Day 26: Clear Lake to West Union

After over 2200 miles of pedaling we had only been rained on briefly as we went over LoLo Pass on Day 8. Well, mother nature got even with us today. Our 6am breakfast was accompanied by lightning and thunder which caused our rollout to be delayed until 8:30am.  After departing we traveled on wet roads with only occasional light showers until about 10 miles from our lunch spot at mile 56 by the Cedar River in Nashua.  Then the heavens opened up, with some lightning and thunder, as I pedaled solo into Nashua.  By the time I reached Nashua, the street  gutters were running full and I was drenched - my rain jacket was only marginally helpful.

We ate lunch under a small pavilion with soaked cycling gear and chattering teeth - even though the temperature was in the 70's.  As the storm moved off to the east, we immediately took off on our bikes in order to warmup.  I took off like a rocket and rode the remaining 36 miles to our destination in West Union at my fastest sustained speeds of the entire trip. I was motivated by the likelihood of another band of showers coming through around 4pm. But frankly, once I got cranked up I was feeling so strong and enjoying it so much that I just didn't want to slow down.  With about 5 miles to go, I even caught up with one of the faster pace lines - needless to say they were surprised to see me pull in behind them.  My days of being allowed to loiter at the back of pace lines is probably over - which is ok with me because I still prefer to ride solo. We were able to make it to the hotel before anymore rain arrived.

Tomorrow we have a relatively short 80 mile day as we leave Iowa, crossing the Mississippi at Marquette, heading into Wisconsin (9th state of the trip) to our destination in Boscobel. Even with the winds and rain I've enjoyed cycling through the fields and small towns of northern Iowa.  I've worn my Iowa State Fair teeshirt each of our 3 nights in Iowa which has been a good conversation starter. As expected, Iowan's are very friendly when chatting with them in person. But, totally unexpected by me,  when on our bicycles we were taunted, honked at, and "brushed back", more times than any other state we've cycled through.   Frankly, I don't get it - it seems very out of character to the Iowa that I know.

So, on to Wisconsin - reported to be one of the most bike friendly states in the country.

Steve