Wow. I'm sitting in one of the most beautiful places I've been on this trip, and it's in Iowa. The Iowa/Wisconsin border, actually, right along the Mississippi River. I've been on the road 39 days and ridden 2,446 miles.
RAGBRAI was amazing. Certainly a slower way to cross Iowa, but amazing. I can't begin to describe it in a way that works, but I've uploaded the pictures. Perhaps I will caption them if I have time later. We rode every day, I met new people and recruited a new Team RoadShow member (The Viking), and we performed every night and set a new TRS record for performance number and income. The best 14 weeks of my life are likely the 14 RAGBRAIs I've done. Fact. (actually, 14 out of 16, my honeymoon backpacking in New Zealand trumps RABGRAI)
Even though RAGBRAI is a supported ride (my team carrried my stuff) and some of the days were shorter, it's still exhausting. It was very flat and short this year, but also incredibly headwindy. Instead of relaxing after the ride, we did two street performances a night and then partied into the wee hours. As a result, I needed a rest day in Guttenberg. Also because I hadn't done any route planning so I didn't know where I was going to go.
Guttenberg was great! I slept in, got a free sandwhich from some random dudes down by the river, route planned for an hour or more in a Subway and had a good conversation with an employee there, and then headed to the laundromat. There I met another RABGRAI straggler with interesting political views who loved to talk about them (pro-socialized medicine, anti-environmentalism and multi-culturalism), and Joanne, a nice lady who lives in a boat in Guttenberg during the summer. She invited me over and provided me with a shower and beers on her boat. That's right, I drank beers while watching the sunset reflect off the clouds while having some great conversation on the Mississippi River. Mark Twain and me are practically brothers now, I think.
Before heading to Joanne's and post getting clean clothes I met Ken and Sue, a couple other bike tourers (on RAGBRAI they are called "baggers") at a pub who did RAGBRAI and were heading off into other areas. Sue is heading to Green Bay and is from Wisconsin, so she was able to give me some great route advice. I'll be heading up the Mississippi about 85 miles to La Crosse and then head East about 60 miles to Elroy, WI on one of the first Rails to Trails bike paths ever built. Apparently it's historic and famous, and filled with old tunnels and stuff. From Elroy I'll head almost straight north to visit friends in Steven's Point.
After that I'll find some way to Mackinaw Island (I think) then head south on Adventure Cycling routes into Mid Michigan, then straight east through Canada above whatever great lake that is into Niagra Falls, then across New York on NY State Bike Route 5 (Erie Canal) into Vermont. I have no idea if I have enough time to complete this route, but we'll find out..
Other than those few days in Montanna and South Dakota where I was making up days I missed, this will be the first truly new-route I've taken this trip. It's nice to be fully exploring again, I've missed it. Later I'll be on Adventure Cycling routes, which are sort of like cheating, but they'll be new routes to me so it'll be great! The only part I am repeating is part of NY State Route 5 (also the Northern Tier Adventure Cycling Route) which I did in 2003.
The ride up the river tomorrow will be one of the most beaufitul parts of my trip so far. I'll be riding by Effigy Mounds where Iris and I took our first camping vacation together about 10 years ago, and our first hike together. This part of Iowa/Wisc can rival any place in the West.
The hardest part of my life right now is figuring out if I want to stop reading Dune (it just got exciting!) and start reading Tom Sawyer, seeing as I'm on the 'Ol Miss and all that. Life is so hard!
ILYI
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