Charles City to Cresco - 64 miles
Cresco to Waukon - 65 miles
Lots of Hills today, beautiful scenery to look at along the route as we sped down hills going 30-40 mph. Weeeeeeee! The day started out with several big long hills that took seconds to go down and what seemed like hours to go up... You went from 30-40 mph down to a turtles pace of grinding out the uphill. When we weren't dealing with the long drawn out hills, we were coping with "lasagna noodle" hills the entire way. (AKA rolling hills). Groups of people greeted us throughout our ride some selling us food, some giving us free water and bananas, some cheering us on, others sitting under a shade tree waving from afar. Each small town had its own theme and lots of food, activities, and more food to keep us going. One thing about the state of Iowa that I adore are the local people we have encountered. Iowa people are gracious, friendly, and generous! Iowa's version of Casey's called Kwik Star gets a 10 star rating on our books. We have met people from all parts of the world. Lisa spoke to two people from Norway today and she keeps running into friends from home throughout the ride. We have encountered classic Iowan hospitality. My Christian music playlist that I was playing along the route received several positive comments and some great inspiring conversations along the route. At one time Lisa and I were separated, she encountered a young girl who was playing Christian music as well, which sparked a conversation between the two. As Lisa shared her concerns for me on this challenging day, she prayed a powerful prayer for me. She asked the Lord to bring someone alongside me to encourage me. At that time I met a fellow horticulture Rider from Milwaukee who took my mind off the fears about the route and helped pass the time. God is good...all the time! Check out the videos I made on FB.
We haven't mentioned the smells of Iowa ....... The pungent aroma of the hog confinement operations awoke our senses each day as we slogged along the weary miles. We encountered many different Species of roadkill, some merely dead, others clearly disemboweled. Riders routinely pay homage to the deceased carcasses by tossing Mardi Gras style beads on them for their remembrance. LOL! Contrary to common belief, Iowa is NOT flat!!!!! Not only has that been our experience the last 6 days, but we anticipate many more encounters with the hills of Iowa on our ride tomorrow. By the way, Jeff was the eloquent author of this section. I also got me picture taken with the famous creator of Tender Tom's Turkeys! See photo below!
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