Day 26 - Cascade to Elkader, IA

Total miles for the day: 78
Total mileage to date: 1279
Brook's Bitter Blog: Knowing my parents read this letter by letter I have to make a difficult filtering choice, but I suppose this is my journal and I would only want to look back on what really happened during my bike journey. Although my day started wonderfully with good company and a yummy free breakfast, things turned for the worse quickly. I do not mean to sound offensive, but I am sorry to say Iowa your roads SUCK! The roads lack proper signage (I even included a funny sign for your entertainment), they need a world of repair, they lack a proper shoulder and I if I were not mistaken I could have thought I was on the Autobahn.
I arrived in a town called Dyersville which is where the baseball field for Field of Dreams lives. I enjoyed a fruit smoothie in an adorable cafe and as I began my journey leaving town a car flagged me down. Josh from the local newspaper steps out with a camera, pad and pen. He spent 5 minutes interviewing me before I needed to continue down my road.
In one of the following towns I asked someone if I was headed in the right direction and he responded with, "yes, but you can't go that way because that bridge is down." Reroute time - my 70 mile day just turned into an 80 mile day.
The rain began - I had to remind myself the following things in order to keep moving forward in the relentless precipitation: at least it was not cold temperatures, at least my knee and tendon were feeling strong and at least I had a dry place to stay tonight. The lightening began - with no refuge for another ten miles I continued to bike while throwing my thumb out at the passing vehicles. No one took the bait I honestly felt seriously fearful for the first time in 26 days (besides those dogs that one day). As I turned my head around to look for an oncoming pick up truck to come save me I drifted off to the side and thanks to Iowa's awful roads, there was a clear 7 inch drop off and down went Brook, Charlie and Bob. I have no idea how I escaped this crash with only a minor bruise and scrape on my knee, torn rain pants and torn leg warmers. Charlie and Bob held in strong and had the strength to carry on. The rain continued as I had another 10 miles of serious hills and pouring rain!
Filled with joy I met my couchsurfing host, Shannon, and nearly began crying in exhaustion and a sense of gratefulness for her hospitality and warm smile. We enjoyed a fantastic dinner at the local Algerian/American restaurant where her husband, Bryce, was subbing in as the cook. Since most folks in the Midwest enjoy their dinner between 4:30 - 6:30 we had the place to ourselves and had a lovely time chatting with my hosts and the two owners of the establishment.
Comment of the day: While talking with a driver waiting for the flagger to wave us through during a stretch of construction the overweight gentleman asks me, "How many miles are you traveling today?" I tell him I had planned for 70 but the reroute might bump it up to 80 miles. He responded, "I've been there, done that." In shear amazement I responded, "You have biked 80 miles in one day because a bridge was closed?" "No, but I have driven a tractor that far because of that bridge," he said. I am so sorry, but he does NOT have the right to use the phrase, "been there done that" by pushing a gas pedal on a tractor for 80 miles! The equal would be seeing a person walking across America and telling them, "been there, done that." Feet do not equate to wheels a bicycle does not equate a motor.

Day 25 - Muscatine to Cascade, IA

Total miles biked today: 79
Total mileage to date: 1201
The rolling hills have brought some change of scneary such as the adorable flower bed pictured. Nothing significant happened during my bike ride, although I would like to comment that Iowa surprisingly has some significant hills! I arrived to my destination city and set my tent up in the pavilion with the local police permission. I had luck on my side because (it is tough to see in the photo) my tent situated between the nicest restaurant in town and the ball park. When I use the word "nicest" in the Midwest, it only means a slight improvement from the bar food or pizza parlor in their downtown. I made my way over for dinner and met a handful of friendly folks as I ate my dinner in the bar area. Two gentleman even offered to purchase my breakfast for the following morning. After my yummy seafood dinner, I walked back to the pavilion to watch the final 30 minutes of the amateur baseball game. It was a rough night of sleeping with hailing winds and rain pounding on the steel roof above my tent.

Day 24 - Cambridge, IL to Muscatine, IA

Mileage of the day: 58
Total mileage of the trip: 1122
I would like to apologize to my audience as the day did not bring much interesting news, scenery or happenings. As I began my pedal strokes of the day I took joy in the lack of wind. When I looked across the vast flat lands of western Illinois I saw the windmills dead in their tracks. I felt sadness for these powerhouse machines for their nonproductive day. I only allowed myself a moment of sadness before I continued flying through the day with no wind to contend with. I crossed the Mississippi River to enter Iowa.
My words cannot possibly begin to describe how much the people enjoy helping me through my journey. These two quick stories might help demonstrate.
The apple: I was craving an apple and I pulled into a convenience store in a small town and asked the clerk if fruit was available. She said, "No sweetie, but I brought an apple for my lunch and I would love for you to have it!" I could not fight with her long and accepted the apple graciously. I sat outside on the curb enjoying my crispy snack and three different men walked into the store and asked me, "Can I buy you a Gatorade, or anything?"
The duct tape: I needed some duct tape to repair a minor part on my bicycle and I asked random folks as they walked into Walgreens if they might have some in their car. One man, named Bill, checked in his car and came up with nothing. He wanted so desperately to help me, he offered to buy a roll and I could have as much of it as I needed. I felt terrible when I told me I had come up with a different solution and I did not need the tape any longer. He lingered in an almost pleading way to provide any assistance. Before he went into the store he said, "I have grand kids, and if they were on a bike trip I would hope people would take care of them, are you sure there is nothing I can do to help you?" It broke my heart to tell Bill I was 100% taken care of and I needed nothing.
I arrived to my host's, Nicole from couchsurfing, by 5:00ish and after tending to all of my needs we went downtown and had some fabulous Thai food! We also hung out with her family as they only lived one block away. It was a lovely evening and I had a great time getting to know Nicole and her family.

Day 23 - Bradford to Cambridge, IL

Total miles bike today: 37
Total mileage to date: 1064
I woke up in the plush RV my hosts Holly and Ron offered me. I had a sluggish morning with emails and planning my route for the next few weeks. I began my ride at 12:30 and welcomed the change of scenery including rolling hills through the corn and soy bean fields. I had to stop for lunch at the famous furniture store (Good's) with the restaurant and winery in the basement. I arrived to my destination and met one of my hosts, Anthony and cooked up some yummy dinner! (Mom and Dad - don't read this part) We took a motorcycle ride to the next town over for some ice cream. Upon returning from our excursion I met John, my other host and we all enjoyed a lovely evening of chatting and watching a movie.

Day 22 - Wenona to Bradford, IL

Total miles for the day: 47
Total miles to date: 1027
(I have updated day 21 on Friday night at 11:00, if you already read this go back b/c the story picks up from there). Just when I thought I had seen the last of Lynn, as I awake and step out of my tent, he pulls up in his car and says, "I thought you might enjoy a hot breakfast since it is a chilly morning." I oblige and head to town for some breakfast. As we order our breakfast at 6:15am a fellow customer next to us in this bar/restaurant establishment orders a shot of whiskey and a pint of beer with ice cubes. I suppose he potentially just got off work, but it sure did strike me strange.
After breakfast, I pushed off by 7:30am and had 2 hours to make 20 miles to meet my next appointment and that really was the last I saw of Lynn and I am grateful for his hospitality! I arrived to the hanger in Lacon by 9:30am as promised for my airplane ride. Ron, my host for the evening took me up in the air and showed me the bike route I would be taking from 1,000 feet in the air. He then let me take over the controls. The whole experience was quite unexpected and a huge rush. Before the completion of the ride, I made good use of the complimentary barf bags. I blame my father for my weak stomach! I had another 30 miles to ride to reach Ron's house so he took Bob and my bag. Riding without pulling gear felt liberating, although a very small part of me missed my companion.
Holly, a good friend from Ski For Light, completed her first ever triathlon that morning in Champaign and on her way back to her home north of Chicago she drove 2 hours out of her way to visit me. We had a lovely 3 hour chat in the city park and ice cream shop of Bradford.
Dinner time rolled around and Holly departed as my dinner party arrived. My host Ron, his wife (also named Holly), Dale, Lance (from the local Lion's club) and Amy (from the local newspaper) had a lovely dinner at the town's only restaurant. Upon arriving at Ron and Holly's house, Holly showed me her craft room (which is as big as a craft store) and helped me make a card for a special person. I must rest my bones now - my day tomorrow in the windless sunny day will either consist of 30 or 80 miles. Stay tuned to hear the adventures of tomorrow.

Forgotten Random Stories

Amish and McDonald's: On the western side of New York I saw the first group of Amish folks. When I saw this comical scene it was raining and cold or I would have stopped to take a photo. The fast food joints, such as McDonald's, had hitching posts in the parking lot for the horse and buggies and I even saw some Amish groups dining at these establishments!

The gift of mace: One day I saw a man cycling in the opposite direction and he stopped to chat with me - during the conversation we started discussing the dangers of stray dogs in the country and their instinctive desire to chase moving objects. He pulled out a tube of mace and gifted me this invaluable tool. (Mom, does that make you feel better?)

Day 21 - Pontiac to Wenona, IL

Total miles today: 34
Total mileage to date: 980
After battling on the phone this morning with my insurance company for nearly an hour I found myself pushing off in a foul mood. Many people would think after 21 days of going at this adventure I would be tired of getting on the bike, but I find myself at a loss of words describing the simple joy and empowerment I feel cycling and after pedaling for minutes my mood had reversed. The bicycle is an incredibly simple machine and with some added human power this machine can take you anywhere! I faced a day filled with clouds, intermittent rain and headwinds. Knowing I only had to ride a measly 34 miles, the winds did not push my buttons - I was one with the wind and accepted the fact that my travel would be slow. Unwilling to test my hypothesis, I would like to predict that persistent strong headwinds on the bike may equal the same insanity point as Chinese water torture.
I am thankful for the ride with Doug and Lynda yesterday not only because they moved me ahead quite far, but they moved me through I think some of America's most boring stretch of roads (sorry Indiana - no offense). At the same token I appreciate hearing Doug's perspective on this monotonous scenery, he said, "Some people find this boring, but I think it is beautiful. This is where so much of our food comes from that we depend on everyday." I included a picture of what I have been riding through for the last several days. In the summer time there would obviously be corn fields but it is only seeding season currently.
Highlight of my day: A woman saw me biking along and she called her father Lynn (pictured in convenience store). As an avid cyclists and a participant in the popular cycling event, RAGBRAI, Lynn made his way to the road to intersect my path. He stepped out of his car as I approached the intersection and said, "I would love to hear your bike story, can I buy you a coffee at the store two miles down the road." I accepted and we enjoyed a nice conversation over hot chocolate. Before he drove to meet me he grabbed the energy bars from his house and gifted 5 bars for my journey. At that time I thought it was the last I would see of Lynn.
I arrived at my destination by 3:00 and set up my tent under the pavilion in the city park with permission from the local police. The chief greeted me, unlocked the bathrooms and told me they would patrol the area throughout the night and to call if I needed anything. I am excited to finally be using my tent after hauling the thing for 980 miles!
Finishing up my time at the library Lynn walks in, he approaches me and asks if I want to see the local state park that my route managed to somehow avoid. I took him up on his offer, but first what to do with the bicycle as I have no lock. I walked down one block and saw a man playing in his front yard playing with his children. I asked if I could leave my bike in his yard for several hours. He responded, "Sure, you asked the right person. I am the mayor of the town." With that Lynn and I headed to the state park where we hiked to see Starved Rock pictured and the Illinois River. We headed back to town and Lynn treated me to dinner at a famous Italian restaurant by the name of Mona's in Toluca, IL. I made my way back to my tent in the city park for a peaceful evening rest.