Omaha to NYC Day 3
Animated map: https://www.relive.com/view/veqzzGeeg7q
SOFAUS Day 3
I woke up after a restful night's sleep on the air mattress in Kim’s living room. Checking the weather I saw a line of thunderstorms moving in. I decided to put off my departure by an hour and leave at 9:00. By 6:30 Kim had come downstairs. She told me about her grandkids, her cousin in Mountlake Terrace, and the local goings on in Atlantic. I love learning about the places I am visiting. Even with the Internet you don't know but a tiny fraction until you visit.
The biggest news is that there are Chuukese people in town! I mentioned to Kim that I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Chuuk and I got a look of recognition instead of the usual blank stare. It makes sense. They work in the meatpacking industry and there’s a lot of that in this area. Kim didn’t know any Chuukese. She told me they rent the apartments over the shops downtown. She told me there was even a Micronesian market in town but it opened at 10:00. The rain was taking its time. It was the perfect excuse to wait until Micro Mart opened.
It was meant to be. The rain stopped right before 10:00. I hustled down there and met Mel, the owner. She is from Pohnpei, east of Chuuk. She showed me around. They have kon (pounded breadfruit), apwut (fermented pounded breadfruit), and a bunch of tropical fish like parrotfish. Of course they also have Spam and corned beef. Best of all they had an ami which is a Japanese scrubbing towel. They are perfect for cleaning sweaty bodies. Chuukese like to be clean so they are common in Micronesian stores. I'd been looking for one, but hadn't been able to find one. Excited as I was, I rushed out of town. It was late to start a 60 mile ride. I was a couple of miles down the road before I realized I should have asked Mel if I could have taken her picture.
The next stop was Elkhorn. It was settled by Danes and now leans heavily into the identity. Think a Poulsbo of the Midwest but smaller. They have an excellent looking Danish heritage museum that I didn't have time to visit and a Thomas Dambo troll that I did. While admiring the troll, I met Katty and Grace. Katty taught at Grinnell College but got tired of academia. She used her experience running Grinnell’s international programs to start a company that is like foreign exchange but for adults.
Katty and Grace also told me where to find the only open lunch spot in town, Kringle Man. Monday's is the hamball special. Katty has had enough hamballs, but said I was welcome to them. I was glad I did. They were quick and delicious with sides of green bean casserole and sweet mashed potatoes. I was on the road by 12:30 with 45 miles to go.
The next section was a long grind to Guthrie Center. The roads were nearly empty which was nice because the shoulder situation isn't ideal. They are either gravel or have a rumble strip that make them impossible to ride on. Luckily the drivers are very nice. The only thing that makes me nervous is when a truck approaches me while another vehicle is heading towards me in the oncoming lane. This happens onlyrarely. One or twice I pulled over. Luckily you can hear them coming a long way off and I have a really great rear light that I know from experience can be seen a mile away in daylight.
I got a short amount of bike trail to experience total car separation. It was also flat. The relentless hills continued today, but I'm told the real flat Iowa starts tomorrow. The T-Bone Trail is well maintained and has doggie drinking fountains! How do they push the button?
After about four miles, I turned off from the T-Bone Trail. It’s 21 miles straight into Guthrie Center. This year's RAGBRAI, a massive organized ride of 30,000 people, rolled down this same road in temperatures that reached a heat index of 110°. I am amazed people were OK, although folks told me several people were transported away by ambulance.
(Guthrie Center where the farmers bike)
I took a break at Guthrie Center shortly before 5:00. I'd been snacking on delicious Danish pastry all afternoon. As I sat on a bench on the main street to snack some more, a car pulled up and a man in a white t-shirt and dirty overalls got out. He asked about the bike and where I was coming from. It turns out he's a cyclist and a farmer. He rides an e-bike after two knee replacements, but he goes to gravel pro races. I learned his name is Jim. He told me the 30,000 RAGRAIers experienced a big thunderstorm while they were camped at the Guthrie Fairgrounds. Luckily, the storm cooled the region down.
After a steep hill out of Guthrie Center I was on the road for the last seven miles to Panora. I rolled in, had dinner downtown, then headed to the Lennox Mills Park to camp. It's a pretty spot. I am finishing this post up in my tent. The mosquitoes, while not bad, found my ankles. Goodnight!
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