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Day 1, Training, Travel and Trains
The CEM900 team would like to
thank all of those who have made this event possible: our families,
our donors, with special thanks to Merchants Bank as our title
sponsor, our friends and the great people of Kids 'n Kinship. This
is our 5th Annual Merchants Bank Christian Elder Memorial
900 Ride for Kids 'n Kinship, certainly a noteworthy milestone and
hopefully one of many more milestones to come.
The 2010 ride includes a record
number of riders (six), including our first female rider. In
preparing for the ride, we have endured cold, windy conditions,
spills, spinning classes and personal trainers. Some of us are
better conditioned than others. Bob Benda keeps sending pictures of
his rather unorthodox training regimen, and we will concede that it
does indeed appear to be interesting. The riders have questioned
the training routine, or possible lack thereof, of Bob Porter, who
has yet to respond to the constant ribbing. But we have all made it
to the starting point, ready or not, with our eye on the goal of
raising needed funds for Kids 'n Kinship. We have ambitiously set
our goal at $30,000, approximately 15% higher than our previous
record. It is a true testament to our supporters that we can feel
this optimism despite the difficult economic times.
John finished loading the RV
and trailer, picked Gordy up and headed for Des Moines to meet up
with Bob, who drove from Dallas, and with Dennis and Kathy, who were
in Iowa on a return trip from Colorado. After lunch with our
friends Ron and Joe in Des Moines, we drove the final stretch to
Davenport. Bob programmed his GPS to arrive at Modern Woodmen Park
(?) in Davenport, and along the way there was some discussion as to
whether to listen to the GPS, as “recalculating” was heard at least
a couple of times. We arrived safely, found a good parking spot
near the Mississippi River and set up for the night.
At the ballpark Bob told the
ticket girl that we would spend no more than $12 per seat, which
happened to be the highest price ticket. We got great seats right
behind home plate, and the hometown Quad Cities River Bandits
trounced the Beloit Snappers 6-1. It was a beautiful night in a
great park, although Kathy seemed more interested in people watching
than baseball. One of the fans next to us said that Joe Mauer
played a season in Quad Cities. What a small world!
After some of Sherry’s rhubarb
pie for dessert (yum!), we spent the night in the parking lot at the
ballpark. It was a great night for sleeping with a nice cool breeze
blowing. We didn’t notice, however, quite how close we were to the
train tracks. John and Bob didn’t hear a thing, but the rest of us
thought the train was coming straight through the RV. If all goes
according to plan, night number 2 will be in a State Park
campground.
Day 2, Grilling With Gordy
The memories came flooding
back. I sometimes think we should be on the Food Network with so
much focus on eating...perhaps “Grilling With Gordy” as a show
title? We started the morning with a sizzling grill filled with
bacon, eggs, french toast and a fajita scrambled egg dish. I was
thinking a nap was in order after breakfast; however, duty was
calling.
We packed up and headed west
from Davenport past Iowa City for the kick off to the 2010 CEM900.
Normally we take a few photos before we start pedaling to
commemorate the Day 1 start. John was really on a mission, however,
and he took off while everyone else was still getting ready.
Editorial comment: I think he just didn't want to take a chance at
being beaten by a girl on the very first leg. After our staggered
start, the riders managed to miss the very first turn of the planned
route. Then we came upon a road closure and detour sign...it was
going to be one of those days. Luckily the riders were able to pick
up the plan B road and get back on course. Gordy, on the other
hand, was sent meandering down some gravel roads about 15 miles off
course on his detour.
After our first 25-mile ride,
we stopped for watermelon and pasta salad (Sherry comes through
again). During the day we discovered that the roads weren't always
marked with signs and that our map was not always as detailed and
accurate as we would like. Bob programmed the GPS for Gordy, and
the rest of us made sure we were all taking the same turns.
Oh, and the ride. The county
roads were lightly traveled and had very smooth surfaces. Some
areas were relatively flat and other sections were rolling with some
very nice climbs. Generally, the wind was at our backs as we rode
mostly west and south. The scenery through the countryside was
marvelous with the rich farmland and valleys and streams and
well-maintained farmsteads. The sun shone brightly all day, and the
temperature was in the low 80's. Overall it was a great day to be
out on our bikes.
The
day flew by as we hopped from town to town, finishing our first 60
miles in Sigourney, Iowa. We drove to Lake Keomah State Park just
outside of Oskaloosa and found a nice campsite after 7 p.m. In no
time Gordy had chicken on the grill, and we sat down for our first
of many feasts. After dinner we were not a very lively bunch, and
it was an early bedtime for all. Of course, not until after Kathy
served rhubarb pie and ice cream to John and Dennis as her final Day
1 indoctrination as a “Biker Boy”, as John likes to say.
Day 3, Chivalry Is Not Dead
The morning sun was bright and
the birds were singing as we enjoyed our hearty breakfast. After
packing the RV, we drove to our starting point southeast of
Oskaloosa intent upon getting an earlier start. Once the bikes were
unloaded, Dennis saw that he had a flat tire. John thought “bummer
for you”, jumped on his bike and took off. While pumping Kathy's
tire, the valve core came out, resulting in another flat. This was
eerily familiar...hopefully this wouldn't be like Day 2 of last
year's ride. Dennis quickly replaced Kathy's tube and sent her to
follow John (who said chivalry is dead?). Bob, perhaps still
stinging from the criticism of not being a team player last year,
stayed back this time to help Dennis replace his tube.
The scenery was beautiful on
the first 9-mile section through the rolling hillside. Dennis and
Bob caught up to John and Kathy in Chillicothe, where they were
trying to get directions from a couple of residents. We found our
way out of town heading west and rode to our next stop. We ate
lunch and noticed that the next stretch of road was carrying a
significant amount of traffic, including semis and gravel trucks, so
we loaded the bikes and drove ahead to a less busy section of road.
Back on our bikes we rode on an Iowa scenic byway to Unionville.
Yes, scenic byway means BIG hills!
Unionville was quite
interesting. Shortly after he arrived at the mother ship, Dennis
was approached by a Deliverance-style resident, who asked if
Christian Elder was the bike rider who won the Tour de France but
was disqualified. When Dennis told him that Floyd Landis was that
rider, the man replied, “Why do I always get those two mixed up?”.
Bite your tongue, Dennis, just let it go. The guy also told Bob
that there was a music festival outside of town, so Bob took off to
check it out. As the rest of us took a break, an elderly couple
stopped to tell us that the husband was born at the location where
we were parked. The wife asked if we were from Minnesota after
hearing our “accents”. I'm not sure what she meant.
We rode another ten miles,
loaded bikes again, and drove through another busy section of road.
During the last 20-mile ride a couple of farm dogs chased Dennis
first. Although they looked to be harmless labs, they could still
inadvertently knock a rider down, so Dennis rode back to distract
the dogs while Kathy rode past. Once again, who said chivalry is
dead? Kathy offered her gratitude.
We had
a pleasant ride to the finish in the calm afternoon. Everyone is in
great shape and in great spirits. We drove ahead to the Humeston
municipal campground for grilled burgers and veggies. Our group
goal was to stay awake until 10:00, which we all accomplished
(barely).
Day 4, Hills,
Hills and More Hills
Another bright sunny morning
greeted us as we all slept well past 7:00. Our morning routine
seems to have been established. Gordy has become our own short
order cook for breakfast so we can all have what we want...eggs
sunny-side up, crisp or “wiggly” bacon, toast, and french toast to
order. We are very fortunate and happy riders!
Today we were able to bike
right out of our campsite, and we headed on a mostly westerly route
for the day. We rode through several quaint little towns, from
Humeston to Garden Grove to Grand River to Ellston to Tingley (the
host town of Elder family reunions) and finally to Diagonal. John
has been telling stories of his childhood with his brothers and all
of the mischief. Kathy feels sorry for John's mom, but the rest of
us think she was just doing what moms do.
The back tire on Dennis' bike
was slowly leaking air on the first leg of the ride. He decided to
keep riding to not slow the group down, and he managed to roll into
the first stop with about half pressure. He made a quick change
while everyone was eating a light lunch, and we took off down the
road. The story of the day was hills, hills, and more hills. We
have different perspectives on hill riding. John thinks he should
have done more hill training. Bob hates to see the road dropping to
a river bottom, because he knows we will be climbing the other
side. Kathy likes to ride up, because she knows she will get to go
downhill after reaching the top (and I thought John was an
optimist). Dennis enjoys coasting to the bottom of the hill so he
can start another climb (not sure what that says about him).
All along the ride today we
encountered many friendly and curious people. John, Kathy and Bob
stopped at a winery and then talked to an elderly man who was on his
way fishing with his dog, a Jack Russell Terrier, not one of them
cuddly dogs. Despite asking, it was never clear to them how old the
man was or what he was fishing for. In Diagonal we were asked if we
were “the band”, although we don't know which band. At our campsite
people were taking pictures while John backed the trailer and RV
into our spot...we must be famous. Another guy came over to admire
our bikes and to tell us that he too likes to ride, except when he
was hit by a car and airlifted to the hospital. It didn't seem very
uplifting except he was here to tell about it. The campground
manager was also very snoopy, like an RV park dog sniffing the
tires, according to Bob.
At the end of our ride we drove
through the municipal campground at Diagonal, but it was completely
full. We have never before ridden over Memorial Day weekend, so we
have not encountered spots with no availability. The state park
campgrounds are definitely full, so we are focusing on the municipal
sites. We headed north to Creston and found a municipal campground
near a lake, and very near some railroad tracks. We are in no
position to be choosy.
Gordy
grilled some huge ribeye steaks, and we refueled our bodies. Once
again we struggled to stay awake until 10:00, but somehow managed.
John taught Bob how to play cribbage, so they can have one more
thing over which to compete.
Day 5, Go To
the Light
The trains seemed to run all
night long in Creston...fast trains, slow trains, long trains, short
trains. Where is Dr. Seuss? We were discussing all of the trains
in the morning, and John asked, “What trains?” And this coming from
the guy who was just telling us what a light sleeper he is!
After breakfast and a stop for
groceries and gas, we drove south of Creston and stopped to check
the wind. The ever reliable grass test showed the wind coming from
the southwest, the directions we were planning to ride today. We
decided that the wind was not severe enough to warrant a change in
route, so we disembarked as planned. By the time we were riding,
the wind was blowing straight out of the south, so John and Dennis
drafted for the first 8-mile stretch before turning west.
We rode through Clearfield, the
home of the State Fair shuttles. Everyone should be proud of
something. John, Dennis and Kathy stopped for photos at the Lions
Club wooden truck, but Bob apparently wanted no part of this
foolishness. We continued west on a 30-plus mile run toward Hepburn
with a lunch break along the way. The hills were daunting all the
way, and the riders were hoping for even a short stretch of flat
roadway. The road surfaces were great, however, and the wind was
giving us a slight push. During the first three and a half days of
riding, there was nary a cloud in the sky, and we all welcomed the
cloud cover that came over during this stretch.
As Dennis neared Highway 71, a
sheriff's truck was pulling in behind the mother ship. The deputy
waited and asked if we were having any problems. Dennis explained
that Gordy was just waiting for riders as we bike across Iowa. When
the deputy learned where we were riding next, he chuckled and said
to enjoy the climb to the west of Hepburn. It really wasn't much
more severe than anything else we had ridden, but we did note an
abrupt change in the wind. In an instant the wind was blowing out
of the north, a much cooler breeze as a dark cloud was moving toward
our path from the south. A little lightning, a little thunder, a
little nervousness on Kathy's part, but Dennis just told her to ride
to the light toward the west. Her pace up the hills quickened like
never before as she wanted to get away from any sort of
thunderstorm. We did all get rained on, a cool refreshing rain,
before we finished our ride.
We
loaded the bikes and went in search of a campground. The first one
west of Clarinda was full. The second one north of Clarinda was
full. We were all hungry and tired, so we followed a sign to the
fair grounds in Clarinda. We parked on a dead end street next to
the fair grounds and grilled burgers and brats. After dinner we
watched the lightning from a storm rolling our direction and then we
all made our way to bed, tired from another long day of riding.
Day 6, Oh, What a Day
All of the riders agreed that
today was the best day so far. We were on a mission to get to Omaha
for a baseball game, so we started pedaling shortly after 9:00, by
far our earliest start. It was a cool 54 degrees with a cool
northerly breeze as we took off through the rolling countryside.
What a great day to finish the first 300-mile segment of our ride!
Over our five days we have
taken advantage of the sights and sounds around us. The farmsteads
are well-manicured, and many of the farm homes look magnificent as
we approach, the peonies in full bloom, and the corn fields growing
each day with the sun and rain. Red-winged blackbirds have guided
us along most of our path, singing as we get near and flying
overhead as we go by, their shadows racing our bikes on the road.
Kathy dodged a raccoon scampering across the road, and we have all
spotted deer along the way. We have biked through the smell of
manure freshly spread in some of the fields (and a little bit spread
on the road), an occasional stench of skunks and seemingly more than
our share of roadkill. Rusty windmills dotted the landscape over
the tops of wells to pump water for the grazing cattle, using wind
power out of necessity long before it became “green”. Kathy likes
that the cows stare when we bike past them, as if we are some sort
of odd sight, but don't even bother to look up as we drive past in
the RV. We biked along a large wind farm in southern Iowa and past
a herd of goats on the outskirts of a small town. The rural
cemeteries were fully decorated for Memorial Day, and we paused in
remembrance and reflected in the peaceful setting.
Today we started near Clarinda
and proceeded to Coin and then south 5 miles on the first flat road
surface of the week. We rode parallel to the Missouri border only a
couple of miles to the north and then headed north in the direction
of Council Bluffs. The last section of the day was along the Loess
Hills Scenic Byway. Yes, it had a couple of large hills to climb,
but wasn't as difficult as initially anticipated. Bob, who had
seemed to be riding more sluggishly today than previous days, seemed
to get a burst of energy and cruised through this final leg into the
town of Randolph.
About that ballgame... We
certainly finished early enough to go to a night game.
Unfortunately, the Omaha Royals played at noon. Oh, well, Jay
Saterbak bought steaks on his way to meet us at Lake Manawa State
Park in Council Bluffs, and we feasted once again at our campsite.
Congratulations to Kathy and Bob on the completion of their 300-mile
rides! Both did marvelously, and all of the training and hard work
showed.
Day 7, A Detour, a Repair, Laundry and a Movie (Oh, and a 60-Mile
Bike Ride)
Our campsite was a flurry of
activity Tuesday morning as Kathy and Bob packed up to leave,
swapping bikes and gear with Jay. Gordy cooked a pile of food for
breakfast, we said our goodbye's, snapped some photos and left camp.
Dennis navigated the rig out of
Council Bluffs toward the starting point of the ride. Although Bob
left behind his GPS, fondly named Chloe, it was an easy drive, and
enlisting Chloes's assistance was deemed unnecessary. With only one
turn to make, Dennis went back to other tasks. For some reason John
decided to turn west back to Council Bluffs. We should have been in
the open countryside, but the traffic was getting heavier and the
stoplights more frequent. Realizing the blunder, John engineered a
turnaround, which almost included a wrong-way diversion down a
one-way street. Personally, this author believes John was
subconsciously, or perhaps consciously, searching for a Starbucks.
Despite the detour, we arrived at our destination for a reasonable
start time.
The wind was blowing from the
south as we biked to the north. John and Dennis had ridden a good
portion of this route two years ago, so the landscape and the towns
were familiar. We stopped at Shelby, just north of I-80, for some
photo opportunities, including a giant metal corn stalk structure
with a pig and a cow where ears of corn would be, and a wooden
“Bullwinkle” in the middle of town.
The hills were rolling, but the
increasing tailwind was helping. After our 40-mile stop, Jay broke
his chain as he started pedaling. He loaded his bike in the trailer
and rode with Gordy to the next stop in Dow City. Gordy and Jay
worked on the repairs as John and Dennis rolled into town. Storms
were brewing nearby, so John and Dennis took off toward the finish,
a stretch of road they remembered vividly. They paused at a Farmall
tractor mailbox, yes, the very same mailbox from the 2008 diary.
Jay's on-the-road repair didn't work, so he had a big smile on his
face as he rode with Gordy up the final big climb for the day. We
finished in a light rain, but avoided the storms.
We drove into Denison to find a
laundromat, and Jay called a bike shop. He took his bike to Steve's
Bicycle and Sports Center, an attached garage with many items
cluttering the driveway. Steve, the proprietor who seemed content
to sit in his chair, apparently specializes in repairs of bikes,
scooters, golf clubs, lawnmowers, and foosball tables, among other
things. Steve found a chain and initially watched as Jay worked on
the repair, but ultimately he joined in. Jay gave him all the cash
he had, a 20 and some crumpled singles and biked back to the RV.
Hopefully the chain holds tomorrow.
With laundry done, a bike
repaired, rain lightly falling and time moving past 6:00, we opted
to dine out. We received a couple of strong recommendations for El
Jimador Mexican Grill, so we gave it a shot. We were not
misled...the food and service were very good. Severe storms were to
the south of us moving east, so we headed to a county campground,
Yellow Smoke Park, and backed the trailer up to the lake. Since it
was still raining, we watched our first movie of the road trip,
Kingpin, starring Woody Harrelson, Bill Murray and Randy Quaid. We
laughed through the whole movie, ate rootbeer floats for dessert,
and jumped into bed around 11:00. Day 8, A Ying, a Yang and a
Baseball Game
We spent a little more time in
camp this morning than originally intended. Jay pulled his bike out
of the trailer and determined that Steve hadn't really done a very
good repair after all. He grabbed the tools provided by our bike
guy at Hollywood Cycles and went back to work. Phone calls were
made, email was checked...life and work do go on while we are out
here biking around.
Breakfast done and all tasks
completed, we drove 10 miles northeast of Denison to Vail and
unloaded the bikes. The brilliant morning sunshine had vanished
behind a thick curtain of clouds. While it had seemed fairly calm
in our sheltered campground, the wind was blowing strongly from the
northwest as we biked northward into the hills. It was a tough
9-miler to our first turn to the west, but we all rolled through it
and headed toward Kiron. More wind and more river valleys and
bluffs greeted us as we biked forward. Then things got a little
interesting...at a T in the road Gordy yinged left while the rest of
us yanged right into town. John and Dennis mulled over the options
and decided that Gordy must have gone the other direction. We biked
back and spotted the mother ship along the road. This short stretch
of road was a busy US Highway with trucks rumbling by, so we loaded
our bikes to get to a new road.
It was now after one o'clock,
and we were less than twenty miles into the day's ride. We debated
turning back and biking with the wind, but that would take us
further from Sioux City, where we planned to see a baseball game.
Continuing into the wind for another 40 miles was not desirable to
all of us, so we compromised and rode another 13 miles west before
taking a tailwind to the south for the rest of the day. After
finishing the 13-mile westerly section, John exclaimed, “The only
good thing about that ride is that it's over!” Jay made even
stronger comments.
Riding to the south was quite
literally a breeze compared to the first half of the ride. Along
the way Jay spotted a rusty old truck with a bathtub, an
irresistible photo op, and we also stopped at a playground. We
continued to the south on the best road surface of our ride, and we
took full advantage of this surface and the winds to top out at over
40 mph on a couple of runs. We finished our 60 miles near Dunlap,
showered in the RV and started our drive to Sioux City.
We easily found the baseball
park and arrived just in time for the 7:00 start. Surprised to see
the game already in the third inning, we didn't let that stop us
from buying the best seats we could get, in the first and second row
right behind home plate. We were further surprised, however, when
the players ran out on the field after the 7th inning.
The game was over. Happily we learned that this was the first of a
double-header between the Sioux City Explorers and the Lincoln Salt
Dogs, two 7-inning games. Bonus for us! In the second game we
witnessed a thrilling triple-play pulled off by the home team after
a superb diving catch by the leftfielder. We were all hoping to see
a homerun, and after one particularly big swing, Jay yelled “There
it is!” on a meek, broken-bat pop-up to the second baseman. He will
be harassed for a long time about that.
The game was tied after 7
innings, and it was way past bedtime, so we headed back to the RV,
except Jay, who stayed for the game's extra inning conclusion. Once
again we slept at the ballpark parking lot, and there was a definite
chill in the air. As we made our way to bed, our thoughts turned
back to the ride, which will cross over the halfway point tomorrow.
Day 9, Storm Lake Lives Up To Its Name
We grabbed a quick breakfast
before leaving the ballpark for groceries and gas. It was a long
shopping trip as we completely restocked the cupboards, coolers and
refrigerator. Once the necessities were handled, we drove 10 miles
northeast of Sioux City to start riding. Our intention was to ride
mostly east all day long to end up somewhere near Storm Lake. There
was a strong wind out of the south, however, that impeded our
progress, and we ultimately only rode 20-plus miles east.
Our first stop for watermelon
was on an approach very near a rural home. Just as we were getting
ready to leave, a woman and her daughter, Randi and Taylor, walked
out to greet us. Randi explained that she had googled us and linked
to our website before coming out to learn a little more. We told
her about Kids 'n Kinship and our charity ride, and we also noticed
that Taylor was wearing her charity t-shirt, a pink Walk for the
Cure shirt. Dennis told Randi to check out the road diary, since
they would now be included by virtue of having come out to chat with
us. We thanked them for the use of their property and biked down
the road.
We turned north and enjoyed the
tailwind for the rest of the day. It was a very workman-like day as
we just ground out the miles. The hills were gentle rollers, and
there were long sections of flat roadway. We were planning to make
quick work of the day, but first ran into a very busy section of
road. We loaded the bikes in the trailer and headed to the next
section, but ran into a detour. On our way to find another road we
found more road construction. This was getting ridiculous. After
killing about an hour, we finally found a suitable route to finish.
We drove to a county campground
south of Cherokee. John, Jay and Gordy stepped out at the dump
station, and Jay jumped right back in, mumbling something about how
he felt sorry for the guy who would be grilling the chicken
tonight. The campground was swarming with gnats and mosquitoes. We
abandoned this site and headed to Storm Lake. The municipal
campground was near the lake and seemed adequate, but the camp
hostess was quite annoying. Apparently we had inconvenienced her by
showing up after hours. We were lucky that she was still here, so
she could check the computer to see if any sites were available,
perhaps besides the dozens of open spots we could see from the
front. We are still reading the campground rules as they are
printed on a multi-page foldout pamphlet. Oh, well...
Gordy grilled chicken and
asparagus, and we added baked potatoes, salad with bacon crumbles,
chips and beans. We cleaned up and were set to watch Austin Powers
when we ran into a snag – electrical issues on the VCR player. Jay
disassembled the whole set-up and made a temporary fix. Movie night
proceeded as planned! It was already late, however, and Gordy was
the only one to make it through the movie.
As John and Dennis headed to
bed in the trailer, a policeman stopped to say that a storm was on
the way with 60 mph winds. We stayed awake until the storm blew in,
but fell asleep with winds howling and rain pounding the rig with a
torrential downpour. Hey, not much will get in the way of our
much-needed sleep. Storm Lake lived up to its name, and we made it
through the night without incident. Day 10,
What Goes On In the 900 Stays In the 900
We decided to mix things up a
little for breakfast today...omelets, country sausage, toast and
jam. The sky was bright, and the wind was already blowing strong
out of the west after pushing the storms through. As we packed up
we plotted a 60-mile route to the east on purple roads. Before we
left on this year's adventure, John found an Iowa biking map that
color codes all of the highways based on traffic levels. Purple is
the lowest level, and we have stuck to these roads with only minor
exceptions and have yet to be disappointed.
By the time we started riding
east, the wind had already changed to northwesterly. At our first
stop we modified our route to the south and east, which would bring
us very near our planned camping area. We rode through the
relatively flat countryside, past miles and miles of cornfields and
an occasional poultry farm. If you think a cattle feedlot or pig
farm stinks, you should take in a good whiff of a poultry barn.
It's no good!
Unfortunately, the story of the
day will be kept to ourselves...what goes on in the 900 stays in the
900! We are sworn to secrecy, unless you can sometime get John or
Dennis in a talkative mood. That ought to be difficult. Suffice it
to say that Jay sat out (quite literally) one leg of the ride but
finished the day strong with John and Dennis. At the end of the
ride in the town of Dana, John found a real fixer-upper for Carol
Elstad to remodel.
We found a campground within
five miles of our finishing spot using our Iowa camping guide. The
guide is also an exceptional resource as we reminisced about
previous years' struggles to find suitable campgrounds, often
located by stopping at convenience stores to ask if there was
camping nearby. We pulled into a county campground next to a little
man-made lake. When John spotted the setup for the campground host,
he declared that someday he and Sherry would spend their summers as
campground host and hostess somewhere.
Dinner was another feast...pork
chops, applesauce, fresh cooked spinach, a medley of veggies on the
grill and most spectacularly, gravy cooked over the stove by John.
We enjoyed the evening and clear sky and then settled into the RV
for another movie night, The Mask of Zorro with Catherine Zeta Jones
and a couple of irrelevant guys. Dennis introduced the rest of the
900 boys to popcorn popped in bacon grease as our movie snack. We
all made it through tonight's feature and finished with a rootbeer
float before finding our beds.
Day 11, A Refreshing Finish
We awoke to an early morning
rain, raindrops lightly falling on the mother ship. It had the feel
of an all-day rain, so we all continued to sleep. However, the rain
passed before 8:00, and we set about our daily preparations. John
proposed a quick breakfast of toast and fruit, but he was over-ruled
in favor of a full french toast, bacon and egg meal prepared by
Gordy. Although we were getting a late start, it was well worth the
delay.
Finally we headed off less than
10 miles to the Raccoon River Valley Trail trailhead in Jefferson.
John and Dennis had ridden the RRVT two years ago and were well
aware that they needed to ride their trail bikes, despite the trail
being asphalt and concrete. Many of the crossings are rock gravel
or soft sand, so the wider tires are necessary. On the trail we
rode 17 miles into a strong headwind to our first stop, John
drafting behind Dennis much of the way to Yale. Just beyond Yale
the trail was under construction; luckily Jay had biked ahead a
little to discover this before Gordy headed down the road. Once
again we made changes on the fly as we decided to bike back to our
starting point.
In Jefferson we loaded the
bikes and drove past Yale to Panora, where we were able to get back
on the trail and continue toward Des Moines. It was a beautiful,
yet hot and humid, afternoon for our ride. The tree cover along the
river and the gradual turn toward the east were welcomed as we
picked up a nice tailwind. The scenery was stunning, and we
thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
As we moved to the finish, a
quick moving storm cell moved across our path. The rain started
gently enough, but soon John and Dennis were riding in a
monsoon...ok, maybe a slight exaggeration, but it was raining really
hard and the wind was whipping. Jay had already finished and was
back at the RV with Gordy, but he came out in the rain to get a
picture of Dennis riding to the finish in the downpour. We were all
completely drenched, but it was a great, refreshing finish in Adel.
We found a laundromat and a
grocery store in Adel, so we spent some time getting ready for the
last five days of riding. Next we drove to Des Moines to the State
Fairground camping area. It was already after 9:00, and we still
hadn't eaten dinner. Jay volunteered to cook, and we ate a
fantastic meal of steak, broccoli, potatoes and sauteed mushrooms
with green onions. There would be no movie tonight as we barely
made it through dinner before retiring for the night, the calming
sound of a demolition derby in the background lulling us to sleep.
Day 12, That's How You Catch a Ball
Another beautiful morning
greeted us on our only day off during this year's ride. It was a
much anticipated day off after pedaling 600 miles thus far. A day
earlier our coffee pot had been knocked out of the coffee maker,
crashing to the floor during a rough turn. This memory came back as
we looked for a solution to the mounting crisis of no morning
coffee. Eventually, the setback was taken in stride with the use of
a kettle, a spoon, a cup and a canning jar. John demonstrated the
perfected brew method on the second kettle of coffee.
It was Jay's last morning with
us, so he offered to cook breakfast with our previous night's
leftovers. We ate scrambled eggs with broccoli and a big serving of
potato and steak hash. It was another excellent meal. It was very
unusual to have a leisurely morning with no particular mission or
agenda. We told and retold some stories, including John talking
about his encounter with a plane while biking on the trail
yesterday. Apparently a plane was circling overhead, and John waved
to the pilot, thinking the pilot was toying with him a little. The
pilot did not acknowledge John at all, but rather started bringing
the plane down through an opening and into a cornfield. The wind
was tossing the plane around, but the pilot put one wheel down and
then the second as it veered off into the corn. We see the
strangest things out here at times.
Bob Porter showed up at our
campsite around noon to replace Jay. We said our farewell's to Jay
and congratulated him on a job well done. Now not to rip on the new
guy right off the bat, but we learned that Bob forgot to bring the
fresh-baked cookies that Sherry had made for us. Joann's brownies
and rice krispy bars are long gone, and we were really looking
forward to some homemade treats. This does not bode well for Bob's
start.
Joe Kranovich, our Des
Moines-based accountant, also showed up around noon to bring us to
an Iowa Cubs baseball game. The ballpark facility was fabulous and
we had a great, sunny afternoon to watch a game. Unfortunately, the
Cubs didn't have a stellar outing as the New Orleans Zephyrs pounded
the hometown boys 10-4. The Zephyrs third baseman, Hector Luna,
homered in his first at bat, but then missed an easy foul pop-up. A
short time later a foul fly reached the seats near us, and a boy
caught it in his glove. Bob yelled, “Hey, Luna, that's how you
catch a ball!” Luna looked back at Bob and gave him a thumb's up.
He later homered again, which, of course, we blamed on Bob. It
might be that kind of week.
(l to r) Gordy Clough, Dennis Hill, Joe Kranovich & Bob Porter.
After the game, Joe drove us to
K-Mart for a new coffee maker, a shiny new Mr. Coffee for $18.99,
before dropping us back at the campground. Thank you to Joe for the
hospitality in Des Moines. We finished the day with burgers on the
grill and finally popcorn and a movie, Office Space, a comedy from
the late 1990's starring Jennifer Aniston. Tomorrow we will see how
Bob's training has paid off. Day 13, We All
Hit the Trail, One of Us Quite Literally
We fueled up on french toast,
sausage, eggs and juice and departed Des Moines on our way to a
trail in Ankeny. Along the way, John happily noted that he knows of
a Starbucks in Ankeny. Hmmm...John picks the starting point in
Ankeny where there just so happens to be a Starbucks. Coincidence?
I think we all know the answer to that.
After the stop at Starbucks, we
started searching for the trailhead. These trails frequently are
not marked very well, on maps or with signs. We arrived at a
location that looked to be near the trailhead but still saw
nothing. Finally we found a notation on the trail website that said
the trail starts under the water tower. Good for us...we were right
next to the water tower. The struggle to find the trail would be a
foreshadowing of our whole day.
The first 12 miles of trail was
brand new asphalt north of Ankeny. The rest of the trail was
limestone and rolled through a number of small towns with no trail
signage at all. We rode through Huxley to Cambridge and came upon a
detour. Actually, we came to a closed trail sign with no detour
posted. There was a map, however, so we plotted a route on the
highway to jump ahead on the trail a few miles. On the road we were
a little puzzled and asked for directions from a deputy, who assured
us that we were on the right track.
On the trail again we stopped
for a picture, some of us stopping more gracefully than others,
Bob. Those clips just don't come out of the pedals sometimes. It
could happen to any of us, although it doesn't. If Bob claims to
any of you that the photo is doctored, just remember that John and
Dennis are not technologically savvy enough to use Photoshop.
In the next town of Maxwell we
lost the trail again and headed down a very rocky road. We met a
city employee who pointed us back down the road and down a barely
discernible grass path. Back on course we rode into Collins and
another trail end. We asked a gentleman for directions...left one
block, right to Main Street, left to the county road, right a couple
of miles to a gravel road, straight on the gravel to a T, and left
until you see the trail again. How did we not find this on our
own? Despite the navigation issues, it was a great scenic trail the
whole way. We had a wonderfully enjoyable ride and did not worry
about time at all. The day was cloudy, cooler and calm, and we felt
a few sprinkles of rain off and on throughout our ride.
The trail ended after 45 miles,
so we headed north on the highway to ride out the day. We drove
back to Marshalltown to a municipal campground and grilled chicken
for a late dinner. After dinner we had enough energy for a rootbeer
float, but not much else, as we all turned in for the night. No
movie, no popcorn, and no baseball were on the schedule, just much
needed sleep.
Day 14, A Tale of Two Days
Marshalltown will not be
receiving any endorsements from the 900 boys. The campground was
pleasant enough, but the stench that wafted through the town during
the night was horrible. We assumed it was a slaughter house, and
since we need very little evidence to draw our conclusions, that is
going to be our story. No amount of noise has awakened John during
the night on this trip, but at one point during the night, he asked
Dennis what that awful smell was, somewhat accusatory I may add.
Our morning bacon has to come from somewhere, but this morning we
would have preferred that it came from somewhere else.
The rain was coming down hard
as we awakened. The weather forecast was for rain and storms all
day long. We made toast in the RV and drove to Waterloo for a
grocery stop and better internet connection. The wind was gusting
hard out of the south, and it was pouring rain as we drove. We
decided that riding on the highways today would be unsafe, so we
found a municipal campground that was connected to a trail on which
we planned to ride 30 miles out and back. It was almost noon by the
time we pedaled out of camp, and it was no longer raining.
Eventually, we found trail markings to the south, but almost
immediately came to a “trail closed” sign. We went around it, only
to discover that an entire bridge looked to have been washed out by
the Cedar River.
Plan B was to ride the city
trails of Waterloo and Cedar Falls. Consistent with most city
trails, the markings and signs for the trails were spotty to
nonexistent. Our first wrong turn was right by City Hall, where
John went in to get a trail map. With trail map in hand we were
sure this would be “easy peasy”, according to John. It was not. We
meandered through downtown Waterloo and kept stopping to consult the
map. We finally found a trail out to Hudson, a trail along a 4-lane
road through an industrial section. This was an ugly ride on an
overcast, ugly day, and our progress was very slow.
By mid-afternoon we stopped at
the Lickin Chicken shack in Hudson for malts and a snack. We were
only 20 miles into the ride, and it wasn't looking good for a
60-miler. We opted for a different route back into the city, but
you guessed it, trail closed. This one actually had a detour,
however, and the trail was more scenic. Very suddenly the sky
cleared, and the trails got better and more scenic. At one point
Dennis was riding and felt something on his helmet and heard a
clawing for just a couple of seconds. He was fairly certain that a
red-winged blackbird had landed on his head. He stopped, and Bob
confirmed it. Shortly thereafter John rolled up and said that
something had been on his helmet. We told him what it was, and we
all laughed and wished we could have gotten a picture. This bird
had taken its natural instinct to protect to a whole new level.
Frequently on the ride we have seen them riding on the backs of
hawks, but we never dreamed one would try to attack us.
We accumulated miles through
some beautiful city trails, along the river, past ponds, through
parks and heavily treed areas, totally different from the earlier
ride. Navigation of the trails was a problem all day, and the map
was not always particularly helpful. The trail unexpectedly ended
at one point near the end of the day, but we asked a couple of
bikers to help us. They debated, took a look at the map, decided
the map was worthless, and pointed us down the road to reconnect
with the trail. We thanked them and followed their directions
perfectly to find our way back to our campground where Gordy was
waiting patiently. We pulled in at 7:00 after more than 5 hours of
pedaling, but we got our 60!
We ate a dinner of corn on the
cob, salad wedges and monstrous steaks on the grill. The best news
of the day...Bob managed to stay awake long enough for his first
rootbeer float. Day 15, Where the Wind
Blows...
The day looked much more
promising from the onset as we arose in Waterloo. Gordy cooked our
breakfast on the grill in the bright morning sunshine as we prepared
to depart. Remembering that Bob's bike needed a repair, John pulled
it out of the trailer to take a look. The repair work looked more
fitting of a bike shop than something we could handle on the road,
so we opted to change Bob's pedals to John's spare bike, Rocket.
Before we broke camp we consulted the Kids 'n Kinship-provided
windsock and learned that the wind was blowing strong out of the
west, which bode well for our ride to the east.
The day flew by. Back on the
highways for the first time since last week, we were riding so fast
that Gordy could barely keep pace. Alright, maybe not that fast,
but we were really cruising. By mid-ride we each set goals for the
average speed to attain, and we pedaled hard to reach them. We
watched the rural scenery passing us by as we rolled through the
hills. Central Iowa is certainly much flatter than southern Iowa,
and certain riders have really appreciated this fact.
What a difference a day makes!
After yesterday's long, arduous ride on the trails, today we all
finished in right around three hours, averaging from 18 to 22 mph.
John is claiming the ride as unassisted, but once again the windsock
is telling a different story. We had just about enough time to make
the hour-long drive to the Quad Cities to see the River Bandits play
again. It is two weeks to the day since we made our first
appearance at Modern Woodmen Park, and what a two weeks it has been.
The game was in the second
inning by the time we got to our seats. It was an absolutely
perfect night for baseball. The game itself was an entertaining
back-and-forth affair with the home team scoring a run in the bottom
of the ninth to tie the game and send it to extra innings. Bob
claimed to feel raindrops, but the rest of us saw nothing but a
clear, starry night. He used this as his excuse to head back to the
RV to go to sleep, so he missed the game-winning homerun by South
Bend in the top of the tenth. John took numerous photos at the
game, not all of which will make the daily log, but we decided which
ones we would send to the other riders to show what they missed. We
truly enjoyed observing small town baseball and its fans.
Despite eating mammoth
foot-long brats at the game, John, Dennis and Gordy still found room
for a rootbeer float. Bob only passed on the float because of the
rather sizable waffle cone he ate at the game. It's our last night
sleeping out on the road, and it looks like a great night to sleep.
Day 16, The Long Way Home
One by one we woke up early
today, beginning at 6:00 a.m. We had a long journey back to
Minneapolis, but not before we enjoyed our last camp breakfast
cooked by Gordy. The setting was fabulous as we dined in a gazebo
along the Mississippi River front on a bright, sunny morning. We
left our ballpark campsite, pointed toward home and started
driving. Only one hitch...there were 60 miles of this return trip
to be spent pedaling our bikes.
About 2 hours after leaving
Davenport, we stopped east of Cedar Rapids in a busy little town of
Independence to begin our mostly northward journey. What little
breeze there was came out of the southeast, but Bob somehow claimed
we had a headwind, despite the disbelieving looks from John and
Dennis. We threatened to get out the windsock, but Bob said he
didn't need our fancy science because he had empirical evidence to
support his position. Who invited the attorney along anyway?
About half of the first 22-mile
stretch was along a road called Amish Way. It was noticeably
different to bike through. The farmsteads were much closer
together, and each one had a large vegetable garden, horses grazing
(sometimes tied to a post in the ditch), a few cows, some buggies
and no electricity. The Amish know all about commerce, however, and
signs along the road advertised night crawlers, rugs, strawberries,
quilts and crafts, candy, more night crawlers, fryers and “bunnies
for sale, third place”. We went past horses and buggies along the
road, including a pony with a very small cart pulling a couple of
kids. Everyone waved as we went by, and two little boys tried to
outrun John on foot, but alas, he is a 900 boy, and he was
determined to prevail. Not to be outdone by the Amish, further
north was a sign advertising that “coming soon” was a new retail
concept, Everything Goat and More. Hold your breath everyone!
The rain started to fall
lightly at the 20-mile mark, but the clouds looked much darker to
the north. We put on our rain gear and flashing taillights and
continued pedaling. This was by far the most miserable 20-mile
stretch on the ride. The rain was heavy, and the traffic was
heavier than most everything we had ridden. It wasn't even so much
the volume of traffic as the type of traffic, trucks of all kind,
milk trucks, fuel trucks, gravel trucks, grain trucks, and pickups
pulling boats and large trailers. John contemplated calling the
ride off for the day considering the conditions, but then both the
traffic and the rain subsided. We took time to pose with some
sculptures in a farmyard, including Puff (the Magic Dragon?), a T-rex,
and a turtle.
We took a second break and then
rode our final 15 miles for the day, proud to have endured. While
stopped in a small town to shower, Bob got some ice from a tavern to
ice his knees. The people of Iowa have been so generally helpful
and generous on our trip. We drove to Mason City for a bite to eat,
including frozen yogurt treats, and we turned north for the final
drive home, arriving past our collective normal bedtimes. Tonight
we sleep in our real beds in our homes, and tomorrow we will ride
our final 60 miles on the trails in the Twin Cities.
Day 17, On Familiar Territory
It is always strange getting
back to Minneapolis and going our separate ways, knowing that we
still have another 60 miles to cover. In the morning John, Bob and
Dennis reconvened at John's, jumped in the RV and drove all the way
to....Starbucks. John muttered something about one cup of decaf not
being enough to get him through the day, and Bob and Dennis gladly
accepted the stop.
We parked the RV for our
departure from Hopkins Depot, from which 4 trails spring. We rode
north and east into downtown, where Bob paused to view the new Twins
baseball park, then back around Lake of the Isles and Lake Calhoun,
where we stopped for fish sandwiches at the Tin Fish. After lunch
we rode east on the Midtown Greenway all the way to West River
Parkway with its newly resurfaced trail along the Mississippi
River. We continued south along the river, past Minnehaha Falls and
on to Fort Snelling on a long, gradually descending trail through
the woods.
Dennis neglected to tell John
and Bob that there was a very steep climb at the end of this trail,
but right before they reached it, he yelled, “granny gear”, and John
shouted back, “I knew it!”. Dennis gutted his way up the hill and
waited. You can ask John and Bob yourselves how they each fared
with the climb. We crossed the Mendota Bridge, picked up another
trail along the river, back across the 35E bridge, along Shepherd
Road and into downtown St. Paul.
We intended to bike on Shepherd
Road all the way back to the Mississippi to ride along the east side
of the river, but for the final time we hit a closed trail. Instead
we routed ourselves back to Fort Snelling via the same route we
came. This time, however, we rode through the city along Minnehaha
Parkway to Lake Harriet, connecting again to Lake Calhoun and
ultimately to the trail back to the RV in Hopkins. We are blessed
with great scenery on the trails in the Twin Cities, and we fully
enjoyed the views along the way, particularly around Lake Calhoun.
Back in Hopkins we celebrated
the completion of 900 miles for John and Dennis and 300 miles for
Bob by raising our bikes over our heads, after finding a nice young
woman to snap a photo. We congratulated each other and laughed
again about some of our interesting tales as we drove back to
Bloomington. We made it! We are happy and healthy and hopefully a
few pounds lighter. Tomorrow is our full welcome home celebration,
and we are very much looking forward to it.
Day 18, A Rousing Welcome Home
Saturday morning we met for one
final ride on our 2010 tour, this one a short ceremonial trek to a
“Welcome Home” celebration at Merchants Bank in Apple Valley. Kathy
and Jay rejoined John, Dennis and Bob for the ride; only Bob Benda
was unable to make the trip. Gordy led us into the bank parking lot
in the RV as we rode toward the cheers of our many friends and
family members. It was a cold and blustery morning, but that didn't
seem to diminish the turnout.
Skip welcomed us back on behalf
of Merchants Bank and committed the bank as title sponsor as long as
we keep riding...hopefully he wasn't just caught up in the moment.
Jan congratulated and thanked us on behalf of Kids 'n Kinship and
presented us with plaques and photo books. John thanked the rest of
the riders, the staff of Merchants Bank, the staff and volunteers
from Kids 'n Kinship, Gordy, and the many others who helped us along
the way. John also presented a mock check to Kids 'n Kinship in the
amount of $25,140 from all of our fundraising efforts.
The party was a blast! There
were hot dogs, ice cream, cookies, beverages, balloons, and break
dancers, but the big hit was the homemade pinata. The kids took
turns pounding away at the pinata until candy was spilling out on
the ground. Oh, the joys of being a kid!
We all mingled until the crowd
gradually dispersed. John was already discussing next year's ride –
surprise! All of the 2010 riders have committed to riding again in
2011, a tribute both to the enjoyment we experience and to the
collective dedication to the mission of Kids 'n Kinship. In a twist
on Skip's comment, we will ride as long as you keep supporting us.
Thanks to all, and see you again next year! |
