UpperMiss

Day 11

Tuesday, 8 June 2010
Cedar Rapids, IA to Iowa City, IA
34.1 miles, 3h04m, 11.2 mph
Elapsed Time: 3h57m, Max speed: 23.5mph
Total Climbing: 920ft, Max elevation: 915ft
Total mileage: 769.8

Today really sucked. The weather called for rain and 20-30mph winds out of the ESE--exactly the direction I intended to go.

I overslept until 7:30, but that didn't matter because it was raining and I wasn't going anywhere. The doppler looked like the rain would pass through at about 11am--which was checkout time--so I decided to wait until then and ride a short day to Iowa City.

Doppler says the rain is moving through.

But then the storm kind of curled around, and so it was still raining when I was ready to leave.

Bleh.

Since I was planning a short day, that meant I would have to make up the miles later. So I rode over to a local bike shop to pick up an Iowa Bicycle Map. I haven't been very impressed with Iowa's roads, so I want to make sure my long days are as pleasant as possible. After today, I think even less of Iowa roads.

I hopped back on the Cedar River Trail, which took me toward downtown Cedar Rapids. The rain stopped after about 5 miles. The wind was there, but it was not much of a factor in town. I didn't see any rapids along the river, but there must be some somewhere. If this were Wisconsin, they would have called the city Cedar Falls to encourage tourism.

The Cedar Rapids skyline.

Then suddenly the trail was closed. No explanation. No detour. I had to backtrack half a mile and use my mad navigational skills to work my way into downtown.

Bah!

The trail ran through the streets for a while, then turned back into a trail. It even got a little bit naturey.

I believe this turtle was laying her eggs right next to the trail.

The wind picked up as I headed out of town. The trail got better, and then it ended. I was dumped out on high-speed 2-lanes with no shoulder. And the wind was right in my face. It was a long, hard slog to Iowa City. I stopped at both oddly named towns along the way: Ely and Solon.

The last few miles were on Route 1, which was really lousy. Lots of high-speed traffic and trucks. Sometimes a crappy shoulder, but usually none at all. And the wind.

Iowa doesn't really do shoulders. But at least here they are trying.

Finally I lurched in to Iowa City. Tonight I get to figure out what I'm gonna do tomorrow. Maybe I'll make straight for Burlington or Fort Madison.

Next