June 2, 2018
Hitchcock Nature Preserve to Missouri Valley: 2nd Breakfast at Penny's Diner
After sleeping most of the night on a concrete floor (see Ron's previous post), we were tired and weary. We dried off the sleeping pads and tent that were still wet after the super-soaker, bumbled through our morning packing routine, and ate a couple of granola bars. We were ready for a short and easy day, and the first couple miles or so lived up to our expectations. But then the headwinds started building. By the time we got to Missouri Valley, they were a consistent 18mph with gusts that felt like 90mph. We were ready for Second Breakfast after the mostly-grueling 13-mile day.
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Thankfully the route to Penny's Diner took us off of the main road. It's less nerve-racking to get thrown around by wind when you don't have to worry about avoiding moving motor vehicles as well. We arrived intact and stashed the bikes between the restaurant wall and some juniper bushes. Inside Penny's we grabbed a booth where we could keep an eye on them.
The menu featured descriptions that come with calorie counts. One of the benefits of being on a bike tour is being able to gravitate toward high-cal options. Ron chose the 1200-cal Hearty Breakfast that included 2 pieces of bacon, 2 sausage patties, 2 eggs, hash browns, and 2 pancakes. I ordered the build-your-own omelette, which had no limit on number of ingredients, plus hash browns and and a pancake. Mine was probably in the 1000 calorie range. We devoured all 2200 calories, guzzled a few mugs of coffee and found ourselves back in a happy place.
What was equally awesome was that there was a Travelodge right across the parking lot and check-in was managed right in the diner. We wheeled our bikes into our room, showered, and road our unloaded bikes over to Foodland to pick up some groceries.
The rest of the day was completely uneventful - just what we needed!
Today's ride: 14 miles (23 km)
Total: 144 miles (232 km)
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