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19/7/2011 Pleasant Creek Camp Ground, IA to Silvis, IL
134km, 7 hrs, 18.70 av.speed,
Unbelievably hot.
Having decided to depart Bellevue, I woke about 0500hrs, The heat wouldn’t allow any further rest. For the last three days the coolest time has been the two hours between 0500hrs and 0700hrs. The temp during this time is about 28 degrees.
The river revealed another one of her moods this morning with a thick mist present for about 1 hour as the day was heating up. The middle of the river was shrouded. The sun soon consumed this moisture.
I made up a wok number loaded with pasta, a coffee and went and sat with the Polish guy who was fishing. He and his wife were so similar to Cezias parents it was uncanny. He mentioned that in 1979 Gerald Ford gave amnesty to any Poles in the US and they were given green cards and offered citizenship five years later.
I packed, most things got wet from perspiration then having a cold shower using my mini bush shower with the cool water from the bore made me feel halfway to halfway decent.
It felt good to be on the road again, knowing two hills were between me and whatever destination I would reach was some consolation. Fifteen km out and water was low and my hand towel was wet.
Like an oasis, a diner in the middle of nowhere appeared, it was actually in a rural location known as Miles, there were half a dozen pickups outside.
Entering, looking like someone who had just been swimming fully clothed I
gestured the need for water while grabbing some maidens water from the fridge.
Having talked for awhile, the bar girl said the guys down the end would like me to join them. They were a noisy bunch of happy guys around my age, classic farmers,with well worn peak hats displaying implement names or hybrid corn supply companies.
We had a bloody good laugh about stuff. One guy said his niece in NZ just missed out on olympic selection for the cycle team there. This was corn country at it best, one guy had 600 acres in at around $1400/ acre return it was ok.
They were having a long breakfast, none of us wanted to face the heat, I just kept drinking. A BLT was ordered. On leaving one of the guys motioned the bar girl he would pay for mine, protesting with no results, I told the bar girl he’s not paying for pop drink so only my BLT was payed for. The mid west generosity surfaces again.
The guys told me how to get to Savanna in Illinois on the other side of the MR. I knew IL had good cycle tracks and was the state with the best contribution in this regard towards the MRT.
Every chance I got I stopped and bought drink and soaked up the cool air from inside premises.
Stopping at a small bike shop in Thomson, the owner gave me further directions and a brilliant guide book for cycling that will get me from one end of the state to the other mostly on this cycleway system alongside the MR.
In a supermarket in Port Byron a guy offered to take me and the bike to East Moline where I figured I could get before dark. He took me to his car, it was a Prado like configuration, full of kids and his wife, there was no way he could get me in.On the roof with the bike he said. It was not possible. By now it was 1900 hrs and still at least 28℃ but with the sun going down things were becoming more enjoyable.
I stopped at a servo drank heaps more and the two guys were great, we rang a few motels a motel in Silvis, near East Moline was booked, $45/night, all I wanted from this accommodation was a bed, shower and AC.
The bike trails here were brilliant, well marked and traversed some great vistas, mostly riverside.
Cycling along the levee I passed the John Deere Harvester Factory. There were new harvesters lined up in a sea of yellow and green, hundreds of them. The factory is located right behind the levee and would be at river water level, if the levee was ever breached it would be unimaginable. I later found out it has never happened.
Many these machines go to China, nice to hear the chinese want something from here other than the currency, real estate or businesses.
I arrived at the modest, to say the least motel at 2100hrs in the dark, greeted the Indian owner, showered, changed and headed for the nearest bar, met some interesting people. Turned out I was their first bod from down under.
All the news here is Murdoch, the budget deficit, the heat wave and baseball.
Got back at mid night and the rest is history.
134km, 7 hrs, 18.70 av.speed,
Unbelievably hot.
Having decided to depart Bellevue, I woke about 0500hrs, The heat wouldn’t allow any further rest. For the last three days the coolest time has been the two hours between 0500hrs and 0700hrs. The temp during this time is about 28 degrees.
The river revealed another one of her moods this morning with a thick mist present for about 1 hour as the day was heating up. The middle of the river was shrouded. The sun soon consumed this moisture.
I made up a wok number loaded with pasta, a coffee and went and sat with the Polish guy who was fishing. He and his wife were so similar to Cezias parents it was uncanny. He mentioned that in 1979 Gerald Ford gave amnesty to any Poles in the US and they were given green cards and offered citizenship five years later.
I packed, most things got wet from perspiration then having a cold shower using my mini bush shower with the cool water from the bore made me feel halfway to halfway decent.
It felt good to be on the road again, knowing two hills were between me and whatever destination I would reach was some consolation. Fifteen km out and water was low and my hand towel was wet.
Like an oasis, a diner in the middle of nowhere appeared, it was actually in a rural location known as Miles, there were half a dozen pickups outside.
Entering, looking like someone who had just been swimming fully clothed I
gestured the need for water while grabbing some maidens water from the fridge.
Having talked for awhile, the bar girl said the guys down the end would like me to join them. They were a noisy bunch of happy guys around my age, classic farmers,with well worn peak hats displaying implement names or hybrid corn supply companies.
We had a bloody good laugh about stuff. One guy said his niece in NZ just missed out on olympic selection for the cycle team there. This was corn country at it best, one guy had 600 acres in at around $1400/ acre return it was ok.
They were having a long breakfast, none of us wanted to face the heat, I just kept drinking. A BLT was ordered. On leaving one of the guys motioned the bar girl he would pay for mine, protesting with no results, I told the bar girl he’s not paying for pop drink so only my BLT was payed for. The mid west generosity surfaces again.
The guys told me how to get to Savanna in Illinois on the other side of the MR. I knew IL had good cycle tracks and was the state with the best contribution in this regard towards the MRT.
Every chance I got I stopped and bought drink and soaked up the cool air from inside premises.
Stopping at a small bike shop in Thomson, the owner gave me further directions and a brilliant guide book for cycling that will get me from one end of the state to the other mostly on this cycleway system alongside the MR.
In a supermarket in Port Byron a guy offered to take me and the bike to East Moline where I figured I could get before dark. He took me to his car, it was a Prado like configuration, full of kids and his wife, there was no way he could get me in.On the roof with the bike he said. It was not possible. By now it was 1900 hrs and still at least 28℃ but with the sun going down things were becoming more enjoyable.
I stopped at a servo drank heaps more and the two guys were great, we rang a few motels a motel in Silvis, near East Moline was booked, $45/night, all I wanted from this accommodation was a bed, shower and AC.
The bike trails here were brilliant, well marked and traversed some great vistas, mostly riverside.
Cycling along the levee I passed the John Deere Harvester Factory. There were new harvesters lined up in a sea of yellow and green, hundreds of them. The factory is located right behind the levee and would be at river water level, if the levee was ever breached it would be unimaginable. I later found out it has never happened.
Many these machines go to China, nice to hear the chinese want something from here other than the currency, real estate or businesses.
I arrived at the modest, to say the least motel at 2100hrs in the dark, greeted the Indian owner, showered, changed and headed for the nearest bar, met some interesting people. Turned out I was their first bod from down under.
All the news here is Murdoch, the budget deficit, the heat wave and baseball.
Got back at mid night and the rest is history.