August 14, 2024
First Day Flashback
Dyersville, Iowa
Pre-Bike Tour Minutiae
My day began with driving my dad to his ophthalmology appointment in the city of Waterloo. Every few weeks he gets a dose of Vabysmo injected directly into his eyeball. He is one tough 89-year-old dude. I can't even handle a tiny vaccine needle going into my arm without closing my eyes.
It makes me wonder what I would do if I ever got macular edema. I assume closing my eyes or looking away would not be options for the Vabysmo shots. Upon being forced to watch that needle getting closer and closer, I most certainly would pass out. In other words, the ophthalmologist would have to figure out a way to inject the serum into an unconscious patient. Either that, or blindness will be in my future.
Eyeball shot aside, my dad and I had a fun morning. Despite his mild cancer, his weakened cardiovascular system, his walking difficulties, and his advanced dementia, he still has a kooky sense of humor and moments of keen insight.
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TRICKED YOU! That wasn't me. That was my dad. People--especially his friends--tell me I look just like him. I hear it all the time. The picture that follows is the actual me. Notice any similarities? If not, you might want to be checked for macular edema or some other ophthalmological condition.
Moving On to Minutiae Related to the Bike Tour
Yesterday, I came up with a pretty firm plan to deal with the wind, rain, transportation, and limited window of time problems. The plan involved driving directly to Dyersville, where I would begin kind of a weird loop tour. Not so much a loop, really, as an elongated figure eight.
Something like this--except for many explorations of side roads, small towns, some nostalgic highlights of Dyersville & Dubuque, and a surprise visit to two other states:
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4 months ago
After I dropped my dad off at his new home and we exchanged goodbyes, everything went according to plan. I did my part of the plan by driving to Dyersville, and the weather did its part by delivering on the forecasts of rain.
When I arrived in Dyersville, an eerie feeling of deja vu came upon me, and I'm not talking about some kind of psychedelic flashback from my early teens. I'm talking about similarities to the first day of my U.P. tour two months ago.
Firstly, I was a little tired from having to drive a car for so many hours instead of riding my bike. Secondly, I arrived too early for check-in at my motel. Thirdly, I killed time by exploring the town I was in. Fourthly, it was raining lightly while I explored. Fifthly, I checked out the bike trail on which I'd be starting my second day.
I wish I could report a 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th-ly deja vu, but they just weren't coming to me. Instead, I'll show a few pictures I took. Perhaps a couple of them will remind me of a story or two.
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After my little nostalgia tour, I stopped at the local Casey's convenience store for some motel room snacks and beer. I'm looking forward to watching some heavy rain tonight and hoping it will be reduced to light rain by morning.
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