The beauty of the bike is that you are forced to soak in your surroundings during the journey. In a car you can appreciate the scenery, but just as you’re noticing a pretty field or an interesting sign, it goes flashing by. And you would never get to see a small town as you go 80 on the interstate. In a car, it is easy to get lost in daydreams, 30 miles going by without any memory. On a bike you can only daydream for so long before you’re snapped out of it by a bird taking flight beside you, or a car rushing by, horn blaring, or a dog chasing you down. Today was an average, monotonous, day in many regards. For a brief spell we were riding on gravel, which was unpleasant, but otherwise we were on flat, paved roads, often going 13, 15, or even 20 mph. I spent much of the time enjoying the sun warming my face, and the wind cooling me back down. I’m also constantly monitoring our route, making sure we’re staying on a good pace and checking whether there are any more optimal detours to take when we hit a gravel road. But we spend a lot of time on the bike, almost 6 hours today. I also spent a lot of time daydreaming; thinking about hitting a game winning shot in the Ivy League tournament, or what the Rockies will look like, or what I would do if a crazy man got out of his car and attacked us. (I’d love to make a joke about pedaling fast and leaving Maddie to fend for herself, but I will need her as bait for the bears for when we get to Wyoming, so I’d have to help her out. Gotta consider all scenarios). Of course, reality checks in awfully quick on the bike. Today we were chased by two dogs. The first was small, and looked like a pug from my perch in the saddle. It was so small that it got tripped up by the long grass in its front yard and face planted before it got started. Another dog trotted about a half mile with us, even coming up and sniffing us. We gave it a pat on the head and it soon returned home.
About halfway through the day we stopped in the small town of Moscow, IA. We found a park with a toilet, picnic tables, and a basketball court. What more could we ask for? We enjoyed the turkey, avocado, and tomato sandwiches that Maddie made this morning, a gourmet lunch if we’ve ever seen one! We made it to Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, around 6pm. After a shower, we went to Pullman’s Bar and Diner, where we feasted on cheesy bacon fries, a burger on garlic bread, a beet salad, and two Nutella-banana concoctions. To cap off the night we watched The Truman Show here in our friend Madi’s apartment. I’m sleeping in the living room, next to our new friend, Luna the rabbit. I’m not sure how much of a watch-rabbit Luna is, but if I dream of dogs chasing me down tonight, I’m hoping Luna will be there to send them away.
Charlie