Five Done June 20th to June 26th
Week 5 308 miles (1,576) The highlights this week included the people I met. They all were encouraging and examples of how to treat strangers:
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Day 35 June 26th Acton Figures
Dysart IA to Marshaltown IA 50 miles (1,578) This is a picture of me standing with artist Patrick Acton in front of one of his creations. More about his interesting work later... Today's ride was hard. I don't know if it was because: 1) I rode too many miles yesterday. 2) I camped out last night. I think I slept well, but for some reason I always seem tired after camping overnight. 3) I thought I lost my hydration/backpack. I was sheltering under the overhang of a grocery store, eating a sandwich, when I went to get a drink from the straw of my hydration pack; only to find that my hydration pack was not on my back. I quickly scoured the area around my bicycle and inside the grocery store, but could not find my pack. So I quickly rode to the town park's restroom where I had stopped earlier, but still couldn't find my pack. I then quickly rode to the museum I had stopped at but didn't go in because they weren't open yet. I remembered setting my pack on...
Day 34 June 25th Cedar Valley
Solon IA to Dysart IA 76 miles (1,528) Today's natural highlight was the Cedar Valley nature trail, which spanned by far the majority of the miles I rode today: The Cedar Valley Nature Trail is part of the proposed Great American Rail Trail - the route that I am approximately following on my adventure across the USA. It wasn't all fun and games, though, as there was a 6 mile section under construction that caused me some issues: The wet, unpacked dirt/gravel combination that they were using was so mushy in places that I sunk well past my ankles. A couple of times I came close to losing my shoes in the muck. The most amazing part about today was that Paula, my Warm Showers host, got up at 4:45 a.m. - after staying up late to help her team win a trivia contest - to lead me 25 miles safely through the Cedar Rapids Iowa area where the Cedar Valley Nature Trail has...
Day 33 June 24th Gravel Roads!
Muscatine IA to Solon IA 54 miles (1,452) Today was another great day on the bicycle. Of the 54 miles I rode, at least 20 were on gravel. I have come to appreciate gravel roads. They generally have little to no traffic; and because they are harder to ride on, I end up going slower, which helps me then appreciate my surroundings more. Some of today's views along the gravel roads: While eating breakfast and hiding from a rain-filled weather cell, I had a nice discussion with these retired Iowa State University (Ames, IA) professors, Lorraine and Pete: Today's only Trail was a few miles on the beautiful Hoover Nature Trail: A few more gravel roads... ... and I arrived at my warm showers overnight destination, where I met my hosts Paula and Jeff. This is Jeff, shortly after we had a great meal together from a local brewery (Paula wasn't...