Statistics:

July 20, 1981 - Red Oak to Osceola - 82 miles;

July 21, 1981 - Osceola to Chariton - 25 miles.

Description of Events:

July 20, 1981: Because it is a direct line, we've ended up on US-34 to get across Iowa. While being convenient, the road is busy and not as pleasant as the roads were in Nebraska. Our travel so far has been rather boring and the people we've met along the way are more aloof. Being on the backroads is a much better experience... in nearly every way. Chariton was our goal destination today but we decided to stop in Osceola and then do the remaining 25 miles tomorrow. We planned to take a long break in Chariton. 

Since US-34 seems to bypass the few towns that appear on the map, we are definitely looking forward to getting to Chariton. The hills along the way seemed to repeat endlessly. They rise for a quarter to a half mile and go back down, only to have the next one awaiting. Paul was not too happy about this state of affairs. I was in agreement but took a more stoic attitude toward the terrain... it's in the way and must be gotten past. What I tried to say, to give some solace to Paul, was that these hills are preparing us for the Appalachians that we will meet in Pennsylvania. I'm not sure he was in the right mood to hear that.

Sometimes, these bicycle rides are grinds and not a whole lot of fun. We've so enjoyed all of the other states through which we have ridden, so far. I hope that Iowa will not turn out to be one big negative hilly blur.

July 21, 1981: We snapped off 25 quick miles to Chariton and then decided to set up camp at Red Haw Lake State Park (RHLSP), a few miles East of town. Paul said his legs were trashed and his bike needed some maintenance. This park, the RHLSP had been recommended to us by some people we had spoken with before getting to Chariton.

After setting up camp, Paul rode back into town, to go to the bike shop. I took advantage of the time off and slept nearly all afternoon. At 5:00 PM, I took a shower, changed clothes, and then rode back into town to meet Paul at the shop. He had accomplished his mission, to get the bike running well again. We picked up a few supplies and headed back out to RHLSP. There, we prepared a big feast. After having eaten and cleaned up everything, we sat around a camp fire, and talked 'til 11:00 PM. 

I'm not sure how many miles were involved riding back and forth to town, from the park. But they were not included in the total mileage for this day.