It Will Never Be 1973 Again

May 10, 2015

Dyersville, Iowa

Over the last week, temperatures have been running about ten degrees above average. Not today. It was cool and breezy and occasionally misty. I prefer the hot weather. I thrive in heat and humidity. I can't explain why with any certainty, but my theory is that it derives from my days as a wrestler. Like many wrestlers in the 1970's I cut weight by wearing a rubber suit while working out in a hot, sweaty wrestling room. The hotter I got the more I sweat and the tougher I became--or so I thought. Even now I feel like a tough-guy in hot conditions.

What I'm getting at is this: Today I endured hill after hill after hill and a damnable wind because that's what what we do on a bike tour. But the cold air and the sprinkling rain took a lot out of me. I don't feel much like a tough-guy today.

Landscapes expose one of the glaring shortcomings of my phone's camera. The rolling hills of eastern Iowa are much prettier than this photo indicates.

And the zoomily-zoomification function is worthless. It totally ruined what could have been a cool picture of a bald eagle keeping its eye on a dead raccoon.

Another thing that SOME people could complain about would be the 32-miles of Highway 136 between Wyoming and Dyersville. I don't complain, I just report the facts, and the fact is that stretch of road is pretty awful. I'm not talking about the traffic, which is pretty low, but about the deep concrete joints across the highway every 15-20 feet. Actually, they're more like trenches than joints. BANG . . . BANG . . . BANG . . . BANG . . . BANG . . . BANG--every two seconds, except when you build up some speed on a downhill and it becomes a non-stop BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG.

Nevertheless, I made it to Dyersville albeit chilled and rattled. As I said a couple of days ago, I lived in Dyersville from 4th through 9th grade, so the first thing I did was ride around town to see my family's house, some of my old friends' houses, my school, the stores downtown, the parks, and a few other landmarks. Almost nothing was as I remember it. The one constant, however, was the St. Francis Xavier Basilica. You can see its twin steeples from miles around and it is generally considered to be one of the best examples of German Gothic architecture in the midwest.

The Mormons aren't the only ones who can build an impressive church.

After I check into a motel, the first thing I like to do is open the curtains and check out the view from my window. Not too shabby.

Today is Mother's Day and I was pleased that my parents drove from their home sixty miles west of here to meet with me. They worry so much about my safety when I do this bike touring thing and I think they were glad to see how well I was doing with their own two eyes. (They each have two eyes so I guess they saw me with their own four eyes.) We had a great visit and a delicious Mother's Day meal.

My mom and dad after our dinner together.

There's always got to be a clown, doesn't there?

Today's ride: 52 miles (84 km)
Total: 1,352 miles (2,176 km)

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