Lance's final thoughts

Thanks to all of you that have followed our trip across Iowa. I would like to thank Stuart Rosenberg who has been filling in the blanks. Larry has sent the pictures with a short note and Stuart has done the rest. I had planned to do the writing, however, after a day of riding, it was all I could do to crawl to my sleeping bag, take a nap, get up to hose myself down, eat dinner then go to bed. The first 4 days, I was a wreck, and I think Larry captured that very well. I do have to thank Larry for making this whole thing happen. If it hadn't been for his planning, training, and love of pain, ( mine) I would have never made it.

I should also add that Larry was gracious in sharing all of his growing up experiences as well as all of his family. We had dinners to celebrate both my Birth Day and his mothers 94th B.D. On our last day, we had a typical Midwest Sunday dinner at one of his cousins farm. The Californians were treated to a tour of the farm, a class on corn and soy beans, and an extended explanation of how all of the equipment worked. Fortunately, there was no quiz.

As far as the ride went, I am glad I did it, and glad to get a chance to see Iowa up close. We have a GREAT country, and Middle America is one of the reasons. The people are friendly, helpful, and industrious. I became so attached to the Iowans , that I promised that when I become King of America, I will share a new plant with them called a tree. I will be sure that they are planted every 100 feet along every country road in the state, and in a few years they will produce a novel thing that is called "shade". In other parts of the country, this helps mitigate the heat.

I was also both humbled and impressed with the hills of Iowa. They stack them one on top of the other so when you reach the top, you roll down a short distance, then start up again. ( No, you never come all the way down). The roads go straight up with little break. I suggested a "switch back " to ease the steepness of the climb. No one had heard of this word, so I had to explain it. In the end, they decided they like their roads just the way they are. I guess I will leave that one alone. The food offered along our ride was local and really very good. As soon as I could actually hold anything down, I tried everything I could. Pork on a stick at 8 A.M. sounds a little weird, but it was actually Good. Pies of every kind, homemade ice cream, breakfast burritos, Turkey legs, and Bratwurst were all offered all day long, and there was usually a band there to help you wolf this stuff down. B.T.W. , these bands in every town were really GOOD!!

Finally, as we road into each town the people would welcome us with a friendly wave and a hello, and I was proud to yell back " And hello from California " As you may have noticed, I wore my Calif. shirt every day. ( yes, I did wash it) We got lots of comments, and people were surprised that we came all the way from Calif. to ride in the RAGBRAI. I explained that we had only gone out to get a paper and took a wrong turn, but were glad to be there. Now that I am home, I have time to savor the memories, and they are many. I have never been more proud of our country and the people that make it great. Thanks for following along and if you are interested in a red bike, let me know.

Steve

We did it!!

Yes, we completed our Eastword trek across the great state of Iowa and we made it the entire way on our butts. Not many can say that and we are now a member of the elite group of tire dippers. We can't thank you, our loyal fans and followers, enough for cheering us on this entire way and remember, if you have enjoyed watching our journey, you too can start training now and become a member of the TDA (tire dippers of America), next year. Of course, an easier way to feel like you participated might be to contact Eleanor, make a donation in honor or our trip and we will see it all goes to Lance's favorite charity.

Well, now on with what you have all been waiting for, our final installment:



It was an early morning departure from Coralville but we could smell the Mississippi river (65 miles away) almost as soon as we started. The anticipation of finishing brought on mixed emotions, but Lance and I just pedaled ahead until we had the river in our sights.  The last leg was along the river and we knew we were almost done.

As we finished the ride, there was a celebratory cheer and raising of our arms. It is truly a feeling of significant accomplishment:




Another celebration picture with Marshall, and the traditional coating the tire with algae from the Mississipi to signify the end of the ride left us truly exhausted.

Steve was ready for a break and took a rest in the van as we headed away from the river.

It was time to put our bikes out to pasture, they were trusted mounts, served us well, but now it was their turn to rest. A bike and it's final farm's resting place. A fitting end to our journey, hoping we will return for another great ride across Iowa in the future.

 Check out a larger map of our last day's ride here.

Day 6 - Hard to imagine any more fun

What a great day, good friends (old and new), fun riding and even some fun dancing. Too bad it has to end tomorrow.

Another early morning as we left Grinnell, it sure looked different after last night's mass arrival. We broke our tent camp , packed up and started to head off.

Before we left and we had a chance to meet with a local Rotarian; James Ahrens Grinnell I (sound familiar)

The nice people of Grinnel gave us a waving sendoff as we headed east into a beautiful sunrise.

More Post Offices today than you can shake a stick at:

Ladora PO

Homestead PO

Amana County PO

Brookly, IA

Victor, IA

The quiet departure (or so it seemed) from Grinnell changed as we arrived at Brooklyn, IA early in the morning and continued on to Victor at 8:15. By this time we  knew we were up for a great day.

Before lunch we stopped at Marengo and met some more of the fun-spirited locals, Steve even had a chance to dance and sign along to lift his spirits for the rest of the day, check him out in the video below.

After lunch we made a few stops in Aman county. There is no doubt that these people are warm, friendly colorful and really know how to have a good time. Lance met up with one of the locals displaying her colors and really bonded with her. I hope I can pry him away from Iowa and back to Cali after all this home town hospitality.

 

Amana county also hosted a beer tent where there was lots of singing and dancing (and beer drinking).  They have their own version of the locomotion dance, check out Lance joining in the fun in the video below.

Back to riding (this riding is definitely interferring with all of our fun), Lance was finally able to settle into a good pace, following a pair of Iowa riders, the whining stopped and he seemed quite happy to just stay in line behind them. (wonder why?)

Well, it wasn't too much further into the ride when Lance decided to get a good close look at the corn, he decided he needed to get a real close look.

We know you are all wondering how Lance is doing on his rides, so as our ride draws to and end (only 1 more day), we thought it was time to show a couple of videos of Steve hitting the road and letting us know how he is doing.

 At the end of a very fun day we had a chance to visit with Larry's mom and our host for the last night of our ride, Ted and Barb Halm, Once again, we can't say enough about the great people we have met and their wonderful hospitality.

Here is a link to a bigger map for Day 6

Day 5 to Grinnell

After the grueling days we have had to this point, today almost (but not quite) seemed like a breeze. A short 57 miles ending up at Grinnell, Iowa; home of Grinnell College, which many of you Silicon Valley Rotarians may know as the college of Robert Nocye, one of the famous Fairchild 8 and co-founder of Intel Corporation. If you didn't know this, you should have.

On with today's report:

Breakfast on the run (yes that is Lance stuffing his face) as we left Altoona early, check out the time and temperature as we headed out onto the road, looks like another hot one.


Mtichelville gave us a chance to caputer another post office picture- are you tired of them yet- too bad, at least 2 more coming in the next few days.

Rhonda and Lance

27 miles into our ride, we stopped for a break in Baxter and met Rhonda, another nice Iowan who was happy to take a picture with our own Lance. Speaking of pictures, we did run into a group of biker ladies that were wondering about our own Lance and his quest to cross the state.

Lance and the Biker Babes

Finally, Steve had another chance to check out the local transportation, this time admiring what us Iowans refer to as  an Iowa Mercedes,  everyone who is anyone in Iowa has one.

We stopped for the day in Grinnell for a well deserved rest in preparation for tomorrow's 75 mile jaunt.  Wish us luck and keep cheering us on.

Click here to see a larger map for Day 5

Day 4, Downhill from Boone to Altoona

Before heading off this morning, the Rotarians took an SBI  reading (Sore Body/Butt Index). After yesterday's 100 mile ride (he rode the optional loop), Scott said he was so tired and sore on his hindside, he rated it a 9.7. Steve, one of our trips big whiners, surprisingly hasn't made a report. He's been too bushed to think about it. The grizzled bike veteran - Larry  - reports in the low two's. And now on for today's report.

Another early morning departure as we broke tent camp and headed out from Boone. One nice picture of us all before we headed out is below. Today's 56 mile ride (mostly downhill) helped us regain our energy and strength for the final 3 day push. Lance headed off for a great start in the nice early morning weather, the determination on his face says it all. He and Steve (below right), were ready for a great day of riding.

Another old friend showed up, Gary Jones, it was sure nice to see him.  We were also able to take a nice picture with Don Rimathe, both of these great guys really lifted our spirits as we headed into Eastern Iowa.

Food was a big part of our day (as it is every day), but today much of it was served up with a bigger than normal helping of Iowa hospitality. Chicken from the Amish women, and the Cinnamon Girls dishing out some tasty items. Of course, once again, Mr. Pork Chop was there to get our juices going.

As we rode through Slater, (population 1300), we realized that for today only, the town was now a bustling metropolis (per Iowa standards) or over 9400. We have become part of a traveling city.

One of the more unusual sites occurred today as we came in under a bridge of bicycles and of course those unicycle guys continued to just kind of show off.

At one point, Lance felt it was time to consider a more automated form of transportation, but the farmer told him he had to get off. Not to be deterred, he adopted a new pet hoping it would grow up quickly and sustain him through the end of the ride.

The end of today's ride was Altoona, with some unusual greetings as we arrived. Well, off for some dinner and rest and then on to Day 5. Hard to believe we only have 3 more days of riding, Lance suggested we head for New York and just keep riding, but I think we will probably just call it quits when we get to the end of Iowa.





Click here to see a bigger map for Day 4