"You can choose front yard, backyard, or living room." - Day 19

Day 19. Geez. This morning Ken's mom had breakfast out for us, which was a welcome improvement over instant oatmeal and convenience store pastries. We bid farewell to the Ferrells at 6:30 and after turning the right way off of their street, set off towards Davenport.
Riding early in the mornng was pleasant and we were pushing at a steady pace with our lofty goal of reaching Davenport. We hit another milestone coming down a hill outside of Grinnell, breaking 2,000 miles.
We were on pace to make it the whole way at 15 mph for 12 hours through the first 60 miles. We had Subway in Grinnell before trudging onward until Travis caught is front tire in a crack and went down. The tire was shot and it took some time to replace it with a spare. We endured a strong south crosswind along with moderate hills all day. Fortunately, we avoided rain though.

We had checked the highway report online in Des Moines to avoid any closures due to the recent flooding. As a result, we stayed off of Highway 6 between Iowa City and Davenport, opting instead to take a county road to the north. We kept seeing ominous signs warning "thru traffic only" and "road closed ahead" but without alternate route, decided to keep going and hope that we'd be able to get through on our bikes. It turns out the bridge had been badly damaged and was fenced off. But we decided that we'd risk collapsing the bridge with our additional weight, rather than head backwards 6 miles to try to find another route. Needless to stay, it remained upright.
By the time we made it past the bridge it was getting pretty late. The floods had also caused us to end up crossing I-80 more times than we would've liked and a wrong turn outside of Wilton left us behind. With 25 miles to go to Davenport, we called it a day as the sun set.

In our typical fashion, we went to the first bar with food that we saw. When we asked if anybody knew where we could pitch a tent, the bartender offered her front yard, backyard or the living room. When she called her husband to let him know she was brining to guys home from the bar with her, he responded that he'd have clean towels ready for us! Erik and Holly were great hosts, offering laundry and breakfast that we refused. The two felt like they should pay some of the hospitality they had received on a motorcycle trip forward and we were the lucky beneficiaries. Their company was enjoyable, but we were exhausted from our longest day yet and had to go to bed. We didn't quite make it to Davenport, but we're in great shape for a 25 mile rest day tomorrow before crossing the Mississippi!

Time	Trip	Odometer	Average	Max
11:36:10	164.7	2110	14.1	35.7

"Dude I HAVE to stop and scratch my feet!" - Day 18

As we rolled out of our tent this morning, we were surrounded by a thick fog. We didn't think much of it and went on making our instant oatmeal breakfast. However, as we began to take the tent down, it began to downpour. We hurriedly unpacked our rain gear and finished taking down the tent in the heavy rain. We decided to go ahead and ride in the rain, even though we've lost 3 of our 4 taillights and the one that remains only works intermittently. The rain eased up after a few minutes and it was dry enough to remove our rain gear within an hour.

Riding in the rain gave us a nice change of scenery and was also a little bit cooler. However, my feet got soaked and after an hour or so were getting uncomfortable. I tried to dry them by taking my socks off and pedaling with my feet on top of my shoes but the itching just got worse. Eventually, it was too uncomfortable to bear and I demanded that we stop so I could scratch.
At the gas station, we were once again asked if we were training for RAGBRAI, and were told all about how much fun the bike across Iowa is. We had actually originally thought that we might be able to join it for a day, but it is later in the year than our trip allowed. It certainly sounds more enjoyable to only ride 60 miles a day, with refreshments and activities the whole way. So we vowed that we would return to Iowa in the future and partake in the traveling festival.

We eventually picked up the trail that was recommended to us in between Bagley and Jamaica. Railroad trails are awesome because the railroad takes direct and flat routes. The Subway in Panora treated us well and we cruised the remaining 40 miles to my college roommate, Ken's, house in Des Moines. We were required to buy day use permits on the trail for $2, which we thought was strange.
Ken's family welcomed us with showers, laundry, two delicious meals and some fun stories about Ken as a youngster. We've got a big day tomorrow for the push to Davenport, 180 miles in one day hopefully!

Time	Trip	Odometer	Average	Max
6:06:51	85.5	1945	13.9	29.2

"I live in a beach house with 5 girls, you can always stay with us!" - Day 17

Got up this morning at 6, broke camp and were on the road by 7:30. The rolling hills of Iowa were tough, and the roads were bumpy, had no shoulder and decent semi traffic. Combine that with the smell of the pig farms and it made for a taxing day.

Our modus operandi has been to go into convenience stores and choose food that offers the highest calorie content per dollar. This means eating a lot of donuts, trail mix, pastries and other scurmptious foodstuffs. This morning, we discovered granola bars for $0.25 that offered 210 calories. That's 840 calories for a dollar. Admittedly our boiled potatoes at the beginning of the trip were better, but these granola bars are sure tasty!

In between Remsen and Correctionville, we saw a lady running with a dog on the hill in front of us. As we passed, she shouted "he's not mine!" and continued on her way. Wanting for company, and not having seen a dog in a while, I encouraged our furry black friend to join us. The dog proceeded to chase us for the next mile and a half, gaining steadily on us on the up hills and losing ground on the down hills. Eventually he broke off when he found some construction workers on the side of the road.
We stopped for lunch in Schleswig, where we were also able to use the internet at the public library to check the weather. We could see storms brewing to the southwest and watched on the radar as they passed over Denison. By the time we got underway again, the storm was well clear of our zigzagging path towards Des Moines. The greasy hamburgers from Cheeta's didn't treat us well though, so we slowed it down in the afternoon.
My hungry caterpillar mode struck again in Manning, where we stopped at a grocery store and I once again indulged myself with two peaches and a plum in the parking lot. There, we started talking to Mary and Zack, who gave us directions on where to camp and a Rails to Trails route to Des Moines. Eventually, they invited us over to their house for hamburgers!
Once we got indoors, they realized that in order to survive dinner, they'd probably have to offer us showers too. After a delightful dinner with them and Zack's friend, Pat, we took siezed the opportunity of internet access and cell phone chargers to lay out our plan for the end of the trip. Travis' friend in New York wasn't working out, so I contacted my friend, Jocelyn. She was excited to hear about our trip and when I hinted that we were looking for a place to stay, she replied with the wonderful text: I live in a beach house with 5 girls, you can always stay with us!" Needless to say, we changed our destination from New York City to the beach house in Stamford, Connecticut.

Pat escorted us in his truck to the local campground where the mosquitoes weren't bad at all. We've got two days of housing to look forward to in Des Moines and Davenport and after looking at the map today, think we'll have about 10 days left after Davenport.

Time	Trip	Odometer	Average	Max
8:58:52	117.0	1859	12.9	37.0

"Food tastes so much better when you've been riding a bike for the past 16 days!" - Day 16

Day 16. Wow. Woke up around 7:30, got breakfast at a convenience store, and set off for Sioux Falls. Winds were out of the north, which wasn't optimal but was better than a headwind. My glove tan is getting pretty good, and we're running low on sunscreen so I went without it today.
The patched tube that Travis patched bit the dust just outside of Sioux Falls and after fixing it the liner had gotten cockeyed. So I got the pleasure of using our cheap, yet seemingly reliable, Walmart hand pump to inflate the tire to 100 psi twice.

Dad left at the first exit in town for the bus station while we continued to Two Wheeler Deeler, an owner of which we met in Spearfish. Interstate 90 had taken us nearly half way across the country, but it was not with any great sadness that we left it for I-29. We were given a warm welcome by with a flat tire for Travis no less than a mile south of I-90. Armed with the tubes from yesterday, we made it to Subway before splitting up with Travis going to the bike shop and me heading to the grocery store. I downed two peaches and a plum before joining Travis at the bike shop. My rear wheel had gotten pretty messed up by the double flat yesterday, but Travis was able to true it in no time.
We initially planned to head south on I-29, but it was uncomfortably crowded and so we began picking our way southeast towards Des Moines on the back roads. We aren't entirely sure how far the whole ride will be, but it we're guessing about 3,300 miles. Hence, I finally got the opportunity to belt Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer: "Whooa, we're half way there! Whooa, livin' on a prayer!" A bit later, we crossed into Iowa by Akron and after looking at the map, set a goal of Le Mars, 21 miles away.
In Le Mars we got delicious cheese balls at Bob's Inn before heading to a local little league game. We caught two innings of that before heading to the bar to look for a place to sleep. The locals recommended the city park, so that's where we are. Hopefully it's free!

Tomorrow we're going to try to reach Templeton, well over halfway to Des Moines. Spirits are still high, even though the back roads are hilly, they are much more peaceful and enjoyable.

Time	Trip	Odometer	Average	Max
8:42:36	129.7	1742	14.8	30.9

"You guys are threading the needle." - Day 15

Travis was so exhausted from yesterday that he passed out on the couch and slept most of the night on the couch but made it to the bed by around 5 am. We didn't wake up until 8, leaving an hour for us to get "continental breakfast" which consisted of bread, butter, peanut butter, jelly, cinnamon rolls, and no more than 2 tiny cups of orange juice. Still, it was good.
We set out on a frontage road because I-90 was under construction and made great time on account of the huge tailwinds and flat terrain. I didn't eat for the first two hours and was hence famished when we stopped to refill water 40 miles in. I bought a box of donuts (1,500 calories) and trail mix (1,170 calories). Both were finished before 4 pm.

Travis and my dad crossing the Missouri River

We continued towards Mitchell with Travis flatting once. Later I got both of my tires on one pothole which left us wanting for one tube. I had to use a stick-on patch which lasted 15 minutes before flatting a mile from the first exit for Mitchell. Dad went ahead to get tubes and a glue-based patch kit, while I fixed it again. We made it into the city on my freshly repatched tube, got some Subway, and decided to push 30 miles on to Salem.

We were making great time and still had four hours before the sun would go down. I led for the final 10 miles into Salem, really pushing hard to repay Travis for setting such a grueling pace yesterday. Our average was probably about 22 mph for the final 5 miles in. Dad got a motel, we showered for the second day in a row, got burgers and beer and then prepared to hit the sack.
Looking at the weather in the motel, it was a wonder that we haven't been rained on while riding yet. My dad had been watching the weather from home as I updated him on our position and he said that we've been threading the needle in terms of avoiding the storms. Hopefully it keeps up!

We've done 402.7 miles in the past three days, so we're up to where we wanted to be at 100 miles/day. We're going to try to get to Des Moines early on Thursday, push really hard the 170+ miles to Davenport on Friday, and then take Saturday off. Zoom zoom.

Time	Trip	Odometer	Average	Max
7:18:06	133.9	1613	18.3	33.4

"5 racist hags, 4 Buzz's girls..." - Day 14

Travis didn't bring a sleeping bag, so he has been using the rain fly for our tent as a sleeping bag. As a result, I woke up in the middle of the night to rain hitting my face. So Travis had to forgo his blanket as we quick like bunnies threw the rain fly over the tent. It rained pretty hard for a while, but I still slept well.

In the morning, we bid farewell to Luke and Jason, only to run into them again at the gas station where we refilled our water. We set off down I-90 at breakneck speed, taking Luke and Jason's suggestion that we try drafting off of each other. Our average was running about 18 mph on a slight downhill with a slight tailwind. We were taking one mile pulls but I was tiring and thus Travis started taking 2 for my 1. We made the 41 miles to Kadoka in less than 2.5 hours, but got waylaid there because the bathrooms were out of order.
After half an hour or so in Kadoka, Luke and Jason pulled in. We coerced them into riding with us, thinking that it would be great to draft behind such sizable men. They agreed and so we set off with a four person train to Murdo. Travis ended up pulling the four of us across South Dakota at a pace that left Jason and me wondering what we'd gotten ourselves into. It as all I could do to keep up on the downhill and I was exhausted by the time we pulled into Murdo for a late lunch.

Entering Central Time with Luke and Jason

There, we bid Luke and Jason a final (maybe?) farewell and continued east. The whole day I was trying to coordinate with my dad when and where we were going to meet him, as he is flying up to ride with us for a day or two. He ended up flying to Chamberlain, which would've made for a 160 mile day for us. However, we were too tired to make it and settled to meet in the middle in Kennebec, another 40 miles down I-90.
Naturally, the final 20 miles were done at an exceedingly slow pace, but we passed the time by coming up with our own lyrics to the 12 Days of Christmas song. So far we have:

On the 5th day of riding my country gave to me:
5 racist hags,
4 Buzz's girls,
3 free beers,
2 obliterated turtles,
and a pig roast in Arvada, Wyoming!

We hope to have all 12 figured out so that we can sing it in the Atlantic.

At any rate, we pulled into Kennebec around 9 pm where my dad already had a room at Gerry's Motel. We showered, which was great, and really surprising how dirty the water falling at our feet became. We were treated to dinner and then went to bed. It looks like we're going to make it past Sioux Falls in two days and be in Des Moines in 4. We're also very nearly halfway finished. Wow.

Time	Trip	Odometer	Average	Max
5:35:23	78.7	1101	14.0	?

"It's kaputt!" - Day 13

We woke up on time for once, made oatmeal and broke camp. As we were packing up the tent, a man approached us, introduced himself, and asked what we were doing sleeping in his parents' yard. We explained that Bo and Deano had given us permission, which satisfied him, as he is their business partner. We collected his name and address so that we could send the three business owners a postcard from New York City.

We coasted down the hill from their place back into town where we refilled on water and set off towards Wasta, South Dakota. We had great tailwinds and a long downhill for the first 20 miles, during which we crossed the state line.
We continued to get great tailwinds along our frontage road into Sundance, South Dakota. There we met one of the owners of the Two Wheeler Dealer, a bicycle shop chain in South Dakota. He was quite interested in our trip and let us know that we were finally out of the mountains. And there was much rejoicing.

Along the way to Rapid City, there was a truck in the shoulder with a number of people standing around it. As I rode by I asked if they needed help, not thinking there was much two cyclists could offer. They shouted "It's kaputt!" and then made motions for a cell phone. I turned around to find four Italian tourists with limited English. Through their extremely broken English, Travis' French and my limited Spanish, we were able to ascertain that their car was broken and they needed a ride to the airport. We were able to call a taxi for them and went on our way. It was nice to be able to pay an infintismal part of the hospitality that we have received forward.

Our good deed for the day done, we rolled into Rapid City around 1 o'clock. We found the Subway before being directed to a much needed laundromat, not having done laundry since day 3 with Kate. There we rocked out in our one pair of clean clothes and satisfied the craving we'd been having for chips and salsa.
Being so full from the chips left me feeling sluggish as we pulled out of Rapid City, causing Travis to run into my rear tire and fall. He complained of pain in his side but pushed through it. We were barely outside of Rapid City when Travis flatted. He is really getting close to my number of flats, so I need to step it up a little bit.

Our northerly tailwind turned into a crosswind as we changed direction at Rapid City, but we were still able to push past Wasta to Wall, home of the ubiquitously billboarded Wall Drug. Having been there before I knew it wasn't worth the hype, but Travis had to see what the approximately 200 billboards we'd been seeing for the past 75 miles were all about.
Outside of Wall Drug, we met two other cyclists who were also on a cross-country journey. Jason and Luke were wrestlers at Cornell, before deciding to embark on their adventure. They started in Florence, Oregon and have been taking the back roads. We shared many stories and some beer at a bar across from Wall Drug before heading to the local airport to pitch a tent. Hopefully we'll have no problems from police or mosquitoes before morning! Also, I noticed my cycle computer acting up again in Spearfish, so I'm using Travis' data for today.

Time	Trip	Odometer	Average	Max
9:06:37	140.5	1360	15.4	39.4