Day 48: Madrid to Marshalltown

July 27, 2025

The morning started out with the usual breakfast and the pain from Scott M’s burns was modest. Fortunately, the burns were not over joints, so hopefully the blisters won’t rupture early. We packed out amongst the aggressive mosquitoes and head down the road. Guess what? Another humid day. It was as if we were biking in a cloud again. Again we were on wonderful concrete trails nearly on day and we were able to crank out some miles before it got too hot. Scott M could bike fine without much pain. After a hilly detour of an unfinished section detour, we stopped for lunch with nearly 50 miles under our belt.

Just before our lunch break in Melbourne, my (Scott G) gear shifter stopped working. I was able to call my bike shop in Ohio and got some advice on how to remedy the situation. I also watched a couple of YouTube videos and began the repair. Basically, dust from the dirt roads and sweat inhibits the shifting mechanism from working properly. I removed the handle bar grip, break lever and shifter. Removing the back cover on the shifter, I applied chain lubricant and worked the mechanism several times. This resolved the issue and the components were reinstalled. We continued on to our destination of Marshalltown, set up camp at Riverside Park and drief everything out in the bright sun. We had dinner at a local sports bar, as most places were closed on Sunday.

Today's ride: 67 miles (108 km)
Total: 2,522 miles (4,059 km)

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