Yesterday we rode 82 miles from Charles City to Waterloo – the longest ride of the entire trip. It was chilly when we hit the road at 6:00 a.m. but starting that early paid off – it was less crowded so we made good time. It was HOT when we finally got to Waterloo – 6 hours later because we stopped in every town. The ride overall was not too bad except for one 20 mile stretch which took 2 hours in the heat.
We passed through Parkersburg, Iowa – a town which had been hit by a bad flood and then a Force 5 tornado, which means the winds had hit over 200 miles an hour. Amazingly they had rebuilt most of the houses that had gotten wiped out.
We were glad to have my cousin, Richard, finally join us on the ride today. He was a little sore after the day’s ride, but he’ll be able to keep going I’m sure.
We spent the night at my Grandpa and Grandma’s house in Waterloo so we were able to get a nice sleep, a warm shower, and a great meal. It was such a luxury. We had steak, Iowa sweet corn, and cherry pie for dinner which really hit the spot.
This morning we woke up to thunderstorms and pouring rain. We are watching the weather map to decide what the best solution is while still keeping our safety in mind.
