Day 49: Marshalltown to Cedar Falls

July 28, 2025

Wow! Talk about hot and humid last night. We got into our tents after dinner and it was a sauna. It felt like we were sweating gallons, just lying in the tent! Fortunately, a thunderstorm rolled through at 3AM and lowered the temperature and humidity, making it possible to get some sleep. Lots of roads (including a detour on a busier road with no shoulders) with more corn and soybean fields today. We had time on a sand bike trail near Grundy Center. We took our usual breaks and lunch in Hudson town park. There after we were on a series of lovely bike trails in the greater Cedar Falls/Waterloo area. In fact, there were so many trails that our GPS got confused!! . The Cedar River was over its banks ( ~2 feet above flood stage) so many riverside trails were closed. RAGBRAI had been through (with 30,000 riders) just 4 days ago and now some of the campgrounds were in water.
As we came into Cedar Falls, we stopped at the Second State brewery for a pint, and then we headed on to our Warmshowers host. They prepared a great meal for us, took out for ice cream and gave us the nickel tour of the town. Thank you!!!