Yesterday Bob ended his role as support driver and Larry returned. Bob did a fantastic job. Hard to believe it was last Saturday when Bob first joined us. Time is flying. We appreciate Bob’s efforts and hope he enjoyed the experience. We hope to hook up within a few days over in Bettendorf where he threatens to ride along with us to Ottawa IL. Matt and I are looking forward to a full day of drafting. My brother Paul got up this morning at 5:30 and made us breakfast before we head out to Fremont IA where Kathy’s mom lives. She will host us the next two days. Finally, we get a rest day.
Today we started on the bike trail in Adel and rode an additional 17 miles to Des Moines. It was a relaxing ride as there was limited vehicle traffic, but a lot of bikers and joggers. It was good to see so many people using this trail. You may not believe this, but at the end of the bike trail there was a Starbuck’s, of course we had to stop for a coffee. This may not happen again on our trip.
Today is day 20. With the 
97.2 miles we rode today, our total mileage is 2,103 miles. We are now 60% of the way across the US.
We rode the entire day with the same head/cross wind that we had yesterday. The big difference was the total climb was only 1,960 feet, less than half of what we did yesterday. We had a few steep climbs early going through Des Moines, but after that none of the grades were more than 3%, most climbs were between 1%-2%. Still holding out hope that we will get a day of tailwinds, but either way, we keep heading east. After the bike trail, we rode University Ave through Des Moines which turned into Hwy 163. We then took Hwy 92 to Hwy 23 all the way to Fremont.
Tomorrow will be our first, and maybe, only rest day for the trip. Tuesday morning we will be back in the saddle headed to the Mississippi River in Davenport, IA. Weather is still holding and we hope it will continue. Yesterday I had yet another flat - Matt 2 tubes/1 tire - Gary 8 tubes/3 tires.
3 comments:
Just thought I'd speak up, let you guys know we're all reading back home. Keep it up, we're all very impressed, and enjoying being able to check in on your progress.
God speed Gary!! It is interesting watching your trip across contry.
Tell Bonnie Mary and I said hello from England. Still hoping that she can come back before we leave.
Keep up the good work and keep bloging.
Steve and Mary
Gary ... I will miss you at John's place (aka Roadkill Cafe!) for the steak(??) dinner as I am arriving in the Midwest late Wednesday. If you and your team need a place to stay en route back to the Lone Star State, we have two extra bedrooms and a steak dinner at our home in Springfield, VA. Annette and I would be glad to host you for the evening if it would work out. You can get my cell number from John. If not, we will see you next time we are in Texas. Best of luck completing your journey and may the wind be at your back...Tony
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