Day 23 – July 9th

As I wheeled over the bridge leaving Iowa in my past and bringing Illinois to the forefront of my present, I could not help but smile. Today was a day meant to be enjoyed upon the bike: a slight breeze, mildly warm weather, a clear blue sky dotted with white fluffs of clouds, and 2 great friends. The bridge we pedaled over in the early morning hours brought to mind my sister Wendy, as she loves both heights and bridges in particular. (hehe) I was told this specific bridge was one of the first structures built to span the waters of the mighty Mississippi. The bridge did have a separate bike path added to it, but the path was narrow and constructed of metal grates, which allowed you to peer through them into the murky waters far below. The view, as I slowly made my way over the steel, was exhilarating but tinged with a hint of fear. It would be a long way to fall.

Leading us over the bridge was none other than Bob Loch himself; one of our support guru’s who was along for today’s pedal pushing. We were grateful to have him along so that he could join in the experience and give us a guided ride upon the roads he knows so well. The initial 40 miles of today’s trip would be on the vehicle free bike trail that Bob knows inside and out. Bob has been at the forefront of planning our journey through Iowa, due to the recent flooding our original course was no longer feasible. The last several days, as well as today’s route, were all found, planned, plotted and tested by Bob. He’s done a fantastic job in researching and discovering great, lightly trafficked roads; in so doing he has proven himself to be a very competent bike sleuth. I believe, should he become bored with his current work, he would have a bright future in private investigation work. Rumor mill has it he’s looked into starting a trekking detecting agency, and he’s even considering changing his last name to Sher-Loch…

Briskly moving along the Mississippi, Bob, full of youthful energy and enthusiasm, took the lead and was off like a bottle rocket; Gary and I both struggled to hold his wheel the first 20 miles. He’d obviously been eating his Wheaties! We followed Bob and the bike trail along the Hennepin Canal for miles, it was one of the most pleasant bike trails I’ve ever had the good fortune to ride. At one point early in the ride, we went under a bridge and I found myself looking at a winter wonderland. The canal, calm and placid, was perfectly frozen in time; no debris or flotsam marred its mirrored surface. The only element one could see stirring the canal’s quiet slumber were millions of snowflakes; snowflakes of the cotton-wood variety. The canal, which was lined with cotton woods, had captured an uncountable number of these delicate white seeds and was slowly gathering them along its surface. Shrouded under the magnificent boughs, which were warding off the rays, I pedaled through the scene in suspended disbelief. I was sad to move past the canal and leave such beauty behind. Beauty that I am finding more and more on this trip; what a blessed journey this is turning out to be.

The rest of the day was traveled upon roads with minimal traffic, a few cycle hungry dogs, and lots of laughs. I think Bob found Gary and I quite ridiculous; we tend to break into song and rhyming odes at the oddest times. Hey, when you’ve been biking together for nearly 2,500 miles, you tend to abandon maturity and revel in each other’s sad attempts at humor and melody. What can I say, we are our own greatest entertainers.

The ride concluded in Ottawa, Illinois with another 120 miles under our road stained belts. On top of that, Bob completed his first century of the year; he looked strong all day and will have little issue tackling RAGBRAI in a couple of weeks. Thanks again for pulling Sher-Loch!

After the ride, I was treated to a feast at John Garrity’s pad; John is a friend of both Gary’s and Bob’s from college. The spread he had laid out was royal fare, and mouth salivating good. All home-made food, it was more than we deserved but I was not about to let John in on that little tid bit of knowledge. It looked much too good to pass up. The only thing better than the food, were the hospitality and company. A bunch of Gary’s and Bob’s buddies from school also showed up at Johns, and what started out as small talk and pleasantries soon resorted to stories of glory days. The laughter was whole hearted, genuine, and dished out handsomely to everyone in attendance. But that is as much detail as I will go into regarding the stories related tonight, for what happens at Garrity’s stays at Garritys. Thank you John and all the guys who made me feel welcome this evening; it was greatly appreciated and made for one of the best nights of the cyclone of cycling these last 3 weeks have been.