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07-21-04, 11:34 AM
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have bike will tour
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Hi everyone reading this stuff, Sorry i havent written sooner i got off to a slow start. Spent a few ex\tra days in Desoto it was \haying time and i got the job of runnuinb\g the john Deer MT with a sycle bar to cut all the thissel out of the pastures then i had a bit of a time trying to buy a battery for my lawn mower but that is a story in itself....
So before my time is up here i will tell you as much as time allows. I mde arrangements for Harold to pick me up at my place and drive me into town so i didnt have to ride on new loose gavel from my place to town. It is ruff riding on loose gravel and the dust would get the drive train dirty and gritty in the first hour of the trip. anyway I drove into town for a breakfast at the "bright Spot" and conversation then went back home to get ready harold was early so he had to wait a few minutes while i made sure every thing was ok to leave. Man the garden is doing great hated to leave it
Once at harolds We got the nbike out of the garage and got ready to say "see ya" then a few others stoped by and asked "where are yu going"? some think i am nuts some woudl like to go along some just shake thier head ,Got going south along the mississippi river about 9 am
i really dont know why adventure cycling has people riding on the iowa side through this area the wisc side is much more scenic and has a shoulder to ride on th iowa side has no shoulder is wiendy and no place to get out of the way of big trucks. i was enjoying jsut getting some miles in the terraine iwas rollig hills and flats i had a bit of a head wind.
I added a large chain ring that gave me an extra 4 teeth nad is really making a differance i can actually ride at a respectable speed even with allthis gear on the bike. I rode through familiar towns and saw a few pweoplw i knew bt i wave to everyone i pass . In prairie Du chine i stoped for an ornge juice at the gas station and took a rest. the into town and fouind the bridge th crosses rthe Mississippi into Marquette.Iowa
This is actually two bridges both with a wide shoulder very safe. in marquette i passed th gambling boat and thought fr a minute of puting all my money on one bet and either getting rich quick or going broke quick. It only took a minute to regain my senses... and continued cycling on this potion of the Great river road iowa side there is no shoulder and a bit dangerous traffic was moderatley heavey.
I made a stop in Ma gregger (sp?) and looked for a grocery but there was no store jsut a gas station that sold gordcerys so i bought some fruit and continued on. I knwew ther was a long climb just before where i was gong to camp tonight. The sign proved me right it read 8% grade next 2 miles so i geared down and climbed to the top my legs were feeling the first climb of the trip, this seemed like a big hill but in a few weeks it will just be a bump in the road as i hit the ozarks and rockies.
The camp site was in pikes peak state park 11 dollars sort of steep but for the first night what the heck. i got camp set up showered and walked arround and visited other campers it was prety empty and everyone i talked to was friendly at one place you could over look the mississippi and wisc river meet from way up high beautifull site.
I caught a weather report and it wasnt good! heavey rain damageing winds and hail headed this way i prepared for getting wet. the sky got dark very dark. thunder crashing a few saprinkles then it seemed ot get brighter as the stoprm skirted the area but i could see in the distance some place was getting clobbered.
i slept like a rock and wqoike at firsrt light made coffie and oatmeal broke camp and was ready to roll then the fog rolled in couldnt see 10 feet in front of you so i waited for almost 2 hours to ride. it wasnt safe
When i got going the fog had almost completley lifted the area was beautifull and hilly wiht in 4 miles i hit the first down hill and quickly got going to 43 mph i started to woinder or should i say hope i had tightened my skwerer what a time for that thought heh?
at the bottom was a nice valley then the first of many long hard climbes today. all these climbs today were in the 8-9% class and took about 30-40 minutes to make it to the top i realized i am no lance armstrong on the first of these . each climb had a rewarding fast down hill on the other side but with each hill i was geting more fatigued. I havent told you yet that the temprature was in the mid 90's and humidity was very high .
I got to a place called guttenburg arround 11:30 am and decided to get some pancakes found a place called mary lous dinner how can you go wrong wiht aname like that? i poped in and ordered 2 and a picture of water i wasnt able to finish the second cake price $2.15
right outside of town was the n\ext climb and theone that about finished me off today. it was like a sauna out here i stopped every so often to wipe my face because the sweat was in my eyes and burning and guzzled water and poured some over my head for momentary relief. To get going again oin the hill i had to go sideways acroiss the road then turn and head up hill at the top was flat and rolling hills.
The next hill inoticed my left quad was starting to cramp and had to change pedal stroke a bilkt to avoid a total cramp and desaster while climbuing this one i wasnt shure how many more i coupod handle today in the heat and humidity. At the top was a town called luxemburg and a fellow named Jim was waiting for me by his car, He asked if he could buy mne a cold drink i said shure! we went into the gas station and got some cold bottled water he did a cross europe bike trip 40 years ago shgen he got out of the army and was selling farm stuff now a days nice fellow we talked a while then it was time to go.
Id wanted to make another 20 miles today but had to stop short in Dyersville iowa i was SPENT exhusted from climbiung and heat camped int he city park took a swim in th epool and ate chineese food the weather rolled in this morning tornado warnings large hail etc so i took an unexpected day off here and fouind a 30 dollar motel i wasnt ready to rest but this is an interesting town it has a museum i am going ot explore this afternoon then ill head out tomorrow morning early the weather is supposed ot get better and much cooler air is moving in tonight for the next 3 days ya hoooo
ok thanks for stopping by more later
catfish
So before my time is up here i will tell you as much as time allows. I mde arrangements for Harold to pick me up at my place and drive me into town so i didnt have to ride on new loose gavel from my place to town. It is ruff riding on loose gravel and the dust would get the drive train dirty and gritty in the first hour of the trip. anyway I drove into town for a breakfast at the "bright Spot" and conversation then went back home to get ready harold was early so he had to wait a few minutes while i made sure every thing was ok to leave. Man the garden is doing great hated to leave it
Once at harolds We got the nbike out of the garage and got ready to say "see ya" then a few others stoped by and asked "where are yu going"? some think i am nuts some woudl like to go along some just shake thier head ,Got going south along the mississippi river about 9 am
i really dont know why adventure cycling has people riding on the iowa side through this area the wisc side is much more scenic and has a shoulder to ride on th iowa side has no shoulder is wiendy and no place to get out of the way of big trucks. i was enjoying jsut getting some miles in the terraine iwas rollig hills and flats i had a bit of a head wind.
I added a large chain ring that gave me an extra 4 teeth nad is really making a differance i can actually ride at a respectable speed even with allthis gear on the bike. I rode through familiar towns and saw a few pweoplw i knew bt i wave to everyone i pass . In prairie Du chine i stoped for an ornge juice at the gas station and took a rest. the into town and fouind the bridge th crosses rthe Mississippi into Marquette.Iowa
This is actually two bridges both with a wide shoulder very safe. in marquette i passed th gambling boat and thought fr a minute of puting all my money on one bet and either getting rich quick or going broke quick. It only took a minute to regain my senses... and continued cycling on this potion of the Great river road iowa side there is no shoulder and a bit dangerous traffic was moderatley heavey.
I made a stop in Ma gregger (sp?) and looked for a grocery but there was no store jsut a gas station that sold gordcerys so i bought some fruit and continued on. I knwew ther was a long climb just before where i was gong to camp tonight. The sign proved me right it read 8% grade next 2 miles so i geared down and climbed to the top my legs were feeling the first climb of the trip, this seemed like a big hill but in a few weeks it will just be a bump in the road as i hit the ozarks and rockies.
The camp site was in pikes peak state park 11 dollars sort of steep but for the first night what the heck. i got camp set up showered and walked arround and visited other campers it was prety empty and everyone i talked to was friendly at one place you could over look the mississippi and wisc river meet from way up high beautifull site.
I caught a weather report and it wasnt good! heavey rain damageing winds and hail headed this way i prepared for getting wet. the sky got dark very dark. thunder crashing a few saprinkles then it seemed ot get brighter as the stoprm skirted the area but i could see in the distance some place was getting clobbered.
i slept like a rock and wqoike at firsrt light made coffie and oatmeal broke camp and was ready to roll then the fog rolled in couldnt see 10 feet in front of you so i waited for almost 2 hours to ride. it wasnt safe
When i got going the fog had almost completley lifted the area was beautifull and hilly wiht in 4 miles i hit the first down hill and quickly got going to 43 mph i started to woinder or should i say hope i had tightened my skwerer what a time for that thought heh?
at the bottom was a nice valley then the first of many long hard climbes today. all these climbs today were in the 8-9% class and took about 30-40 minutes to make it to the top i realized i am no lance armstrong on the first of these . each climb had a rewarding fast down hill on the other side but with each hill i was geting more fatigued. I havent told you yet that the temprature was in the mid 90's and humidity was very high .
I got to a place called guttenburg arround 11:30 am and decided to get some pancakes found a place called mary lous dinner how can you go wrong wiht aname like that? i poped in and ordered 2 and a picture of water i wasnt able to finish the second cake price $2.15
right outside of town was the n\ext climb and theone that about finished me off today. it was like a sauna out here i stopped every so often to wipe my face because the sweat was in my eyes and burning and guzzled water and poured some over my head for momentary relief. To get going again oin the hill i had to go sideways acroiss the road then turn and head up hill at the top was flat and rolling hills.
The next hill inoticed my left quad was starting to cramp and had to change pedal stroke a bilkt to avoid a total cramp and desaster while climbuing this one i wasnt shure how many more i coupod handle today in the heat and humidity. At the top was a town called luxemburg and a fellow named Jim was waiting for me by his car, He asked if he could buy mne a cold drink i said shure! we went into the gas station and got some cold bottled water he did a cross europe bike trip 40 years ago shgen he got out of the army and was selling farm stuff now a days nice fellow we talked a while then it was time to go.
Id wanted to make another 20 miles today but had to stop short in Dyersville iowa i was SPENT exhusted from climbiung and heat camped int he city park took a swim in th epool and ate chineese food the weather rolled in this morning tornado warnings large hail etc so i took an unexpected day off here and fouind a 30 dollar motel i wasnt ready to rest but this is an interesting town it has a museum i am going ot explore this afternoon then ill head out tomorrow morning early the weather is supposed ot get better and much cooler air is moving in tonight for the next 3 days ya hoooo
ok thanks for stopping by more later
catfish
Last edited by catfish; 07-21-04 at 12:02 PM.
07-21-04, 02:38 PM
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Thanks for the update, George. Sounds like you're really doing this the smart, safe way...listening to your body and also respecting the weather! Best of luck to you,
Barb
Barb
Originally Posted by catfish
Hi everyone reading this stuff, Sorry i havent written sooner i got off to a slow start. Spent a few ex\tra days in Desoto it was \haying time and i got the job of runnuinb\g the john Deer MT with a sycle bar to cut all the thissel out of the pastures then i had a bit of a time trying to buy a battery for my lawn mower but that is a story in itself....
So before my time is up here i will tell you as much as time allows. I mde arrangements for Harold to pick me up at my place and drive me into town so i didnt have to ride on new loose gavel from my place to town. It is ruff riding on loose gravel and the dust would get the drive train dirty and gritty in the first hour of the trip. anyway I drove into town for a breakfast at the "bright Spot" and conversation then went back home to get ready harold was early so he had to wait a few minutes while i made sure every thing was ok to leave. Man the garden is doing great hated to leave it
Once at harolds We got the nbike out of the garage and got ready to say "see ya" then a few others stoped by and asked "where are yu going"? some think i am nuts some woudl like to go along some just shake thier head ,Got going south along the mississippi river about 9 am
i really dont know why adventure cycling has people riding on the iowa side through this area the wisc side is much more scenic and has a shoulder to ride on th iowa side has no shoulder is wiendy and no place to get out of the way of big trucks. i was enjoying jsut getting some miles in the terraine iwas rollig hills and flats i had a bit of a head wind.
I added a large chain ring that gave me an extra 4 teeth nad is really making a differance i can actually ride at a respectable speed even with allthis gear on the bike. I rode through familiar towns and saw a few pweoplw i knew bt i wave to everyone i pass . In prairie Du chine i stoped for an ornge juice at the gas station and took a rest. the into town and fouind the bridge th crosses rthe Mississippi into Marquette.Iowa
This is actually two bridges both with a wide shoulder very safe. in marquette i passed th gambling boat and thought fr a minute of puting all my money on one bet and either getting rich quick or going broke quick. It only took a minute to regain my senses... and continued cycling on this potion of the Great river road iowa side there is no shoulder and a bit dangerous traffic was moderatley heavey.
I made a stop in Ma gregger (sp?) and looked for a grocery but there was no store jsut a gas station that sold gordcerys so i bought some fruit and continued on. I knwew ther was a long climb just before where i was gong to camp tonight. The sign proved me right it read 8% grade next 2 miles so i geared down and climbed to the top my legs were feeling the first climb of the trip, this seemed like a big hill but in a few weeks it will just be a bump in the road as i hit the ozarks and rockies.
The camp site was in pikes peak state park 11 dollars sort of steep but for the first night what the heck. i got camp set up showered and walked arround and visited other campers it was prety empty and everyone i talked to was friendly at one place you could over look the mississippi and wisc river meet from way up high beautifull site.
I caught a weather report and it wasnt good! heavey rain damageing winds and hail headed this way i prepared for getting wet. the sky got dark very dark. thunder crashing a few saprinkles then it seemed ot get brighter as the stoprm skirted the area but i could see in the distance some place was getting clobbered.
i slept like a rock and wqoike at firsrt light made coffie and oatmeal broke camp and was ready to roll then the fog rolled in couldnt see 10 feet in front of you so i waited for almost 2 hours to ride. it wasnt safe
When i got going the fog had almost completley lifted the area was beautifull and hilly wiht in 4 miles i hit the first down hill and quickly got going to 43 mph i started to woinder or should i say hope i had tightened my skwerer what a time for that thought heh?
at the bottom was a nice valley then the first of many long hard climbes today. all these climbs today were in the 8-9% class and took about 30-40 minutes to make it to the top i realized i am no lance armstrong on the first of these . each climb had a rewarding fast down hill on the other side but with each hill i was geting more fatigued. I havent told you yet that the temprature was in the mid 90's and humidity was very high .
I got to a place called guttenburg arround 11:30 am and decided to get some pancakes found a place called mary lous dinner how can you go wrong wiht aname like that? i poped in and ordered 2 and a picture of water i wasnt able to finish the second cake price $2.15
right outside of town was the n\ext climb and theone that about finished me off today. it was like a sauna out here i stopped every so often to wipe my face because the sweat was in my eyes and burning and guzzled water and poured some over my head for momentary relief. To get going again oin the hill i had to go sideways acroiss the road then turn and head up hill at the top was flat and rolling hills.
The next hill inoticed my left quad was starting to cramp and had to change pedal stroke a bilkt to avoid a total cramp and desaster while climbuing this one i wasnt shure how many more i coupod handle today in the heat and humidity. At the top was a town called luxemburg and a fellow named Jim was waiting for me by his car, He asked if he could buy mne a cold drink i said shure! we went into the gas station and got some cold bottled water he did a cross europe bike trip 40 years ago shgen he got out of the army and was selling farm stuff now a days nice fellow we talked a while then it was time to go.
Id wanted to make another 20 miles today but had to stop short in Dyersville iowa i was SPENT exhusted from climbiung and heat camped int he city park took a swim in th epool and ate chineese food the weather rolled in this morning tornado warnings large hail etc so i took an unexpected day off here and fouind a 30 dollar motel i wasnt ready to rest but this is an interesting town it has a museum i am going ot explore this afternoon then ill head out tomorrow morning early the weather is supposed ot get better and much cooler air is moving in tonight for the next 3 days ya hoooo
ok thanks for stopping by more later
catfish
So before my time is up here i will tell you as much as time allows. I mde arrangements for Harold to pick me up at my place and drive me into town so i didnt have to ride on new loose gavel from my place to town. It is ruff riding on loose gravel and the dust would get the drive train dirty and gritty in the first hour of the trip. anyway I drove into town for a breakfast at the "bright Spot" and conversation then went back home to get ready harold was early so he had to wait a few minutes while i made sure every thing was ok to leave. Man the garden is doing great hated to leave it
Once at harolds We got the nbike out of the garage and got ready to say "see ya" then a few others stoped by and asked "where are yu going"? some think i am nuts some woudl like to go along some just shake thier head ,Got going south along the mississippi river about 9 am
i really dont know why adventure cycling has people riding on the iowa side through this area the wisc side is much more scenic and has a shoulder to ride on th iowa side has no shoulder is wiendy and no place to get out of the way of big trucks. i was enjoying jsut getting some miles in the terraine iwas rollig hills and flats i had a bit of a head wind.
I added a large chain ring that gave me an extra 4 teeth nad is really making a differance i can actually ride at a respectable speed even with allthis gear on the bike. I rode through familiar towns and saw a few pweoplw i knew bt i wave to everyone i pass . In prairie Du chine i stoped for an ornge juice at the gas station and took a rest. the into town and fouind the bridge th crosses rthe Mississippi into Marquette.Iowa
This is actually two bridges both with a wide shoulder very safe. in marquette i passed th gambling boat and thought fr a minute of puting all my money on one bet and either getting rich quick or going broke quick. It only took a minute to regain my senses... and continued cycling on this potion of the Great river road iowa side there is no shoulder and a bit dangerous traffic was moderatley heavey.
I made a stop in Ma gregger (sp?) and looked for a grocery but there was no store jsut a gas station that sold gordcerys so i bought some fruit and continued on. I knwew ther was a long climb just before where i was gong to camp tonight. The sign proved me right it read 8% grade next 2 miles so i geared down and climbed to the top my legs were feeling the first climb of the trip, this seemed like a big hill but in a few weeks it will just be a bump in the road as i hit the ozarks and rockies.
The camp site was in pikes peak state park 11 dollars sort of steep but for the first night what the heck. i got camp set up showered and walked arround and visited other campers it was prety empty and everyone i talked to was friendly at one place you could over look the mississippi and wisc river meet from way up high beautifull site.
I caught a weather report and it wasnt good! heavey rain damageing winds and hail headed this way i prepared for getting wet. the sky got dark very dark. thunder crashing a few saprinkles then it seemed ot get brighter as the stoprm skirted the area but i could see in the distance some place was getting clobbered.
i slept like a rock and wqoike at firsrt light made coffie and oatmeal broke camp and was ready to roll then the fog rolled in couldnt see 10 feet in front of you so i waited for almost 2 hours to ride. it wasnt safe
When i got going the fog had almost completley lifted the area was beautifull and hilly wiht in 4 miles i hit the first down hill and quickly got going to 43 mph i started to woinder or should i say hope i had tightened my skwerer what a time for that thought heh?
at the bottom was a nice valley then the first of many long hard climbes today. all these climbs today were in the 8-9% class and took about 30-40 minutes to make it to the top i realized i am no lance armstrong on the first of these . each climb had a rewarding fast down hill on the other side but with each hill i was geting more fatigued. I havent told you yet that the temprature was in the mid 90's and humidity was very high .
I got to a place called guttenburg arround 11:30 am and decided to get some pancakes found a place called mary lous dinner how can you go wrong wiht aname like that? i poped in and ordered 2 and a picture of water i wasnt able to finish the second cake price $2.15
right outside of town was the n\ext climb and theone that about finished me off today. it was like a sauna out here i stopped every so often to wipe my face because the sweat was in my eyes and burning and guzzled water and poured some over my head for momentary relief. To get going again oin the hill i had to go sideways acroiss the road then turn and head up hill at the top was flat and rolling hills.
The next hill inoticed my left quad was starting to cramp and had to change pedal stroke a bilkt to avoid a total cramp and desaster while climbuing this one i wasnt shure how many more i coupod handle today in the heat and humidity. At the top was a town called luxemburg and a fellow named Jim was waiting for me by his car, He asked if he could buy mne a cold drink i said shure! we went into the gas station and got some cold bottled water he did a cross europe bike trip 40 years ago shgen he got out of the army and was selling farm stuff now a days nice fellow we talked a while then it was time to go.
Id wanted to make another 20 miles today but had to stop short in Dyersville iowa i was SPENT exhusted from climbiung and heat camped int he city park took a swim in th epool and ate chineese food the weather rolled in this morning tornado warnings large hail etc so i took an unexpected day off here and fouind a 30 dollar motel i wasnt ready to rest but this is an interesting town it has a museum i am going ot explore this afternoon then ill head out tomorrow morning early the weather is supposed ot get better and much cooler air is moving in tonight for the next 3 days ya hoooo
ok thanks for stopping by more later
catfish
07-21-04, 03:55 PM
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Great to here from you. Sounds like you're off and running...I mean cycling! Miss you already and looking forward to hearing more about your journey!
Marla
Marla
07-21-04, 07:05 PM
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HI George--Hope you are doing well and are having a safe ride Hikerbiker
Originally Posted by catfish
Hi everyone reading this stuff, Sorry i havent written sooner i got off to a slow start. Spent a few ex\tra days in Desoto it was \haying time and i got the job of runnuinb\g the john Deer MT with a sycle bar to cut all the thissel out of the pastures then i had a bit of a time trying to buy a battery for my lawn mower but that is a story in itself....
So before my time is up here i will tell you as much as time allows. I mde arrangements for Harold to pick me up at my place and drive me into town so i didnt have to ride on new loose gavel from my place to town. It is ruff riding on loose gravel and the dust would get the drive train dirty and gritty in the first hour of the trip. anyway I drove into town for a breakfast at the "bright Spot" and conversation then went back home to get ready harold was early so he had to wait a few minutes while i made sure every thing was ok to leave. Man the garden is doing great hated to leave it
Once at harolds We got the nbike out of the garage and got ready to say "see ya" then a few others stoped by and asked "where are yu going"? some think i am nuts some woudl like to go along some just shake thier head ,Got going south along the mississippi river about 9 am
i really dont know why adventure cycling has people riding on the iowa side through this area the wisc side is much more scenic and has a shoulder to ride on th iowa side has no shoulder is wiendy and no place to get out of the way of big trucks. i was enjoying jsut getting some miles in the terraine iwas rollig hills and flats i had a bit of a head wind.
I added a large chain ring that gave me an extra 4 teeth nad is really making a differance i can actually ride at a respectable speed even with allthis gear on the bike. I rode through familiar towns and saw a few pweoplw i knew bt i wave to everyone i pass . In prairie Du chine i stoped for an ornge juice at the gas station and took a rest. the into town and fouind the bridge th crosses rthe Mississippi into Marquette.Iowa
This is actually two bridges both with a wide shoulder very safe. in marquette i passed th gambling boat and thought fr a minute of puting all my money on one bet and either getting rich quick or going broke quick. It only took a minute to regain my senses... and continued cycling on this potion of the Great river road iowa side there is no shoulder and a bit dangerous traffic was moderatley heavey.
I made a stop in Ma gregger (sp?) and looked for a grocery but there was no store jsut a gas station that sold gordcerys so i bought some fruit and continued on. I knwew ther was a long climb just before where i was gong to camp tonight. The sign proved me right it read 8% grade next 2 miles so i geared down and climbed to the top my legs were feeling the first climb of the trip, this seemed like a big hill but in a few weeks it will just be a bump in the road as i hit the ozarks and rockies.
The camp site was in pikes peak state park 11 dollars sort of steep but for the first night what the heck. i got camp set up showered and walked arround and visited other campers it was prety empty and everyone i talked to was friendly at one place you could over look the mississippi and wisc river meet from way up high beautifull site.
I caught a weather report and it wasnt good! heavey rain damageing winds and hail headed this way i prepared for getting wet. the sky got dark very dark. thunder crashing a few saprinkles then it seemed ot get brighter as the stoprm skirted the area but i could see in the distance some place was getting clobbered.
i slept like a rock and wqoike at firsrt light made coffie and oatmeal broke camp and was ready to roll then the fog rolled in couldnt see 10 feet in front of you so i waited for almost 2 hours to ride. it wasnt safe
When i got going the fog had almost completley lifted the area was beautifull and hilly wiht in 4 miles i hit the first down hill and quickly got going to 43 mph i started to woinder or should i say hope i had tightened my skwerer what a time for that thought heh?
at the bottom was a nice valley then the first of many long hard climbes today. all these climbs today were in the 8-9% class and took about 30-40 minutes to make it to the top i realized i am no lance armstrong on the first of these . each climb had a rewarding fast down hill on the other side but with each hill i was geting more fatigued. I havent told you yet that the temprature was in the mid 90's and humidity was very high .
I got to a place called guttenburg arround 11:30 am and decided to get some pancakes found a place called mary lous dinner how can you go wrong wiht aname like that? i poped in and ordered 2 and a picture of water i wasnt able to finish the second cake price $2.15
right outside of town was the n\ext climb and theone that about finished me off today. it was like a sauna out here i stopped every so often to wipe my face because the sweat was in my eyes and burning and guzzled water and poured some over my head for momentary relief. To get going again oin the hill i had to go sideways acroiss the road then turn and head up hill at the top was flat and rolling hills.
The next hill inoticed my left quad was starting to cramp and had to change pedal stroke a bilkt to avoid a total cramp and desaster while climbuing this one i wasnt shure how many more i coupod handle today in the heat and humidity. At the top was a town called luxemburg and a fellow named Jim was waiting for me by his car, He asked if he could buy mne a cold drink i said shure! we went into the gas station and got some cold bottled water he did a cross europe bike trip 40 years ago shgen he got out of the army and was selling farm stuff now a days nice fellow we talked a while then it was time to go.
Id wanted to make another 20 miles today but had to stop short in Dyersville iowa i was SPENT exhusted from climbiung and heat camped int he city park took a swim in th epool and ate chineese food the weather rolled in this morning tornado warnings large hail etc so i took an unexpected day off here and fouind a 30 dollar motel i wasnt ready to rest but this is an interesting town it has a museum i am going ot explore this afternoon then ill head out tomorrow morning early the weather is supposed ot get better and much cooler air is moving in tonight for the next 3 days ya hoooo
ok thanks for stopping by more later
catfish
So before my time is up here i will tell you as much as time allows. I mde arrangements for Harold to pick me up at my place and drive me into town so i didnt have to ride on new loose gavel from my place to town. It is ruff riding on loose gravel and the dust would get the drive train dirty and gritty in the first hour of the trip. anyway I drove into town for a breakfast at the "bright Spot" and conversation then went back home to get ready harold was early so he had to wait a few minutes while i made sure every thing was ok to leave. Man the garden is doing great hated to leave it
Once at harolds We got the nbike out of the garage and got ready to say "see ya" then a few others stoped by and asked "where are yu going"? some think i am nuts some woudl like to go along some just shake thier head ,Got going south along the mississippi river about 9 am
i really dont know why adventure cycling has people riding on the iowa side through this area the wisc side is much more scenic and has a shoulder to ride on th iowa side has no shoulder is wiendy and no place to get out of the way of big trucks. i was enjoying jsut getting some miles in the terraine iwas rollig hills and flats i had a bit of a head wind.
I added a large chain ring that gave me an extra 4 teeth nad is really making a differance i can actually ride at a respectable speed even with allthis gear on the bike. I rode through familiar towns and saw a few pweoplw i knew bt i wave to everyone i pass . In prairie Du chine i stoped for an ornge juice at the gas station and took a rest. the into town and fouind the bridge th crosses rthe Mississippi into Marquette.Iowa
This is actually two bridges both with a wide shoulder very safe. in marquette i passed th gambling boat and thought fr a minute of puting all my money on one bet and either getting rich quick or going broke quick. It only took a minute to regain my senses... and continued cycling on this potion of the Great river road iowa side there is no shoulder and a bit dangerous traffic was moderatley heavey.
I made a stop in Ma gregger (sp?) and looked for a grocery but there was no store jsut a gas station that sold gordcerys so i bought some fruit and continued on. I knwew ther was a long climb just before where i was gong to camp tonight. The sign proved me right it read 8% grade next 2 miles so i geared down and climbed to the top my legs were feeling the first climb of the trip, this seemed like a big hill but in a few weeks it will just be a bump in the road as i hit the ozarks and rockies.
The camp site was in pikes peak state park 11 dollars sort of steep but for the first night what the heck. i got camp set up showered and walked arround and visited other campers it was prety empty and everyone i talked to was friendly at one place you could over look the mississippi and wisc river meet from way up high beautifull site.
I caught a weather report and it wasnt good! heavey rain damageing winds and hail headed this way i prepared for getting wet. the sky got dark very dark. thunder crashing a few saprinkles then it seemed ot get brighter as the stoprm skirted the area but i could see in the distance some place was getting clobbered.
i slept like a rock and wqoike at firsrt light made coffie and oatmeal broke camp and was ready to roll then the fog rolled in couldnt see 10 feet in front of you so i waited for almost 2 hours to ride. it wasnt safe
When i got going the fog had almost completley lifted the area was beautifull and hilly wiht in 4 miles i hit the first down hill and quickly got going to 43 mph i started to woinder or should i say hope i had tightened my skwerer what a time for that thought heh?
at the bottom was a nice valley then the first of many long hard climbes today. all these climbs today were in the 8-9% class and took about 30-40 minutes to make it to the top i realized i am no lance armstrong on the first of these . each climb had a rewarding fast down hill on the other side but with each hill i was geting more fatigued. I havent told you yet that the temprature was in the mid 90's and humidity was very high .
I got to a place called guttenburg arround 11:30 am and decided to get some pancakes found a place called mary lous dinner how can you go wrong wiht aname like that? i poped in and ordered 2 and a picture of water i wasnt able to finish the second cake price $2.15
right outside of town was the n\ext climb and theone that about finished me off today. it was like a sauna out here i stopped every so often to wipe my face because the sweat was in my eyes and burning and guzzled water and poured some over my head for momentary relief. To get going again oin the hill i had to go sideways acroiss the road then turn and head up hill at the top was flat and rolling hills.
The next hill inoticed my left quad was starting to cramp and had to change pedal stroke a bilkt to avoid a total cramp and desaster while climbuing this one i wasnt shure how many more i coupod handle today in the heat and humidity. At the top was a town called luxemburg and a fellow named Jim was waiting for me by his car, He asked if he could buy mne a cold drink i said shure! we went into the gas station and got some cold bottled water he did a cross europe bike trip 40 years ago shgen he got out of the army and was selling farm stuff now a days nice fellow we talked a while then it was time to go.
Id wanted to make another 20 miles today but had to stop short in Dyersville iowa i was SPENT exhusted from climbiung and heat camped int he city park took a swim in th epool and ate chineese food the weather rolled in this morning tornado warnings large hail etc so i took an unexpected day off here and fouind a 30 dollar motel i wasnt ready to rest but this is an interesting town it has a museum i am going ot explore this afternoon then ill head out tomorrow morning early the weather is supposed ot get better and much cooler air is moving in tonight for the next 3 days ya hoooo
ok thanks for stopping by more later
catfish
07-21-04, 09:31 PM
#6
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Vancouver, Washington
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I'm looking forward to this entire journey of yours. It's always amazing to me when people actually live out their dreams, instead of just leaving them as dreams.
Ride safe.
Ride safe.
07-21-04, 09:57 PM
#7
Up there!
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Adelaide, Australia
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Bikes: Specialized Sequoia x 2
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Great update Catfish! When are the photos coming? Try and keep cool!
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