May 27, 2010
Day 10 - ending at Hampton, Iowa
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Last night was somewhat cold, but at 7:45am this morning it looked like a beautiful day ahead.
I hated to lose a nice day for riding, but really needed to do laundry. Tahdra had told me last night that there was a car wash in Hampton that was also a laundromat. I wasn't sure she had her facts straight, but would check it out. First, I needed to mend my ripped pants. Sewing is not one of my skills. At 9:40am, I'd stitched enough that I figured it'd hold. I registered for a second night of camping and ate breakfast: sardines, crackers, applesauce, and a can of Beanee Weenees. At 11:00am, the bike was packed with dirty laundry and I was on my way back to Hampton.
First I stopped at the Dollar General store for laundry soap, though I was only able to find a large-sized jug. I also took the opportunity to buy food supplies: ginger snaps, sandwich bags, and more Van Camp's Beanee Weenees.
On to the car wash. Tahdra was right, it's also a laundromat!
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Three washer loads, six dryer loads, and 2 hours, 22 minutes later, I was done. The attendants who work there were happy to get my leftover laundry detergent.
Next task was to shop for a new rear tire, since the tear at the rim was troubling me. I stopped at the Ace Hardware store across the street from the Klean-Rite. In the size I needed, they only had mountain bike tires. But they did direct me to try Pamida. At first I thought Pamida was a nearby town, but it's a discount store in town. I found them on Highway 65 on the south side of town. They didn't have any tires I was willing to try, but they did have a tube - a Bell FlatBlocker Max Self Sealing Inner Tube. I liked the extra-thick tube wall, but wasn't thrilled about the Slime fill. My friend Jim back home is a fan of Slime-filled tubes, so I decided to go with it.
It was 2:36pm. I was getting hungry. Across the street from Pamida was 7 Stars Family Restaurant.
I was very happy to see that they had a steak and eggs breakfast, and being a 'day-off', I had time to enjoy it.
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My waitress offered me the local newspaper, which had coverage on the prank a group of seniors at Hampton-Dumont High School had pulled off earlier in the week (13,800 plastic cups filled with water sitting on the cafeteria floor, along with $50 for the custodians).
I was done with lunch/dinner at 3:30pm and 'home' at 3:59pm. Naptime . . . for half an hour. Next I checked out the lake's spillway, constructed in the 1930's by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps).
Here's my campsite as seen from the spillway.
Back at camp I worked on the tires - switching front to back, with the new super-duty tube in the front 'bad' tire. I also fixed the left pedal, which had been spreading apart, by stomping on it with its shaft stuck between the grates at the fire pit. With bike maintenance done at 6:45pm, I decided to take a walk clockwise around the lake. First I stopped to check out how the fishing was with those on the jetty. Then I passed the beach area, where there is another CCC project.
I said hello to more fishermen along the causeway and headed back to the spillway.
My one-day vacation was nearly over, but it had been a good one!
Subject: Jeff report
Sent [by Tahdra]: Thursday, 5-27-2010, 9:46 PM
Jeff called - today was a work day: he sewed up pants, did laundry, bought a heavy duty tube for his bad tire and switched it to the front. He finally got steak and eggs (in the afternoon) and then walked around the lake. Bicycled 8 miles. ~Tahdra
Day Ten: 8 miles in 4 hours, 59 minutes = 1.7 mph average progress (though, I ended up where I started).
Spent: $11 (camping fee) + $5.20 (groceries) + $4.01 (laundry soap, sandwich bags) + $6.75 (laundry) + $10.69 (inner tube) + $8.91 plus $2 (lunch) = $48.56.
Today's ride: 8 miles (13 km)
Total: 448 miles (721 km)
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