Day 117 - Amana to Washington - Two Far 2021 - Sooo... Far - CycleBlaze

August 3, 2021

Day 117 - Amana to Washington

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Seth WeitzmanFrom Cape Cod, Massachusetts I’m vicariously enjoying your ride. The elevation feature on Google Maps often tells you a ride will be “mostly flat,” before you find yourself rolling up and down hills all day long. It reminds me of your comment about Ride with GPS. For what it’s worth, a blog I read maintained that a hill must be a minimum height in order for Google Maps to add it to the elevation. If the height doesn’t reach their minimum, they don’t count it, even if there are two dozen of them. I don’t know whether that explanation is right, but I couldn’t find another one. Mrs. Google, or whoever that robotic voice is, obviously doesn’t ride a bicycle. Best, Seth
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3 years ago

Ride with GPS fooled us again today.  The elevation and grades were WRONG.  We had more than double the elevation gain indicated and multiple 7-8% short climbs.  It made us work, but we did fine.  I wish I could figure out what's up with Ride with GPS.  We need to look at it more closely and see what is not calculating correctly.   

Apart from the climbing, it was a good day.  We had very ridable roads and places with heavier little traffic had good shoulders.

Still Iowa, still corn and beans growing in rolling fields.
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This was an accidental photo, but it is an unedited, straight from the camera view of the sky today. Gorgeous blue!
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In the first town we rode through this morning, we watched this guy maneuver his service truck onto the railroad tracks.
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A little fuzzy, but I liked the angles of the windows.
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This barn has a large cupola that looks almost like a tower.
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We traveled through an Amish community today, so there were lots of horses.
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Kalona is the name of the town with the large Amish population.  We intended to stop at the grocery store for a break, but it was up a gravel road and this place was right on the highway - and after all the hills, we really deserved it!

We shared a pint of "Pecan Pasture" - chocolate, pecans and brownie pieces. It was very good.
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Keith A. SpanglerThat sounds amazing
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3 years ago
Outdoor decor
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We're spending the night in Washington, IA.  It has a central square that surrounds a park, rather than a courthouse.  The streets around the park have angle and center parking.  The town seems pretty lively, and if you're ever in the area, we recommend you check it out.  

Coming into downtown, the road passed under railroad tracks. There was a cool train mural.
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This is the town square park.
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A street on one side of the square
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We are staying in a suite that is above one the buildings on the square.  The suites are above a restaurant and coffee shop.

The suites open off this hallway.
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Keith A. SpanglerThat is my kind of place!
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3 years ago

Our suite is actually a two bedroom apartment.  It is very nice and has a washer/dryer in the unit - a much needed luxury today.

The chairs facing the large windows look out over the park.
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Kerry, hard at work!!
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Tomorrow, we reach Muscatine on the mighty Mississippi.

Today's ride: 47 miles (76 km)
Total: 4,354 miles (7,007 km)

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