Okay, it was the farmers rejoicing. They got a wonderful rain for their crops today. Bicyclers, however, were not rejoicing.
The reality is that it will rain quite a bit during a trip like this. I have been extraordinarily fortunate to have dealt with very little rain (while biking) this trip.
My weather app predicted 20% chance of rain today, so I put on plenty of sunblock before taking off for the day. Last night, I researched churches in towns which I was to be passing through, to see if I could attend a service on the fly. Sure enough, there was a 10 AM service in a town called Cascade. It was about 18 miles away. I left around 7:45 AM.
Everything went well until I got to the next town, and couldn't find the highway I wanted to be on. Asking for directions, I learned two things, neither of them good. First of all, my road would be unpaved for 8 miles. Secondly, rain and lightning were expected by noon.
So I set out on the gravel road. It was slippery and slow. So slow, that it became obvious that I would not be on time at the church service. Finally, I arrived in Cascade, and came to a stop sign. One block up was the church, with a full parking lot.
I decided to attend. It was a start up congregation, but there was a lot of vitality in the service. A guest pastor delivered the sermon, and I took lots of notes. The problem is that this sermon did not seem to have an end. Finally, at 11:30, after listening for 45 minutes, with no end in sight, I left.
Across the street was a cafe, and I needed fuel. 30 minutes later, I was finished, put on my rain pants and jacket, and took off.
The rain started out lightly, then got progressively harder until it was raining hard. It is not hard to ride in rain, but the harder rain kept obscuring my vision as it coated the lenses of my glasses.
Unfortunately, there were still hill after hill, most of them not daunting, but tiring nonetheless.
Finally, with 11 miles to go, I faced another road closure. The bridge was out. What now? I headed into town to find someone local who might help. A small bar offered several helpful locals. They came up with a "work around", but it meant several miles of gravel roads. I explained that I rode 8 miles of gravel roads this morning, but they felt these would be very loose gravel and dangerous, with heavy traffic as locals used this route. I decided to try it.
The rain had packed the dirt and the traffic packed the gravel, so this road was much, much easier than the morning's unpaved portion. Before long, I was on the home stretch of paved road and pulled into my destination, Lowden, Iowa. I was absolutely, completely soaked. I hope the clothes are dry in the morning.
Tomorrow will be my last day of riding in Iowa. I have an appointment to get the bike worked on. My clothing is desperately in need of cleaning, and I need a haircut. A day of rest will follow. My start east will re-commence on Wednesday morning.
May the Lord be with you.
