crossing. Delighted that we aren't sharing the space with big trucks, we decide to stick it out. Currently "nature" consists of soybeans on one side and corn on the other.
1:20 PM Come to a 5 foot long mud bog in the trail. Take on about 8 lbs of mud crossing the bog. Shoes, wheels, spokes, panniers, brakes, pedals, gears are instantly caked in the thickest mud I've ever seen. Spend 5 minutes using sticks to try to dislodge some of the mud. Start pedaling - and mud flies all over our legs and panniers.
2:30 PM Roll into Washington IA looking like we've been mud wrestling. Ride to the car wash to hose down the bikes and ourselves in an effort to look clean enough so that some hotel will take us in. 53 miles at 9.5 mph average...we're pooped.
3:00 PM Coast into the main square of Washington - a bit dismayed that the streets are undergoing renovation and are fairly wet and muddy. So much for the car wash effort.
3:02 PM Meet Babe who will make all of our Iowa dreams come true. Babe, who is in her 70's, was born and raised in Washington, and seems to know everyone in town. (Babe has done RAGBRAI over 25 times, and just completed a bike tour in Maine.) She tells us about the B&B across the square, and gives us some dining advice (there's a 5-star Italian restaurant in town).
3:10 PM Ride over the the B&B, where Babe has already inquired as to availability (none). Next thing we know, we're following Babe to her house south of town. I take note of the sign in Cafe Dodeci ("1/2 price wine Thursday night".)
3:45 PM Freshly showered, laundry underway, and Babe has put out an awesome spread of fruit, cheese, vegetables and chips. Yum!
5:00 PM Get into Babe's minivan to go to the Thursday evening Farmers Market on the square. Babe says, "something smells funny in my car. I can't explain it. I'm sure it's not you guys." Mike and I exchange a look. Two nights ago, the stench from our shoes forced us to leave them outside the hotel room door. (No one was going to steal anything that smelled that bad!) Apologetically, we explain to Babe that it's our shoes. She laughs and is very understanding.
5:20 PM Farmers Market! Fresh cinnamon rolls for Mike and banana bread for Bonnie from the Mennonite women at the market. Babe does indeed know everyone in town.
5:40 PM Babe takes us to Kathy's new store, "The Village" where we stock up on cards for upcoming birthdays.
5:50 PM Begin worrying about 1) getting back into Babe's car with our stinking shoes, and 2)wondering if we can get into said 5-star Italian restaurant with the 1/2 price wine with our stinky shoes.
6:00 PM Enter Browns Shoe Store and purchase new Keens with anti-odor foot bed (it really says that!) and new Crocs for Mike.
6:15 PM Dinner at Cafe Dodeci. Real bread. Real butter and olive oil. Caprese salad. 6-cheese purse pasta with smoked gouda sauce. Tiramisu. We are in heaven. Meet Lorraine, the owner, who returned to Washington after living in Italy for 28 years to take care of her ailing father. Noting the dearth of good food in town, she opened the restaurant with her Italian husband. Thank you Lorraine!!
8:00 PM Babe picks us up and gives us a tour of town.
8:30 PM We stop at Babe's friend's house. Walk through her amazing gardens and brand new labrynth.
9:00 PM Back to Babe and Leon's house to watch the Olympics: track and field and BMX racing.
10:00 PM Fall asleep in enormous king-size bed. Ahhhhh.
1:00 AM: Wake up to hear the pitter patter of raindrops on the tent. Jump into action. Get the rainfly on the tent, and put the raincovers on the panniers.
6:00 AM: Wake up to more rain. Make coffee and oatmeal. Try to keep the dry stuff dry as we pack up.
7:30 AM Roll out of Lake Keomah State Park onto Route 92 in the rain.
9:30 AM Doing battle with headwinds, driving rain, 18-wheelers and no shoulders.
11:00 AM Stop at the town park in Harper IA (pop. 134) to eat a snack and get out of the rain. An older man walks over to the ramada to meet us and tell us about his RAGBRAI experiences (seems most everone in IA has done RAGBRAI at least once.) He seems delighted when he learns that we are going to take the 14 mile Kewash Nature Trail into Washington.
11:40 AM Find the start of the Kewash Nature Trail in Keota IA (pop. 1,025). A man in a pickup truck stops us at the entrance to ask where we're going. He too seems delighted that we're going to take the Kewash Nature Trail. He says, "hang in there for the last 5 miles - that's the best part." Mike asks him if the overgrown trail stretching out in front of us gets any better further along. The nice man replies, "oh yes!"
12:15 PM Trail deteriorates. Bouncing along on the overgrown limestone path, we question whether we should continue on the Kewash Nature Trail or bail out at the next road crossing. Delighted that we aren't sharing the space with big trucks, we decide to stick it out. Currently "nature" consists of soybeans on one side and corn on the other.
1:20 PM Come to a 5 foot long mud bog in the trail. Take on about 8 lbs of mud crossing the bog. Shoes, wheels, spokes, panniers, brakes, pedals, gears are instantly caked in the thickest mud I've ever seen. Spend 5 minutes using sticks to try to dislodge some of the mud. Start pedaling - and mud flies all over our legs and panniers.
2:30 PM Roll into Washington IA looking like we've been mud wrestling. Ride to the car wash to hose down the bikes and ourselves in an effort to look clean enough so that some hotel will take us in. 53 miles at 9.5 mph average...we're pooped.
3:00 PM Coast into the main square of Washington - a bit dismayed that the streets are undergoing renovation and are fairly wet and muddy. So much for the car wash effort.
3:02 PM Meet Babe who will make all of our Iowa dreams come true. Babe, who is in her 70's, was born and raised in Washington, and seems to know everyone in town. (Babe has done RAGBRAI over 25 times, and just completed a bike tour in Maine.) She tells us about the B&B across the square, and gives us some dining advice (there's a 5-star Italian restaurant in town).
3:10 PM Ride over the the B&B, where Babe has already inquired as to availability (none). Next thing we know, we're following Babe to her house south of town. I take note of the sign in Cafe Dodeci ("1/2 price wine Thursday night".)
3:45 PM Freshly showered, laundry underway, and Babe has put out an awesome spread of fruit, cheese, vegetables and chips. Yum!
5:00 PM Get into Babe's minivan to go to the Thursday evening Farmers Market on the square. Babe says, "something smells funny in my car. I can't explain it. I'm sure it's not you guys." Mike and I exchange a look. Two nights ago, the stench from our shoes forced us to leave them outside the hotel room door. (No one was going to steal anything that smelled that bad!) Apologetically, we explain to Babe that it's our shoes. She laughs and is very understanding.
5:20 PM Farmers Market! Fresh cinnamon rolls for Mike and banana bread for Bonnie from the Mennonite women at the market. Babe does indeed know everyone in town.
5:40 PM Babe takes us to Kathy's new store, "The Village" where we stock up on cards for upcoming birthdays.
5:50 PM Begin worrying about 1) getting back into Babe's car with our stinking shoes, and 2)wondering if we can get into said 5-star Italian restaurant with the 1/2 price wine with our stinky shoes.
6:00 PM Enter Browns Shoe Store and purchase new Keens with anti-odor foot bed (it really says that!) and new Crocs for Mike.
6:15 PM Dinner at Cafe Dodeci. Real bread. Real butter and olive oil. Caprese salad. 6-cheese purse pasta with smoked gouda sauce. Tiramisu. We are in heaven. Meet Lorraine, the owner, who returned to Washington after living in Italy for 28 years to take care of her ailing father. Noting the dearth of good food in town, she opened the restaurant with her Italian husband. Thank you Lorraine!!
8:00 PM Babe picks us up and gives us a tour of town.
8:30 PM We stop at Babe's friend's house. Walk through her amazing gardens and brand new labrynth.
9:00 PM Back to Babe and Leon's house to watch the Olympics: track and field and BMX racing.
10:00 PM Fall asleep in enormous king-size bed. Ahhhhh.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Day 32: Osceola IA to Oskaloosa IA
Started out the day on back roads. Very hilly! We moved over to Hwy. 92 for the afternoon and made better time...but more traffic obviously. I think I had the middle of the trip blues today. My knees have been hurting, and I haven't had a good meal in days. Even though we're in farm country, it's hard to find vegetables! Lots of good country cookin' restaurants to choose from if you like chicken fried steak, potatoes and corn.
We passed the 2,000 mile mark a couple of days ago. I think I have the middle of the country duldrums...no more excitement about getting underway (or conquering mountains), and we're not close enough to the end to get excited about actually finishing. In fact, last night I was quite worried that I might not be able to continue. My right knee was so painful that it woke me up whenever I rolled over last night. (Much better today though...vitamin I (advil) helped some.)
Camping out at the state park tonight. Oskaloosa is a nice college town. Good coffee shop - I had a big ol' smoothie and chocolate cake YUM!
75 miles
We passed the 2,000 mile mark a couple of days ago. I think I have the middle of the country duldrums...no more excitement about getting underway (or conquering mountains), and we're not close enough to the end to get excited about actually finishing. In fact, last night I was quite worried that I might not be able to continue. My right knee was so painful that it woke me up whenever I rolled over last night. (Much better today though...vitamin I (advil) helped some.)
Camping out at the state park tonight. Oskaloosa is a nice college town. Good coffee shop - I had a big ol' smoothie and chocolate cake YUM!
75 miles
Day 31: Stanton IA to Oseola IA
3,000 feet of hills. Sheesh...we're tired. And no shoulders. This is a crazy place to ride a bicycle. My theory is that Iowans only ride their bike once a year - during RAGBRAI - when they simply take over the roads. We haven't seen a cyclist or a bike shop since Steamboat CO.
75 miles. Stayed at the Evergreen Inn for $50 - very nice place at any price!
75 miles. Stayed at the Evergreen Inn for $50 - very nice place at any price!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Day 30: Syracuse, NE to Stanton, IA
Woohoo! We crossed the Missouri into Iowa this morning. Hills, hills,hills. All the money that Iowa saves on not-paving their shoulders is invested in their state parks...it's beautiful here! (The gravel shoulders were a big surprise!) This is a beautiful park and lake. The showers are new and there is even a restaurant on the lake.
New rule of thumb...do not ignore "detour" signs. We ended up at a bridge that was being reconstructed. Happily, the construction workers let us walk the plank across the bridge (some plywood placed precariously over 2 x 6's.) Very scary for me. No big deal for Mike.
85 miles, 7 hours
New rule of thumb...do not ignore "detour" signs. We ended up at a bridge that was being reconstructed. Happily, the construction workers let us walk the plank across the bridge (some plywood placed precariously over 2 x 6's.) Very scary for me. No big deal for Mike.
85 miles, 7 hours
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Day 29: Sutton to Syracuse, NE
August 17: 103 miles, 13 mph...finally a tailwind! Just 18 more miles to Iowa...yea!We were going to camp in Palmyra, but the camping was less than desirable. So we pushed on for Syracuse, and treated ourselves to a night at the Sleep Inn. Laundry, ice, olympics...who could ask for anything more? : )
Day 28: Holdrege to Sutton, NE
August 16: 83 miles, averaged 12.5 mph. As we rolled into town, we were invited to a birthday party in the town park. The host had done a bike tour in Alaska and was very friendly. Beautiful little town. Great people! I now have balloons for my bike. (This guy pulled out all the stops - pony rides, train ride, pinata, etc. for his 8 and 5 year old son and daughter.)
Day 27: McCook to Holdrege, NE
73 miles. YMCA of the Prairie hot tub and showers - woohoo! Really nice people at the chamber of commerce. Camping in town park. Great dinner at the Upper Room.
Nebraska thoughts
Traveling through Nebraska is a bit like visiting a foreign country. The language is a different. As in England, the words are the same, but the definitions are different. You can't find food you recognize as food. Protein bars, clif bars, etc. are non-existent. we've been living on the breakfast special #2: two eggs, hash browns, toast.
Here's a primer on common NE words and phrases:
OUTSTATE: western Nebraska, or even any place that isn't Lincoln or Omaha
COFFEE: hot water with brown food coloring
CAFE: an establishment that is open according to the whims of the proprietor; serving breakfast all day, burgers, fries, grilled cheese, and occasionally something completely wild like a "taco" or "burrito"; and which may or may not have burned down or closed in the past 5 years.
BIKE SHOP: Wal-Mart
MACHINE: slang for bicycle - as in, when the farmer asks my husband (never me), "how many gears you got on that there machine?"
SPORTING GOODS STORE: a retail establishment selling guns, ammo, fishing gear, waders, and everything camo (to go with your ammo).
Some fast facts:
State insect - the bee
State automobile - the Buick
There is healthy competition to get souls in the seats on Sunday in Nebraska. As we approach each new town (grain elevators, conveniently spaced 8 miles apart, stand as signposts), a series of billboards appear - each promoting a different church.
"We've got the spirit"
"Jesus is waiting for you"
"Over 5 million souls saved" (okay I made that one up)
In a sign of camaraderie, some towns' preachers have embraced the farmland co-op ethic, and they use 1 billboard to promote all the churches. (Evidently, not all Baptists think that Catholics are godless tree worshipers.) A nice touch, I thought.
I say all of this with great affection, because the people in Nebraska have been some of the best that we've met. Very friendly and helpful - we've loved Nebraska!
Here's a primer on common NE words and phrases:
OUTSTATE: western Nebraska, or even any place that isn't Lincoln or Omaha
COFFEE: hot water with brown food coloring
CAFE: an establishment that is open according to the whims of the proprietor; serving breakfast all day, burgers, fries, grilled cheese, and occasionally something completely wild like a "taco" or "burrito"; and which may or may not have burned down or closed in the past 5 years.
BIKE SHOP: Wal-Mart
MACHINE: slang for bicycle - as in, when the farmer asks my husband (never me), "how many gears you got on that there machine?"
SPORTING GOODS STORE: a retail establishment selling guns, ammo, fishing gear, waders, and everything camo (to go with your ammo).
Some fast facts:
State insect - the bee
State automobile - the Buick
There is healthy competition to get souls in the seats on Sunday in Nebraska. As we approach each new town (grain elevators, conveniently spaced 8 miles apart, stand as signposts), a series of billboards appear - each promoting a different church.
"We've got the spirit"
"Jesus is waiting for you"
"Over 5 million souls saved" (okay I made that one up)
In a sign of camaraderie, some towns' preachers have embraced the farmland co-op ethic, and they use 1 billboard to promote all the churches. (Evidently, not all Baptists think that Catholics are godless tree worshipers.) A nice touch, I thought.
I say all of this with great affection, because the people in Nebraska have been some of the best that we've met. Very friendly and helpful - we've loved Nebraska!
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