Day 20 - ending at Clarinda, IA - Getting Aligned

August 25, 2017

Day 20 - ending at Clarinda, IA

rode on Wabash Trace Nature Trail

Posted via email Sat Aug 26 09:04:02 2017 PDT

Fifteen minutes after I was up (at 4:45am), I checked the weather radar. Rain is coming! That inspired me to get moving on packing, and I had the gear and tent in the silo by 5:35am.

Started on report-writing, taking a break at 6:15am for breakfast. At 7:46am, the rain started. The sound on the roof of the silo was putting me to sleep. At 8:46am the intensity increased, and I was able to spot the places where the roof leaks (above the table).

I looked at my routing sheet for today. Fifty-nine miles - to Windmill Lake County Park. Yeah, that's not going to happen. It's my hope to ride the Wabash Trail to the Missouri border, but there's no camping there. I'll plan for a motel in Clarinda after that.

The report was done, but there wasn't enough of a cell signal to get it sent in. I'd just finished packing the bike and covering the gear with plastic when the rain stopped (at 10:10am). I waited a moment to make sure that it was done, then started down the trail at 10:25am.

I was a little concerned that the trail might be too soft to ride, but that wasn't a problem. Not too far along, I came to a bridge high up over a gravel road. My smartphone was showing a strong signal now. While sending the report in, a pickup truck drove underneath the bridge with 'hello' honks.

At 11:55am I rode over the East Nishnabotna River just before arriving in Shenandoah (at 12:06pm). Noon report: 7.2 miles. Took a picture of a depot here. There's a large touch-screen informational display out front. There was one of these also in Imogene. All sorts of information is available through the menu selection.

I went off the trail at 12:20pm to find a place to eat. Most places were in the southwest part of town. My GPS indicated a Dollar General Store nearby, so I stopped there for size AA batteries, a Gatorade, and food supplies. Continuing on west, I happened to pass a place to eat that Google Maps hadn't listed: The Depot. I stopped there at 12:39pm. I went with one of the specials - "The 'Doah Burger" with fries. I also had a root beer that was very tasty, though I see on the ticket it was actually a Sarsaparilla. Back outside after lunch I noticed the childhood home for the Everly Brothers just to the south of where I was.

Headed back east through town and rejoined the trail at 1:37pm. At 2:22pm, I passed under IA-2. At 3:00pm, I stopped for a break and drank the Gatorade. I was getting worn out. This trail riding is hard work, at least for me. Higher rolling resistance and almost no coasting. The town of Coin was ahead. They have a place to camp, but that would put me even further behind.

I arrived at the trailhead for Coin at 3:59pm. Decided I needed a half-hour nap on a picnic table, though I didn't wake up until 4:40pm. It took me another twenty minutes to decide that it was time to leave the trail and head to Clarinda.

At 5:05pm, I was heading east on CR-J52 (270th Street). Hills ahead, but also coasting! At 5:55pm I turned north onto CR-M60 (Maple Avenue). This was flatter. Turned east at CR-J40 (230th Street) at 6:35pm. More hills, and great views in the evening sunlight. I couldn't see Clarinda, and finally figured out the town must be in a valley.

At 7:21pm, I turned north on US-71, just south of town. Beautiful flat road with good shoulder. Was at the city limits for Clarinda at 7:28pm. Slow-going after that because of taking pictures. Clarinda is famous for the start of 4H, and being the hometown of Glenn Miller.

I finally arrived at the Celebrity Inn at 7:41pm. Checked in (room 217), bought an orange soda, and ate nearly half of the ginger snaps I'd bought this afternoon at the DG store. A shower was next, then worked on picture-selection until I couldn't stay awake (at 11:30pm). All clean in a bed. This is nice!

Jeff

Spent: $13.33 (batteries, food) + $10.11 plus $3 (lunch) + $49 plus $5 (motel) + $1 (Sunkist Orange) = $81.44.

+ plus signs indicate pictures added after returning home from the trip +

Day 20 - Imogene, IA to Clarinda, IA

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