Today was another long day in the saddle, and not necessarily because of the 120.4 miles we rode. We faced a strong head/cross wind all day – in excess of 20 mph. In addition, we managed to accumulate 4,430 feet of climb, even though we started our ride at approximately 1,000 feet elevation and ended at about the same elevation. It was o
ne rolling hill after the next….."the hills go on forever and the party never ends." Our max elevation for the day was 1,508 feet.
The rolling hills would have been a welcomed sight if the head/cross wind didn’t take away almost all of the momentum of the descents. We rode on Hwy 30, F58, Hwy 191 and Hwy 44. Hwy 30 was a lot like Hwy 20, 26, & 275 – relatively smooth with a good shoulder for bikes. Hwy F58, 191 and 44 had no shoulder for bikes so we shared the road with traffic. There were only a few miles when traffic was somewhat heavy, but once again we were given space to ride by all vehicles.
We ended the day with the last 20 miles from Panora to Adel riding a trails-to-rails bike trail. The bike trail was asphalt/concrete all the way and was lined with trees most of the way, creating a canopy for us to go through. There was very little grade which allowed us to have a relaxing finish to today’s ride. We wound up averaging a mere 16.1 mph for today - 7 hours and 27 minutes in the saddle. We will start the morning riding another 20 miles before riding across Des Moines on our way to Fremont.
We celebrated the end of the ride today with a cold Samuel Adams, compliments of Brock “I finally rode my bike” Gamble. Thanks!
My brother Paul provided us with a delicious hot meal, a hot shower and place to rest our weary legs. It was a treat to not have to go out to eat. My appetite actually returned tonight, I didn’t have to force myself to eat.
