Day 8, Boone, IA to Lake View

Friday June 5, 2020, 70 miles (113 km) - Total so far: 469 miles (755 km)

Today . . .well, it was beautiful.

I went to bed worried about so many things. Basically would I make it. Depending on when heat and wind set in, I'm a goner. Yesterday after the spoke break and ride to Ames for emergency repair, I was back to plotting a course. Getting to Boone was horrendous in the heat and with the cross-wind. When that exhaustion sets in I ride a mile and put a foot down rest, then after the next mile I do a shade rest (if I can find it), sometimes I do a yard break where I lean the bike on a tree and fall to the ground under the tree in some farm yard.

Either way I get it done, but it is ugly.

So today left the motel at 6:15 a.m. It was cool and I must've had the wind at my back because I flew. By 9 at a Casey's in Dayton, 27 miles. At noon I had a significant break at a park in Lohrville (after a stop at Casey's), 55 miles. But I had at least 22 more to go.

I was going to stay longer but after an hour I was ready. My new thing: filling my water bottle with ice. Today each ice bottle lasted me until the next. Weirdly enough the wind had shifted and was helping me. I was able to cross-off a couple more small towns. At Lake City I was at 63 miles, had ice and was hydrated, I kept going to Auburn, where there were more ups and downs. About a mile outside I pulled in for a shade break. There were welcoming Adirondack chairs, so I sat down. I realized I was at a little gardening center. A woman rounded the corner and I said hi, just resting. We got to talking about my ride.

I told her that when I was 16 I wanted to ride across the country but my parents wouldn't give me permission, now at 61, it's my time. I discovered she was a Christian and I shared a bit about the work we do in Chicago. Anyway, when I told her where I was trying to get to for tonight, she was astonished, that's 13 more miles. Which would have definitely put me over 80. By now it was 4 pm. She offered to drive me and I said yes.

She went different from my directions but insisted she was taking me to the campground. I just figured GOOGLE. I was trying to get to a state park on a lake and hoping there would be showers, that the toilets would work. Angie and her husband dropped me off at Camp Crescent in Lake View were there is swimming, putt-putt golf, and a concession stand. I'm more used to the lonely county park with a vault toilet. The place was PACKED. It reminded me of Cornerstone Festival. I'm in the tent area next to adorable children running around surrounded by RVs. Before saying goodbye and thanking Angie she slipped some $$ into my hand. I told her I was fine, I didn't need it, but she insisted. This is part of the reason I wanted to do this trip, meeting folks.

So went for a swim, feeling great, and closer to my goal of Sioux City--maybe tomorrow.