Day 1 Friday, September 15: Nebraska City to Glenwood, Iowa; 34.5 miles

to Arthur Hotel, 707 S. Locust St.

 

 

After a delicious gourmet breakfast on the wrap-around porch, unpacking and setting up the bikes, and posing for Jeanna to take our start picture, we were off.  We first crossed the  Missouri River from Nebraska City into Iowa, smoothly making two tricky turns.

Friendly Iowans, for examples: There was Reinhardt who exited his pickup and then waited for us to make our turn and tell our story; there was the ex-army-airborne and jeep hobybyist who (though likely called by a neighbor because we were hanging out in the shade by the once auto-repair shop where he told us he has two of his jeeps) offered us some good advice on roads to take.

We learned that Google can fail to distinguish gravel roads from asphalt when suggesting bicycle routes. Also, this part of Iowa is returning some asphalt roads to gravel and happens to be laying down some large, crushed-rock that challenged us. 

Despite this, we were afforded beautiful views of farms, the Loess Hills, and the yellows of the sunflowers, golden rods, drying soybean plants.

We found ourselves on portions of Adventure Cycling's Lewis and Clark bicycle route. 'saw signs of recent floods and high winds.

Predicted rain never came. Temps in the high 70s. Both sun and overcast.

Marney saw a praying mantis on the highway

 

Loess Hills scenic byway