68.6 miles cycling, 3785′ of climbing (2721.4) – to read from the beginning, click here.
Got up in the morning to the smell of coffee and we sat on the back patio and sipped same with Pat and Mike while watching the fog lift off the Big Muddy. Mike is still working, helping tribal members start businesses and works with them to get contracts and grants with the government. So, we saw him in-between phone calls, but had a great morning’s conversation with both of them . Pat’s a retired nurse and made us a delicious and hearty breakfast.
We were well prepped for the day, loaded up the bikes and started to roll out when I saw it: our first f.l.a.t (we don’t say that word, or r.a.i.n or h.e.a.d.w.i.n.d. so as not to jinx ourselves. ;). It took about 15 minutes to fix the tire and afterwards, Pat escorted us to the Bellvue Toll Bridge. The booth guy let us go through without paying the 50 cent each toll and off we went to Iowa.
Iowa. Hilly, rolly, Iowa. It sure ain’t flat! The hills weren’t as steep as the Omaha’s, but they were much more numerous. Still, we made pretty good time. We got to Hancock at mile 48 and had an option to camp there, Avoca, 8 miles to the north, or Atlantic, 20 miles east. After a couple of PBRs, we continued on to Atlantic, surprisingly at Dana’s reticence (she’s the one who usually says, “Let’s keep going!” Today, that was me). The hills kept up and we made it to Atlantic about 6:30, found the Mexican restaurant one of the patrons of the bar in Hancock recommended, and had veggie fajitas and a variety of enchiladas. Then it was off to the campground where we set up in the dark and climbed into bed for a good sleep to prep for our next ride to Redfield.
