June 25, 2013
The Best Toast I Have Ever Eaten
Day 2: Manteno Park to Onawa, Iowa
I was so tired from the long ride that I was able to get to sleep fairly quickly, but I was awakened several times in the night by thunder. Also, I had apparently set up the tent (in the dark) on a slope, and everything eventually slid down to one side. I am an incompetent camper.
I finally got up as the thunder became increasingly frequent, and was able to get everything packed away as it started to rain. I was several miles from the next town, so I attempted to eat a breakfast of an oatmeal creme pie washed down with some of the rotten-egg-smelling water at the campground. The combination of the awful water and the oatmeal creme pie was definitely in the top five most disgusting things I've ever put in my mouth. I'm done with the oatmeal creme pies for good, I think. Unfortunately, I am carrying approximately three pounds of them.
The two miles of gravelly road from the campground had several steep hills, and I'm ashamed to admit that in my weakened condition I actually pushed the bike for one of the them. During this period, the oatmeal creme pie came back up. It really is over between the OCPs and me.
Things improved when I reached the county road, which had a good surface and was mostly flat for a change. Along with the conversations about RAGBRAI, I heard lots of "Iowa's not flat!" comments yesterday. I think Iowans are afraid the rest of the country confuses them with Kansas.
It started raining heavily, but traffic was light, so I turned on my blinking red light and kept riding. I had a tail wind, so it was an easy ride to Dow City (pop. 510) I liked the look of the place, but the town was apparently too small to support a cafe. There was a bar and grill, however, and the front door was open. While the place wouldn't officially open until lunch, there was one person inside, a nice lady working in the kitchen. I explained my predicament, and she said she would try to make me something. I had a cold Diet Pepsi and some hot buttered toast, and THIS WAS THE BEST TOAST I HAVE EVER EATEN. I have learned my lesson: Snacks and water are not enough to sustain 100 miles of riding. I must have real food.
The next several miles were on busy US 30. Normally I would never have attempted such a thing unless forced to, but my Iowa Bicycle Map said it included a "paved shoulder", something which is virtually unknown in Iowa. Sure enough, this stretch of road was newly constructed, and although it was marred by a rumble strip, the shoulder was paved and quite rideable. I was amused to notice a very narrow gravel shoulder adjacent to the paved shoulder; perhaps this was done in order to appease the gravel-shoulder-traditionalists?
I briefly rode around in Dunlap (pop. 1,042), but nothing there held my interest, so I moved on.
Several very empty miles of county roads later, I reached the small town of Moorhead, where I finally had a real meal and a milkshake, and talked to some guys having lunch outside the place. Virtually everyone I've met in Iowa is involved in agriculture in some way. One of these guys sold enormous, expensive farm equipment to farmers all over the region, so that was interesting to hear about.
As the day wore on, I became increasingly tired, and decided to end the day in Onawa, a decent-sized town near the Nebraska border. I ended my camping streak at one day, and got a room at the Super 8, rationalizing the short day and motel by making plans to do a mega-day tomorrow to get deep into Nebraska. We'll see...
I will miss Iowa, whose drivers are by far the most courteous in the USA. Also, have people who complain that there's no good way to ride across Iowa never looked at the Iowa Bicycle Map? I found virtually empty roads by using the map.
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2 years ago
Today's ride: 56 miles (90 km)
Total: 163 miles (262 km)
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