From Savannah, IL to Anamosa IA, today was 69 miles of just plain fun. Anamosa has a state penitentiary and we should have been locked up because this much fun should be criminal. Yesterday we learned the bridge crossing the Mississippi River at Savannah was closed for repairs. Mary needed to make a 40 mile detour. Ron and I crossed on the “ferry” you see in the picture. The “ferry” clearly doesn’t meet the United States Coast Guard criteria. The operator markets the service as “voluntary” for a suggested $3.00 “donation.” Even so, he once had a sign on the pontoon boat suggesting the donation. The Coast Guard learned about it and told him to remove it.
My repaired, valiant, but wounded rear wheel finally gave out today. Ever since hitting a sink hole while leaving Wyoming, the rim has had a small flat spot. On smooth roads I could feel it like a mild bump. Some rough roads in Wisconsin and again this morning caused a few spokes to loosen and it started to wobble from side to side. It went bump, bump, wobble, wobble. Like the old Corvair, it was no longer safe at any speed. So I replaced it with Marty’s rear wheel. What an improvement. I was reluctant to make the change as his gear cluster is tighter which means climbing hills is harder. Fortunately the hills in Iowa aren’t as steep as the hills in Wisconsin. Also, today we had a little assistance from the wind. All in all this meant today was just plain fun. We went racing up the hills and roaring down them. They couldn’t slow us down. After the challenging hills of Wisconsin, it felt as though we conquered them at least for a day.
It’s a little difficult to comprehend we’ll be home in two days. It feels surreal. I need to and want to return to work first thing Thursday morning. On Saturday I plan to complete the last 55 or so miles to Des Moines. Then comes jury duty and who knows what else. Mary too will return to a full schedule. I want to spend some time discerning the significance of the ride, but we’ll both be pulled into a vortex of important activities that will limit the opportunity for reflection. I’m grateful that Mary and I both have blogs as journals and hundreds of pictures. For now, I’m going to savor the days that are left and return fully and wholeheartedly to my grounded life.
My repaired, valiant, but wounded rear wheel finally gave out today. Ever since hitting a sink hole while leaving Wyoming, the rim has had a small flat spot. On smooth roads I could feel it like a mild bump. Some rough roads in Wisconsin and again this morning caused a few spokes to loosen and it started to wobble from side to side. It went bump, bump, wobble, wobble. Like the old Corvair, it was no longer safe at any speed. So I replaced it with Marty’s rear wheel. What an improvement. I was reluctant to make the change as his gear cluster is tighter which means climbing hills is harder. Fortunately the hills in Iowa aren’t as steep as the hills in Wisconsin. Also, today we had a little assistance from the wind. All in all this meant today was just plain fun. We went racing up the hills and roaring down them. They couldn’t slow us down. After the challenging hills of Wisconsin, it felt as though we conquered them at least for a day.
It’s a little difficult to comprehend we’ll be home in two days. It feels surreal. I need to and want to return to work first thing Thursday morning. On Saturday I plan to complete the last 55 or so miles to Des Moines. Then comes jury duty and who knows what else. Mary too will return to a full schedule. I want to spend some time discerning the significance of the ride, but we’ll both be pulled into a vortex of important activities that will limit the opportunity for reflection. I’m grateful that Mary and I both have blogs as journals and hundreds of pictures. For now, I’m going to savor the days that are left and return fully and wholeheartedly to my grounded life.
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