An upgrade

Today's route crossed the Mormon trail. From the 1840s through 1860s some 70,000 Mormons passed this way on their way to Utah, early ones with push carts, later ones with covered wagons.

Coasting down this hill on a paved road is easier than pushing a cart up the hill would have been.

Crossing the Grand River again, this time a few miles downstream from the town of Grand River Iowa.

An impromptu museum - old farming implements on display.

Cycling is often measured in miles, so reaching the 1,000 mile point on our trip today felt like a minor accomplishment. More importantly, having only 34 miles to cover today felt like a vacation. We knew we would finish by lunch time, before it had a chance to get hot. There were some hills to deal with, so even 34 miles felt like enough to justify a big lunch.

Cycling can also be measured in inches. Several days ago we lowered the nose of Viktoriya's saddle by a tiny fraction of an inch. That can be the difference between a comfortable ride and a painful experience.

Yesterday we briefly left the quiet Missouri county roads and were on a busy highway for less than a mile. The highway was 2 lanes with a rumble strip border and a gravel shoulder. As team S was being approached by an oncoming truck, an impatient car came up behind the truck and decided to pass the truck just as the truck was reaching team S. As the car moved into their lane, Kerry bailed out onto the rumble strip, threading the needle between the oncoming car and the gravel. A matter of inches, not miles. Most drivers we have encountered have been polite and careful. This driver was an exception.

The murals in Leon are colorful, but not very sophisticated.

We are staying at the Evergreen Inn in Osceola Iowa. We were able to secure a room on the first floor, always a plus on a bike tour. For some reason, there was an option to upgrade for the same price as a single room to an apartment that must have once be the home of the innkeeper. The apartment has a kitchen, living room, bathroom and 2 bedrooms. Not bad for $60. The kitchen will be handy tomorrow when we have to make our own breakfast.

The first floor is a popular choice at the Evergreen Inn.

The apartment has plenty of room to park a bike.

We do our best to leave the real world behind when we get on our bikes, but the real world reached out and sent Alain a summons to appear for jury duty in July. Maybe someone in the courthouse reads cycling blogs, because Viktoriya received a similar jury duty summons on our last bike tour. I look forward to doing my civic duty, as long as I can arrange to do it in October instead of July.

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