Five big climbs

The mom and I left Lansing this morning in the midsts of the Iowa bluffs on the Mississippi. The night before we had previewed our course by looking at the maps topographical outline and we knew there were five substantial climbs spread throughout the day. They ended up being spaced about every 10 miles. Each one of them ranged from 1-3 miles in length with anywhere from 300-600 feet of elevation gain. Whew! Those would be big climbs on a light road bike, let alone a fully loaded trucker.

Although the climbs were tough, the descents were even better. At one point I turned to the mom and said, "This climbing is like waiting in line for an hour at an amusement park for the roller coaster ride. Then, when the ride is over, you realize it was totally worth it and race your friends back into line." Yeah. The descents were that good.

We arrived after 61 miles into Elkader. After setting up camp and showering, the mom and I walked into town in search of food. We discovered an Algerian restaurant and laughed. The food was excellent and we were both extremely excited to have some different flavors on our taste buds. The owner was a friendly Algerian from Boston who has his PhD from MIT in computer engineering. He decided to move to Elkader because it was named after the Algerian hero who led the revolution against the French control. We also learned that Elkader is the only town named after an Arab in the US.

Now we are sweating on top of our sleeping satchels in the tent. It is still very hot out. The relay for life is going on across the park an we have been listening to local bands, auctioneers, and inspirational speakers through our thin tent walls.

Please note the zebra foot disease in the last picture. The mom would also like for all of you to disregard all other nastiness associated with her feet. Has not had a pedicure in a while.

We have a short day planned for tomorrow into the county campground outside of Dyersville.