Burlington to Muskatine to Maquoketa, 60 miles, 61 miles

I don't remember much about the ride into Muskatine, except that it was pretty and I think the biking was reasonably easy! Shucks, you can always read Mary Palmberg's blog, she has all the details! I do know that that was the day that Mary's friends from Iowa City joined us, all good company, I even managed to ride with them a bit.

The ride into Maquoketa was my toughest this trip. We had headwinds all the way, ferocious headwinds, 15-25 mph, and when we didn't have headwinds we had crosswinds. Bucky doesn't like crosswinds. They try to pick him up and lay him down in the ditch, with me on board. Headwinds are generally easier on Bucky than on any other bike I've ridden, including the other recumbents, but these were so strong that it was hard to appreciate any possible advantage the low profile gave me.

As is often the case, I ended up the last one on the road. Those tiny handful that I can keep up with or out-pedal (okay, less than a handful), had wisely chosen to board the van or the Subaru, so it was me and Laurie, our sweep rider. Laurie is our guide on this trip, and she also rides behind us all day to "sweep us off the road" if we don't make it in by dark.

At a little after 2:00, I felt the beginnings of a migraine. I pulled over and took a pill, and warned Laurie that this could be the end of me. A few miles later I approached an intersection. The cue sheet said turn right on Route 1365, and this intersection was 136 South. Common sense said turn right, but our cue sheets have been terribly inaccurate, so I stopped and pulled out the map. I was just starting to add up the miles remaining in the day when Laurie pulled up. We have had several days where the mileage was off; always, of course, more than planned. However, to my great delight, this mileage appeared to be shorter than the cue sheet promised. Laurie looked it over too, and the verdict was unanimous. The ride was nine miles shorter than listed!

On a day of pain, headwinds, and a pending migraine, that was great news. I rode in, showered, got out my ice bag, tossed some laundry in the machine, and sat. Thankfully, the migraine went away....for this day, anyway!

Later,

Dusty