August 9 - welcome to Highway 20 in Iowa.....now just where do they want us to ride??? There were 4 lanes in this section so we basically used one of them and the vehicles all went around us in the fast lane.
In Wyoming we knew we were almost to a town because we could see trees in the distance. In eastern Nebraska and now in Iowa we can tell because we see the water tower in the distance. It is flat enough that we can often see them about 5 miles out.
Now this is a switch. Now the shoulder is way smoother than the road and they haven't gotten around to putting in the rumble strip yet. We stopped in the little town of Moville for a break and found this place called Peggy's Homemade Biscotti. They had 35 different flavors and they do mail order too. Donna was in 7th heaven!
Picking up our box in Cushing and getting it ready to mail again. The postmaster was very helpful and also told us a lot about RAGBRAI, the big week long bike ride across Iowa, from a local's perspective.
Main Street Cushing which used to be Highway 20. The current road bypasses the town by about a half a mile.
Old Highway 20 just east of town.
It was the best part of the ride for the day!
The first really extensive wind farm we've seen here. And on this day there was virtually no wind so they weren't moving. They are huge and sprout up from the middle of the corn fields.
Just 2 of the hundreds of semis we've seen. We invented a term: Semi Surfing. If you time it just right you can catch the truck's wind wave as it goes past. It works best if the wind is from the northeast as we travel east. Under the right conditions it can be like coming out of a sling shot! It is most helpful on uphill sections when several go by in succession. Of course these guys that are coming from the opposite direction can offset the effect a bit. Of course we can only do this when there is a good, wide paved shoulder so we haven't done any semi surfing in Iowa.
Big title for a really small place. Today was a milestone for us as we did over 70 miles for the first time. It was a long day but went pretty well. We are sort of getting used to the humidity and it really is better while we are riding because we create our own breeze. We are in hog country now too. One livestock truck passed us with a bunch of snouts sticking out the holes. The pork chop at dinner was very tender and yummy.
Church of the Sacred Heart. This just one example of the many beautiful, brick churches that we have seen in just about every small town in Iowa so far.
August 10 - another convenience store breakfast as we prepare to leave Early.
A barn quilt. Each building has its own unique quilt square. There is a website if you would like to see more examples. It is
http://www.barnquilts.com/
Sac City where we stopped for a real breakfast. There was a group of elderly men there who questioned us upon arrival then gently teased us the rest of the time. They told us to be sure and stop at this spot: The Guiness Book of World Records for popcorn balls!
The first Civil War statue that we've seen.
All the little towns have their motto but this one is our favorite.
Coming into Fort Dodge, our destination for the day. Besides the old fort there was also a collection of other old buildings from the area. We really stopped for information so didn't take time to walk around much. Besides it was very cool in the gift shop and it was very hot and humid outside.
Picked up this guy at the ice cream stop and he hitched a ride for quite awhile on our way through Fort Dodge. This is the end of our 6th week - 2125 miles and counting!
August 11 - We took a county road - D20 - out of Fort Dodge. We found out later that this was the old route for Highway 20 through this part of Iowa. This beautiful statue was right next to the road as part of the Duncombe Cemetary.
More corn, soybeans, silos and a wind turbine for some added variety
A very nice example of the many farm houses we've seen today with a barn quilt bonus.
Taking a break! There has been very little traffic of any kind all day. However, there has been a very brisk south wind most of the day. It created the sound for the day which is the rustling of corn stalks. It is a very subtle sound, almost like a whisper. The wind also made it feel a bit like sailing as the front end of the bikes got blown around a bit.
This is one of several seed trials that we've seen. This one includes both corn and soybeans. Every field we've seen is labeled by the brand and seed lot.
Iowa Falls right next to the Iowa River, our destination for the day. This memorial was quite impressive and extremely well done. Even the benches were black marble.
August 9 - welcome to Highway 20 in Iowa.....now just where do they want us to ride??? There were 4 lanes in this section so we basically used one of them and the vehicles all went around us in the fast lane.
In Wyoming we knew we were almost to a town because we could see trees in the distance. In eastern Nebraska and now in Iowa we can tell because we see the water tower in the distance. It is flat enough that we can often see them about 5 miles out.
Now this is a switch. Now the shoulder is way smoother than the road and they haven't gotten around to putting in the rumble strip yet. We stopped in the little town of Moville for a break and found this place called Peggy's Homemade Biscotti. They had 35 different flavors and they do mail order too. Donna was in 7th heaven!
Picking up our box in Cushing and getting it ready to mail again. The postmaster was very helpful and also told us a lot about RAGBRAI, the big week long bike ride across Iowa, from a local's perspective.
Main Street Cushing which used to be Highway 20. The current road bypasses the town by about a half a mile.
Old Highway 20 just east of town.
It was the best part of the ride for the day!
The first really extensive wind farm we've seen here. And on this day there was virtually no wind so they weren't moving. They are huge and sprout up from the middle of the corn fields.
Just 2 of the hundreds of semis we've seen. We invented a term: Semi Surfing. If you time it just right you can catch the truck's wind wave as it goes past. It works best if the wind is from the northeast as we travel east. Under the right conditions it can be like coming out of a sling shot! It is most helpful on uphill sections when several go by in succession. Of course these guys that are coming from the opposite direction can offset the effect a bit. Of course we can only do this when there is a good, wide paved shoulder so we haven't done any semi surfing in Iowa.
Big title for a really small place. Today was a milestone for us as we did over 70 miles for the first time. It was a long day but went pretty well. We are sort of getting used to the humidity and it really is better while we are riding because we create our own breeze. We are in hog country now too. One livestock truck passed us with a bunch of snouts sticking out the holes. The pork chop at dinner was very tender and yummy.
Church of the Sacred Heart. This just one example of the many beautiful, brick churches that we have seen in just about every small town in Iowa so far.
August 10 - another convenience store breakfast as we prepare to leave Early.
A barn quilt. Each building has its own unique quilt square. There is a website if you would like to see more examples. It is http://www.barnquilts.com/
Sac City where we stopped for a real breakfast. There was a group of elderly men there who questioned us upon arrival then gently teased us the rest of the time. They told us to be sure and stop at this spot: The Guiness Book of World Records for popcorn balls!
The first Civil War statue that we've seen.
All the little towns have their motto but this one is our favorite.
Coming into Fort Dodge, our destination for the day. Besides the old fort there was also a collection of other old buildings from the area. We really stopped for information so didn't take time to walk around much. Besides it was very cool in the gift shop and it was very hot and humid outside.
Picked up this guy at the ice cream stop and he hitched a ride for quite awhile on our way through Fort Dodge. This is the end of our 6th week - 2125 miles and counting!
August 11 - We took a county road - D20 - out of Fort Dodge. We found out later that this was the old route for Highway 20 through this part of Iowa. This beautiful statue was right next to the road as part of the Duncombe Cemetary.
More corn, soybeans, silos and a wind turbine for some added variety
A very nice example of the many farm houses we've seen today with a barn quilt bonus.
Taking a break! There has been very little traffic of any kind all day. However, there has been a very brisk south wind most of the day. It created the sound for the day which is the rustling of corn stalks. It is a very subtle sound, almost like a whisper. The wind also made it feel a bit like sailing as the front end of the bikes got blown around a bit.
This is one of several seed trials that we've seen. This one includes both corn and soybeans. Every field we've seen is labeled by the brand and seed lot.
Iowa Falls right next to the Iowa River, our destination for the day. This memorial was quite impressive and extremely well done. Even the benches were black marble.
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