Month: July 2011

Missouri Valley IA to Glenwood IA Our room last night was sealed and pitch black, and so at 6AM I woke up and fell back to sleep.  At 7:30AM I woke up again and thought, you know, I bet it’s light outside already.  I opened the shades a crack and I heard Jack moan, “I don’t wanna.” We headed next door to a 50s diner knockoff, since we had coupons.   (Pancakes were good but too small for even an honorable mention.)  When we emerged it was already raining.  The rain and lowered temperatures were such a relief we almost welcomed

Onawa IA to Missouri Valley IA A soupy night of heat in my tent, but I really slept quite well.  As we tore down and stowed our camp this morning, I marveled at how Jack and I go about it.  Some mornings there is conversation, sometimes a “good morning,” and sometimes just a nod.  But there is no longer talk of packing up or when to leave.  The sleeping bags get rolled, the mattresses deflated, the tents disassembled and stowed, and almost on cue Jack and I are simultaneously ready to roll, helmets in place and gloves fastened.  And we

Sioux City IA to Onawa IA Super 8 continental breakfast this morning in Sioux City IA.  Uneventful except that they only had cereal as a main attraction, and they were out of spoons.  So I downed 4 bowls of raisin bran using a plastic fork.  The hardships of the road. Jack and I were actually the first out on the road today, since Gary needed to retrace back north to Sioux City to pick up a wheel he’d ordered, and Bill was lingering for a while.  Southeast on county roads K29 and then K45, we rolled through Salix IA, Sloan

Yankton SD to Vermillion SD Jack and I exited the motel early enough to catch Bill zipping by on his way out of town, and so stopped him to say hi.  Instead of following him out, we elected to ride a few miles north to a breakfast place and start our days off right.  Pancakes were involved. Winds from the south today but not too strong.  We headed toward Vermillion on both eastern and southern segments.  Temperature rose well into the 90s as we rode, with sticky humidity, and the headwind southern segments were actually preferable for the cooling effects. 

Yankton SD I felt energetic this morning and got up to explore around Yankton while Jack lounged in the room wearing out his netbook.  I found Yesterdays restaurant for breakfast (coffee, eggs, hash browns, ham, and pancakes) and the morning paper and stayed probably 90 minutes, then checked out Kmart (new cheap bike lock), the bank (cash), and the Fox Run Golf Course (for possible round later today). When I returned Jack was just leaving to meet Bill and Gary for lunch, so I went along.  Another large milkshake at Roy’s Drive-in!  We considered bowling this afternoon but the lanes

Tyndall SD to Yankton SD Gary was up fairly early in the Tyndall city park, and announced that he would skip breakfast in order to try to beat the heat and winds.  Jack and I rose slower and eventually regrouped at The Corral cafe on Main Street.  We contemplated a simple beverage for breakfast, but of course, we eventually broke down for a full egg, pancake, hash brown, and toast affair.  They make good pancakes, too, and the service is real friendly. Winds this morning appeared to be primarily out of the south but seemed to have a small westerly

Fort Thompson SD to Snake River Recreation Area SD Steady rains in Fort Thompson SD for most of last night.  Soothing at first, then, as they continued and intensified, it became a little worrisome that they were going to interfere with our riding day.   Almost on cue, though, the rains stopped around 6AM and allowed us to pack up and move out.  The night was very peaceful by the river – this was a good site.  Full of crickets, though, that seemed to like the dry conditions beneath the tent floor.  When we packed up our tents all of us