The state park to Iliana Christ. High

Well it rained last night. We woke up at 6 to dripping on the tent. We packed up and headed out of the park. Usually there are markings on the road for our departure. Today there were none. I said let's go left but the guys behind me said no its right. So right we went. After few Km's we passed people going in the opposite direction. So people were stopping and talking trying to figure out who was going in the right direction. I'm not that patient so I kept riding. I almost made it to a second entrance to the park. Who new there were two entrances. Turns out I was going the opposite way. So I turned around and away we went. 

Somewhere in this pic is a wild turkey. 

Nice change of subject eh. We've been teaching the Americans how to speak Canadian. They like to use "a"s where the "o"s are. Like college they say callege. I told them we say collage eh. So we use a lot of A s too but we use them at the end of the sentences. An't that right eh. 

Back to the ride. I'm not sure about you but when I'm a little upset I like to play hockey or exercise, chop wood or walk in the onion field ;). 

Well I started biking today an almost right away we hooked onto George and barb. We were clipping along at 30+ km. after George went straight at a corner we yelled and turned. Now I was leading. I kept the same pace for pretty much the rest of the day. 

So I didn't take many pics today cause I was leading. I got a few drive buys. 

We got to the third sag stop and started on a bike trail. 

A quick drink and off we went. 

By the time we got onto the last section of bike trail we had the first 9 people in a row. It was fun. 

We went 100 miles in 5hrs and 48 min. 

We were the first group in today. 

Once we got to the high school they had supper for us 

And afterwards we had a ice cream social

Great people here. What a welcome.

My knees are a little sore so I have them on ice. Getting closer to little Jerusalem. See you all tommorow   Len. 

Ps the phone and Internet was not good lately so sorry about the late posts. I had them written but I couldn't get them too you. 

Here's a tractor from a couple of days ago. 

Fulton Illinois to Shabona state park

BAfter a great night of food and music it's time to move on.  With a 30% chance of rain today, and a 90 mile say ahead of us the mood was optimistic in camp. I figured 30% , it's not worth a rain coat for that. I know the book says 71 miles but its happened a lot that the route is changed. After seeing the routes picked there are safety issues, road closures and construction. The team here does a great job of modifying the routes. It seems to add miles to the day but I don't  mind. Some people get pretty upset. I figure if its safer its ok with me. 

We came across this covered bridge this morning. 

As you can see by  my visor in this picture it was raining. The rain started in the morning just as we were leaving and slowed for just a bit 2/3 of the way through. I think the 30% was the not raining part. 

I know it's the same bridge. Lets just say its hard to get pics in the rain. 

Here's Harold adjusting his fenders. I admit I called him a sissy for putting the temporary fenders on. 

By the time we got to Carrie's sag stop it had dried a bit. She was talking to the local paper lady. 

So barb latched onto Harold and I. It worked out good. 

We cycled the last 30 miles together and made good time. It was a hard ride but fun. 

The ladies in the kitchen made a nacho plate and other goodies for snacks. 

They also made a fire  and hot chocolate to warm up. Well it was a good day. No service the last couple days so I'm behind on posting not writing. See you tommorow Len 

Coralville to Fulton Illinois

Camp packed up quick this morning in anticipation of a 100 mile day. Buy 6 am half of the breakfast was gone and a few people were ready to go. We climbed out of town and headed for Illinois. We came across a little white church. 

It reminded me of the old Springdale church. 

We went by a big cement tower. It seemed to be out of place in the middle of a corn field. It looked like something out of the war. 

Here's Harold on a road that never ends. The landscape is changing again. There's more water, actually all the creeks and rivers are full. We are cycling through forests. The hills are also calming down. 

The first sag stop proved to be tough to find because a few people got lost. 

The rolling hills are beautiful to look at but not as nice to ride. 

Here's a truck on a pole. Who does that. 

This is the town of Clarence. It's about as big as you can see on the pic. The best part was at the end of town a guy had a row of tractors. 

Nice tractors. The sign beside the house said welcome to Clarence. Under the sign it said "next 3 exits".  Why is that funny you ask. I think the town only had two cross roads in it.

We came into the town right next to the Mississippi. There were about 50 tractor trailers lined up going into this plant. We stopped and asked a guy and he said it was a corn processing plant. This plant was huge.

We took a bridge across the Mississippi and into Fulton Illinois. If you look in the distance you can see a windmill. 

Here's you sign. 

 We are staying just on the other side of the Mississippi. We're at the Christian school in town. I went down the road and toured the windmill. 

  The town had a band playing praise songs. They were great.  They even played a little Johnny Cash. 

They made us a great meal. We had pies and ice cream. It was great. Well off to bed. Oh by the way the ride went great. See you tommorow.  Len.  

 

Sunday in coralville.

Got up this morning to a " hey Len the tilt skillets not working". Off I went. Someone had opened the gas valve and there was too much flame. It says overheating the sensor and shutting off the high temp sensor. After adjusting it we made scrambled eggs. Yum. So far we've had a nice relaxing day. 

After lunch we had a treat. Cookies that tasted great. 

I just finished play some frisbee with the kids while Carrie showered. It was fun. 

Here's a pic of an old wagon I stopped at yesterday. Fitting for the roads and country were traveling through. Well here's another pic. 

It's not my favourite colour but its not all about me.  So some people left today and 24 new people are on board. They just had a debriefing. Kinda awkward around camp. Not that kinda debriefing   The info kind. Way less awkward. Well at 530 we're going to have a special service  and afterward come back for supper. Ill take some pics and post them later. 

So we shuttled to new life community church. We had a great service. 

We gathered for coffee before hand. Some people enjoyed the vbs props. 

People were enjoying conversation.  

I don't ever remember taking a pic in church. This one was after the final amen. Honest. 

After we got back to camp we were served supper by the church folks. It was great. Does it seem like we eat a lot. 

Well we do eat a lot. If I keep at this pace after the ride ill be 300 lbs in no time. 

Well that's it for today. Off to bed see you all tommorow Len 

Pella to Iowa city

So here I sit in pella. Who knew there was such a Dutch little town in the middle Iowa. Ok so there's two Dutch bakeries right beside each other. Is that enough for a Dutch town? How about a windmill

How about a windmill made out of bike parts? 

Still not convinced. Ok how about a canal with a draw bridge. 

Still not buying it how about the largest working windmill in the USA. Thatought-a do it.

Too bad were only here one night. We're staying in the dorms tonight and in the morning we head out. 95 miles. 

So we left pella. 

  Ok one other story. A girl on the tour broke her bike and the frame was compromised so we called a giant dealer and got the runaround. Typical. She was supposed to bring it to Iowa city but was delayed. Finally Friday afternoon Harold and Danita went to the local. Bike shop to just look at bikes. They got in the shop and the  lady said someone had overheard riders  in a coffee shop talking about her situation. That person gave 1000 $ to the shop to put towards a new bike for her. She was stunned and thankful. Her new bike allowed her to ride today. Pretty awesome. 

Speaking of awesome look who showed up. After a nice dinner last night at a local  restaurant  we took a pic of the canal that was right next to our table. 

Ok  back to the ride. This time I'm serious. We left pella this morning and we were on the road by 645 am. We packed a lunch but we didn't have breakfast. We had to ride 26 km to sully, just outside pella. The CRC church in sully served us breakfast. Pancakes, bacon, hard boiled eggs. It was awesome. 

Out side they  were making the pancakes  with an fancy home made pancake maker. 

You lift the lever and the three chains pull up cone shaped plugs, this allows the batter to flow until you have a big enough pancake. 

After that we got going again and came across a lake that reminded me of cottage country. 

Complete with a marina. 

Nice to start seeing lakes, trees and grass. 

During the day as we ride Billy patrols the route and checks up on bikers to make sure there ok. It was a little cold today so he was dressed for it. It was excellent weather for 100 miles. 

There were lots of farms and corn as usual. 

Old barns as well.  This area the barns have the extra peak on the front for loading things. 

We went through the town of montezuma and all I could think was  "revenge". 

Lots of cement roads. Every time we turned north it was straight into a wind. With all the climbing combined with the wind it made for a tough day. 

At one of the last sag stops riders were treated to a piece of boter koek complements of Carrie. I think we had a lot of Dutch decedents that tasted their first boter koek. I think everyone was a fan. I mean how could you not be its just the most awesome thing ever. 

We arrived in coralville. It's on the edge of Iowa city. I'm tired but still feeling good.  Looking forward to a day off.  It supposed to go down to 10 degrees cels 

I guess I'll have to snuggle. See you tommorow  Len