Day 20: Songs about the Rain

Day 20 is done. 2/3 of the days, 2/3 of the miles. Tomorrow we cross the Mississippi River 35 miles into the route. The progress is getting real, we can't smell the ocean from Iowa, of course, but we can define the path to get there: 2 more long prarie days, 3 shorter days to rest up, the final 5 days on the Appalachains. We both know well that distances don't say it all in terms of difficulty. In Europe, amount of climb defines the degree of challenge for the day, in the plains states, the weather defines the misery index (wind, temp, rain). So if not in miles we are both very aware we still have challenges ahead...
Today was the longest of the 5 consecutive prarie days - Tom says they aren't prarie days because they aren't flat and he's right, but anyway - 141 miles and 3,600ft of climb. We each averaged about 16.6mph for 8.5 hours but the total time was long, at least 10 hours.
But before more on that, a word on a previous post. Tom said that we shouldn't talk about baby wipes, which I disagree with. I think they are a great discussion point and in fact everyone should always carry baby wipes in their purse, back pocket when cycling, or briefcase. Because just imagine that you require something and have to choose between straw stubble and dead grasshoppers or the baby wipes you conveniently brought along. I mean how much of an obvious choice is that?
Back to the day: 6:30am start, warm and heavy overcast, everyone rushing out right on time as it's a long day. Within the first couple miles the drips start, nothing too hard, just raining lightly, only hurts on descents when the rain feels like needle pokes at 28mph. Up and down, around the cornfields and pastures, light traffic, all going east and south, a stairstepping route down to Mt. Pleasant. On the way we passed through 3 county seats - Newton, Montezuma, and Sigourney - which were all picturesque little towns with the county courthouse in the middle of a town square and then 4 streets of businesses\retail lined up around it. These and other little towns and farm houses from the late 19th century now surrounded by thick windscreens of 100 year old Maple and Oak trees gave the day it's charm.
2 rest stops, lunch at mile 69 in a school parking lot, been raining lightly by then for 4+ hours, most people have their raincoats on but certainly not cold enough for concern. The sky is a smooth fabric of taupe except for two horizontal cracks to the south that look like folds which are deep gold and seem ominous, but it's what's moving below those clouds that brings the excitement, just a good old fashioned thunderstorm with buckets of rain, noise, and occasional lightning. So what to do. Well, some folks (like Tom) had already left so they had to ride through it, you can't stop for shelter (you'd get too cold) and it actually was a warm rain with great tailwinds so he enjoyed it. Some of us were about to leave lunch and decided to wait out the worst of it so we huddled in the food trailer since the tents outside were being blown down in the high winds. We were soon joined by the slower folks who got caught in the rain and now had to stop to eat and were thus soaking wet and cold. Our break lasted about 1/2 hour til it went from buckets of rain to just regular rain. Riding along in it wasn't bad at all and it gradually died down as the storm moved ahead of us; we could watch its trailing edge quite clearly against the high overcast. In fact by the next rest stop at mile 95 it was actually sunny and HOT so all the newly aquired cold weather jerseys came off and our morning jerseys went back on (from a gear bag in the trailer where you can leave and pick up equipment during the day).
Another small note of record, can't leave Iowa without a nod to Queen Anne's Lace, Smooth Asters (purple), purple clover and the long stemmed Black Eyed Susans that have been along the roadsides, very pretty time of year. The state flower is a Wild Prarie Rose but not sure we've seen one, the other flowers have been everywhere. Not so many flowers as the CORN!, of course.
Then there was the mud. We'd been riding on roads closed to traffic but no issues so far, just a warning fence or two, and then in the last 100 yards of the road before it came to a T there was 50 feet of just mud we needed to cross (it went over a bridge, so no skirting it), apparently the last part of the construction project to be finished. Tom and I weren't riding together, but we both tried to cross the mud using covers on our cleats and both of us lost our covers, had to walk back through the mud to get them, and then had to deal with cleaning out the cleats to be able to connect to our pedals. It was a huge mess, I used muddy puddle water to rinse and a peice of straw to pick out the dirt. Tom rode a couple miles up the road before he could get water to rinse out his cleats and use them again. If you haven't tried it, riding without cleats attached to pedals is a very bad idea and the pedals we both use (Speedplay) are notorious for getting jammed up with road gunk.
Finally a last 25 miles into Mt. Pleasant, only the last 6 of which were terrifying, another highway with no shoulder (why doesn't this state have shoulders on its highways?) and truckers that are apparently unhappy with bikers. A few light drops of rain in the final bit, the real challenge was getting everything cleaned up and ready for tomorrow. Bikes cleaned, chains oiled, bike shoes cleaned out, clothes washed, and all this starting at 6pm or so due to the long day and hiding from the rain. Finally a quick dinner at Pizza Hut next door, to blog, and perchance to sleep.
Oh, and songs about the rain, plenty of time to think about that, it's what 10 people in a small trailer can do to stay busy for 1/2 an hour: The Who (Love Reign O'er Me), Aretha Franklin (I Can't Stand the Rain), ? (Singing in the Rain), Temptations (How I Wish That it Would Rain), Prince (Purple Rain), Peter Gabriel (Red Rain) and Supertramp (It's Raining Again).
Better weather prospects for tomorrow.