Date:
24.05.2018
Altitude:
2385.2 ft (727 m)
Distance:
72.18 mi (116.16 km)
Total
Altitude: 44694.9 ft (13623 m)
Total
Distance: 1673.61 mi (2693.42 km)
Second
day in Iowa and it was a hot one. Today the sun was shining again for
the whole day and the temperatures did go all the way into the low
90's (about 34°C). It seemed even warmer than that without any
shadow throughout the day. So I needed a lot of water during the day,
I must have been drinking more than 5 liters. But I don't want to
complain, it's great that it's finally nice outside. Just the
temperature increase in comparison to the days before is a bit
extreme.
This
morning I got treated to a nice breakfast, after which I said my
goodbyes and got started for the day. Today's route was a bit
shorter, than the last few days and even shorter than I originally
planed. I had to do a few extra miles to get to the farmhouse
yesterday, but so I didn't have to cover this distance today, since
it was almost directly on my route. My destination for today was
Monticello. I already stayed in Monticello five days ago, but that
was in Indiana and now I'm staying in Iowa. It is kind of strange to
stay in two places with the same name in just a few days time.
I
expected the day to be similar to what I have seen for quite a few
days now. A generally flat countryside with corn and bean fields
along the way. But I realized early into the day, that this will not
be the case. I was correct with the corn and bean fields but
throughout the day I had to deal with a constant up and down. This in
combination with the heat really took a toll on me. It also didn't
help that after a while my front brake started to act up and make a
really annoying noise. At first I wanted to wait until I arrive in
Monticello,IA to take a look at it, but it was just getting worse and
so it couldn't wait until the afternoon. After I found a place with
some shade I took a look at it and fixed it. Still not what I needed
on a day like this.
To
get out of the heat and to get something to eat I stopped at a diner
in Oxford Junction. It was nice to cool down a bit and take a rest.
After I was finished with my food, I got talking a bit with the lady
running the diner. She had some suggestion on my route for the rest
of the day, in order to avoid some up and down on my way to
Monticello. Before I left I signed her guestbook and she offered to
fill my bottles with fresh water and ice, so that it stays cool for a
while. What a treat to have somewhat cool water for the rest of the
route. It is so great, how helpful people are along the way.
Conclusion
for the day:
Don't
think that Iowa is all flat, there is a lot of up and down.
No comments:
Post a Comment