Nothing is ever easy

Had some Internet problems, some too tired to write problems, and simple logistics with pictures, and trying to get organized given the physical nature of the journey..................

Clinton to Muscatine - Iowa 

We have found to date that the two toughest parts of each day are the beginning and the finish.  Traffic in the morning leaving a town is always tough, and finishing coming into a town is also tough with respect to traffic, and given how tired we are.  We are being careful and have David be our point person so he can set the pace.  Toughest job!  We of course are always discussing the route and which way is "best."  3 opinions is always interesting, but so far so good as we have made it to each stop.  The ride from Clinton to Mascatine was going to be our best of the trip.  Rex had set the itinerary as he wanted to see the American Picker which is located in Le Claire (you all need to watch the show to appreciate this stop and the people in the show)  Rex of course was interested in the store, or so that was his story, but we know his real interest in stopping was to meet Daniel.  Anyway we made it to Le Claire without too much of a problem.  Made it about 9:50 AM and found that the shop would open at 10:00 AM.  We had a cup of coffee before the "grand opening".........................well let me tell you........TV can really fool you............the place was basically an old garage with a coat of paint, and a bunch of "junk" that has been on the show.  People started arriving right at 10 AM.  Help, even Rex was a tad disappointed especially when they wanted $12 for a T-shirt.  Anyway when we get back Rex, David, and I are buying some junk at a few yard sales, and setting up a shop as Gold River Pickers.................  That morning we also met a person who really made our day.  Name is Bruce Haugen, and he sells boats for a living.....Crownline. Said he would be glad to sell one to Loni.  Most importantly he has ridden the MRT, as well as many other major bike trails in the US.  Anyway, one thing lead to another and he met us down the road and showed us a great route for about 15 miles right along the Mississippi.  We would have never found this route on our own.  We stopped and had lunch at a little spot in the little berg of Buffallo, at Clarks Landing.  Great little spot.  (pictures to follow....I hope)   We continued on our ride that afternoon and finally pulled into Muscatine, Iowa.  Had a great little hotel next to the Walmart, and of course dinner at the Applebies.  Due to previous less than good dinner at Applebies we were a little hesitant to go their but our options were very limited and we found the service and food just great.  People do make a difference.  We set up our plan for departure and got ready to head for Burlington.

I also note we saw a little more corn on this let of the trip...........well we saw a whole lot of corn.......along with some soy beans.................a lot less hills..........but a hill is still a hill when it is 90 with humidity of 90.  Help.

Muscatine - Burlington

We planned to leave early today as it was supposed to be 90+.  Well that best laid plains.............we did leave early, but the thunder showers started about 1/2 hour after we started.  Luckily, our guide........DS found a spot with an overhang just as the rain showers started......an hour later (and many buckets of rain.......it sure does rain hard in the mid west) we continued to make our way out of town.  Probably this leg of the trip was close to what we all thought it would be like.........back roads with little traffic and basically flat with lots of great views of wildlife and open spaces................we ran into another rain show and sat under a tree in front of a farm house.........very cool.  As usual, saw a whole lot of corn..........soy beans...........and now we also know where hogs come from..........A few less churches than we have seen up north, but still nice farm houses,and farms.  We stopped in a very little town called Oakville and had a really wonderful lunch at a former bank building.  Again, this little town is a place that time has passed by,and it was made worse by floods in 2008 which basically flooded out the entire town of 500 residents. We met the lady who is helping rebuild the community one house at a time. (pictures to follow I hope)  So we headed out of town full of confidence and looking forward to a nice ride into Burlington as the sun was out.  As has been the case so far, nothing is ever easy..........what should have been an easy 20 mile peddle turned into a 20 mile peddle into a extremely strong headwind. It was really really tough.  We had to stop every 15 minutes +/-.  Very tough going............oh, and the temp.............well it was 90+ with some really nice humidity.  Nothing ever easy.  We made it into Burlington without incident.  Had dinner at a Casino this evening.  Turns out they are not owned by Indians as in CA, but by private investors.  Going to do some more research on this.  Anyway, we walked past all the gaming and just had dinner. 

Lessons learned:  No one in Iowa knows what a micro beer is, and only Walmart carries Sierra Nevada.  Both David and Rex swore they would not step into a Walmart, but both have changed their minds.  Rex for beer, and David for ice cream.  I went along with both.

We are off for Illinois in the AM.

Now for the facts, and I turn it over to David.................................

Fact one, it is Karen and my 31st Anniversary today.  Karen, Happy Anniversary.  I love you.  Here's to 31 more, if you will have me.  Love.
Other facts:  Days on the road, 7.  Total miles, 475.  Avg daily miles 67.8.  Avg speed today 8.9 mph, against the wind.  Temp. 90 today, 93 tomorrow.  Easing after that.

Cheers!