We checked out of the luxury hotel at 5:15AM, to a somewhat pleasant and foggy morning. It was cooler outside than in the hallway of the hotel. Back to Grinnell to catch up to the riders and looking forward to the Amana Colonies. I found a nice little diner, had breakfast & lots of coffee, and on the highway by 7:30-way too early for me. All the rest stops advertise wifi access. I couldn't resist so made the pit stop just to check my email and FB. Crazy that it works and even crazier that I made the stop the highlight of my morning. The was a Seik at the rest stop in turban, no shirt & yoga pants chanting and walking around in a square very slowly. Wonder what the truckers thought about all of this?
I met Jeff in Marengo near the Amanas. My drive was hilly and just beautiful. Jeff said his ride was real flat and he finds that a hard ride just watching the straight road ahead for miles. While I was watching for Jeff to come in, some nutty woman started playing the trumpet, and playing very poorly. What a way to wreck a lovely morning in a lovely little town. Everyone sitting on the sidewalk around her got up & moved. She got the hint, but it took four "songs". No pie in Marengo but the shade was welcomed as the day was heating up.
My route and the RAGBRAI route criss crossed several times. I got to see the crowd on the open road and tried to take a few pictures. One of the riders said I should label his picture "one tired old man". The light was so bright, I could barely see what I was snapping, so not sure if I'll have any pics to post. I did take a few pictures as the riders were coming into Marengo, set up for a group of riders rounding the corner & by God, Jeff just happened to be in that group. MAYBE, I'll have a picture of him riding.
I made it to the Amana Colonies, found the broom & basket shop, but bummed the quilt shop was no longer there. The last time I was there, you could barely get into the place, so not sure what happened to the quilts. There were very few visitors in general, heat heading towards oppressive, so not as much fun as I expected. The riders went right through Homestead so no chance to stop at the shops there.
Decided to plug in the GPS to see what direction the lady would take me to Coralville. She must have not known about RAGBRAI because sent sent down the exact highway the riders were on. I chose an alternate route and found my spot that the riders would come into town. The heat was similar to a pizza oven by that time and I was dripping after 5 minutes, knowing that Jeff must be dying by now after 6-7 hours on the bike.
Looking forward to an uneventful evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment