Corsica to Chancellor: Never Say No to Adventure!

So it happened again. I tried to go 66 miles today and ended up going 79. I'm only 46 miles from the start of RAGBRAI. I'll reach Rock Rapids, IA on day 29, the first day of my 5th week, exactly a week after entering South Dakota.  I'll be just a few miles short of 2,000.  I also managed to shower more in South Dakota then I have the entire trip so far. Furthermore, I never set my tent up in South Dakota - the last time I used it was "No-one drinks the water in Roundup," Montana.

I'm definitely in the midwest now!  To add to my lists of firsts, yesterday I saw my first Mullberry tree, and tonight I saw my first lightening bugs!  I also heard my first mention of Hy-Vee. Soon I'll see a Kum 'n Go! (I hope)

The ride today was pretty chill.  Mostly flat and with varying winds. My speed fluctuated between 12 and 20 mph mostly, depending on the wind.  It was kind of like going up and down hills, and sort of frusterating at times.  My mental game with these things is to consider any easy miles (downhills, less wind) as "Free Miles" getting me closer to my end total mileage goal for the day. I don't fret the downhills thinking that I'm just going to have to go up, I instead always expect uphills and headwinds and am thankful for any "free miles" getting me closer to the end of the day.

Like I said, biking is all mental.  Also, all driving miles are "free miles," which makes driving way too not-mental.  Bleh.

Anyway, the interesting part of the day happened later. I got to Parker, my intended stop for the day at 3pm with 5:05 on the bike at miles 69 (supposed to be 66).  I stopped in at the city hall to see if I could stay in the park (town pop 1,000) but the lady there hmmmed and hawwwed and said words like "liability."  For the record, if you ever say something about "liability" when telling someone they can't do something that is perfectly safe and consumes no resources, you are a tool.  She was one of those types that just loves rules for the sake of rules.  Anyway, they said I should try riding a few more miles and asking around at the fairgrounds. I did some more asking around, talked to the sheriff (who said the park was fine, but the fairgrounds better) and then planned to go to the faigrounds.  They were pretty nice - basically a tiny town with lots of minature buildings setting up for the largest county fair in the state in 2 weeks.  I found a shelter to sleep under even. Bingo.

Except not.  I went to the store to get dinner and there I met Dan and his daughter Shaunna. We got to talking and Dan invited me to his place in Chancellor (pop 300), another 7 miles down the road (Dan said 5, map said 8, turned out to be 7).  Thus I arrived at my final destination at 7pm, 5:52 on bike, 79 miles (I did some in town riding in Parker) and at 5pm.  I wasn't sure whether I wanted to ride farther at first - but I was able - and as I say frequently "Never Say No to Adventure!"

Dan, Shaunna, and his wife Brenda are awesome!  They cooked me a great dinner and we had a hoot of a time talking about all sorts of things - birding, distilling, different jobs, schools, my trip, their lives, etc etc.  Dan has a pretty sweet homemade still and I enjoyed some great ... well.  They also have weird ducks and other fun animals, and a house that is over 100 years old.

As usual I needed to go to bed way too soon, but I'm inside, well fed, had a shower, and really had fun. Hanging out with Dan, Brenda, and Shaunna was a great experience.

An interersting thing about this type of traveling is you are constantly throwing yourself to the mercy of strangers and giving them a chance to determine who they want to be.  The City Hall lady at Parker had a chance to look the other way, or even invite me into her yard, but she didn't.  That's fine, a missed opportunity for her to leavve comfort zone and do something she'd be proud of.  I don't think she is a bad person or anything,  it's rare that I get invited into a personal area, but those that do are pretty amazing people and less rare than you think.

Amazing people like Dan who jumped at the chance to help, I didn't even ask.  So are Father A in Winner, Chuck who welded my bike, and so many other people along the way.  People often wonder "What would I do in X situation."  I'm giving them a chance to test who they are when it comes to kindness to strangers - and of course benefitting hugely myself.

Life is good because people are good.

ILYI