May 23, 2010
Day 6 - ending at Iowa City, Iowa
rode on Iowa River Corridor Trail
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I was awake at 6:40am. It was a quiet morning. Not many others were up yet.
Ate breakfast (Pop Tarts and raisins) at my site's picnic table.
I decided yesterday morning that it would be wise to turn over the bike each morning (before it was loaded) to check for debris in the tires. This morning while doing that I discovered a tear in the rear tire at the rim, similar to what I had last year. So I booted the tear with a dollar bill.
At 10:55am I was packed and on my way.
It was a nice day. The cows seemed to be enjoying it.
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At 12:55pm I was back on track, as far as following my waypoints, and at 1:10pm, I crossed the Iowa River on the Johnson-Louisa County Line Road Bridge.
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Here's a picture I took a little later of some backwater of the river. The road surface wasn't the best for easy going.
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At 2:35pm, I was more than ready for a break when a park appeared around the corner - where River Junction Road meets Sand Road and Otter Creek Road. There was a shelter there with three picnic tables.
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I crawled up on the left table and took a 20-minute nap. I felt much better after that. So much so that I decided to try out the cheap camera tripod I'd brought along. Though my digital camera has no rear LCD display, it does have a 10-second delay timer. I started the countdown and jumped over the picnic table.
My right eye had been bothering me yesterday and today. I was thinking a bug bite of some sort. I see from this picture that it was actually swollen.
I finally ended my break at 3:25pm. A short time later, I was back on paved roads. County Road W66 turned into a flat road with a great shoulder.
At 4:40pm, I was in Iowa City. I needed another break and time to figure out my route through the city. I walked a short ways east along Highland Avenue to sit under a tree. Airplanes were flying overhead, landing at the airport.
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I had an Iowa City bike trail map I'd found on the internet, but since my printout was so small, other than indicating Iowa City had bike trails, it wasn't of much use.
At 5:00pm I headed north and then west, spotting a DeliMart Convenience Store at the corner of East Benton Street and South Dubuque Street. I sat inside enjoying a large fountain soda with ice. When that was finished I bought some snacks and asked if there was a bike trail nearby that'd get me north. There was - if I continued west on Benton Street across the bridge and went right.
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At 5:40pm I was on the trail, first stopping to get a better map by taking a picture of the trail network sign with the BlackBerry.
A few minutes up the trail I came to this trail bridge under a railroad bridge.
A minute later I passed a Dairy Queen that had their own short path to the trail. I couldn't pass up such a convenient set-up, so enjoyed a medium cone.
I loved that this trail was getting me through the city without dealing with traffic, and that there were interesting sights along the way.
Just past Newton Road, the trail was closed. So I proceeded north on North Riverside Drive.
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When I got to Park Road, I headed east and got back on a path on the east side, and later the north side, of the river.
Thanks to a family outside their house along Foster Road, I found my way to the trail that goes under Interstate 80.
There was a trail after that all the way to West Overlook Road, the turnoff to Coralville Lake.
At 7:24pm, I was at the Devonian Fossil Gorge.
I took a few pictures once I got up on the dam (having walked up).
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At 7:45am, I was at the tent camping area of Tailwater East. I asked a ranger about checking in. That needed to be done at an office back on the other side of the dam. Being kind, the ranger had another official stop by to register me, since I wouldn't have made it to the office in time.
There was a soda machine at the shower house, so I enjoyed a Dr. Pepper before setting up my tent at site E2, right on the bank of the river. Then I ate supper: canned chicken spread, crackers, pork and beans, and a root beer (from the machine). I listened to my weather radio a little. They stated that today had been a 'Triple-H Day' - hazy, hot, and humid. My eye was feeling better today, and so was I after a shower.
During my evening phone call to Tahdra, I mentioned how, even though I wanted to just go to bed, I still had to write my evening report. She suggested I save myself some time and not write them, since I couldn't send them. That made sense to me.
I did spend a little more time, once again, navigating my way through the BlackBerry's menu screens. I wasn't successful with making an on-line connection, but did figure out how to access the 7.8GB memory card for pictures storage. Another problem solved!
Subject: Jeff report
Sent [by Tahdra]: Monday, 5-24-2010, 8:57 AM
Jeff called at 11:00pm last night - he made it to Coralville Lake, Iowa City. It was a challenge getting through Iowa City since the trails are not marked very well. He had to ask for directions a few times. He had a bug bite on his eyelid that was making it hard to see, however, Benedryl seemed to be helping. He did enjoy an ice cream cone on the way! ~Tahdra
Day Six: 42 miles in 8 hours, 58 minutes = 4.7 mph average progress.
Spent: $10.35 (drinks, groceries) + $1.95 (ice cream cone) + $12 (campsite fee) + $2.50 (sodas) = $26.80.
Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 268 miles (431 km)
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