Friday, June 17th, 2011 (Day 3)
Today we woke up covered in sweat from humidity. I quickly realized I had left my can of ham open, since my tent wreaked of it. We felt so gross. Covered in grease and sweat and so sore!
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We rode to the gas station on our way back to the highway for some water. People were constantly asking questions about the velomobiles and we generated a small crowd this morning while we filled up. We're normally all for answering questions, but this morning we felt like crap and we didn't bother but give the most simple answers, mostly restricted to yes or no.
My legs had a deep ache with every revolution of the crank from the day before. We both felt like garbage. Luckily, when we made it to the US 6 highway, we had a fair amount of tailwind, which raised our morale.
My legs had a deep ache with every revolution of the crank from the day before. We both felt like garbage. Luckily, when we made it to the US 6 highway, we had a fair amount of tailwind, which raised our morale.
Adam was on a long call with his family, so I stole his camera for a bit!!
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The rest of the day went very well. At least, until we got to Moline, IL. While on highway 6, approaching the Mississippi crossing, we were surprise attacked by a 4 lane interstate. The highway all of a sudden became a limited access freeway, with a sign that basically said anything without a motor prohibited.
With no way to turn, we continued onto the freeway. This was probably one of the most dangerous situations we've ever been in. We knew we had to exit ASAP. Unfortunately, we were on the left shoulder, if you'll even call it that. It was about 2 feet wide, we were against the concrete divider and still straddling the white line. To add to the frustration and danger, we only had mirrors roadside, making us blind behind us on our right side, where we had to go.
I saw the overhead sign that said "Moline, next two exits" and I went ahead to Adam and screamed to him over the roar of all the cars that we needed to get off at this exit. We slowly started inching our way across the four lanes. Cars whooshed by us, laying on their horns. We finally made it to the opposite shoulder, which was nothing but those bumps used to wake up drivers drifting to sleep. These rattled our bones. Even after we got off the bumps, the road was extremely rough and there was broken glass all over the place. The ramp finally turned into a normal busy road.
We saw a Walmart and rode to the parking lot.
Turns out that just about EVERY way over the river required a vehicle to cross. WTF? After hanging out at the Walmart for a good 2 hours trying to figure out how to get over the Mississippi we met a woman named Sandy. She ended up guiding us through the town to the only pedestrian crossing there was over the river. She was extremely helpful. She followed us from behind and kept her hazards on to make sure no cars bothered us. The towns people were all hollaring at us, giving us thumbs-up and taking pictures as we passed by, the whole way to the bridge.
With no way to turn, we continued onto the freeway. This was probably one of the most dangerous situations we've ever been in. We knew we had to exit ASAP. Unfortunately, we were on the left shoulder, if you'll even call it that. It was about 2 feet wide, we were against the concrete divider and still straddling the white line. To add to the frustration and danger, we only had mirrors roadside, making us blind behind us on our right side, where we had to go.
I saw the overhead sign that said "Moline, next two exits" and I went ahead to Adam and screamed to him over the roar of all the cars that we needed to get off at this exit. We slowly started inching our way across the four lanes. Cars whooshed by us, laying on their horns. We finally made it to the opposite shoulder, which was nothing but those bumps used to wake up drivers drifting to sleep. These rattled our bones. Even after we got off the bumps, the road was extremely rough and there was broken glass all over the place. The ramp finally turned into a normal busy road.
We saw a Walmart and rode to the parking lot.
Turns out that just about EVERY way over the river required a vehicle to cross. WTF? After hanging out at the Walmart for a good 2 hours trying to figure out how to get over the Mississippi we met a woman named Sandy. She ended up guiding us through the town to the only pedestrian crossing there was over the river. She was extremely helpful. She followed us from behind and kept her hazards on to make sure no cars bothered us. The towns people were all hollaring at us, giving us thumbs-up and taking pictures as we passed by, the whole way to the bridge.
The area around the river was awfully hilly and we had some really, really hard climbs after we crossed.
We finally made it to the metal bridge, which was sketchy as hell to cross, everything rattled and you could see right into the water the whole way. When we made it across we threw our arms up into the air and cheered, "WE'RE IN IOWA!"
Sandy ended up signing for us at the Econolodge in Davenport, IA, which is where we stayed tonight. She was so sweet, we don't know what we would have done without her. Sandy, if you're reading this right now, we cannot thank you enough for all that you did, you're the best! The staff at the motel was really nice, the manager loved our velomobiles. She gave us a 35% discount and tried her best to get the local news to come out but they couldn't unfortunately.
We both had a kickass dinner tonight at "The Machine Shed." If you're ever in Davenport, make sure not to miss this place, seriously.
Miles covered today: 80
Miles covered total: 205
Overnight Town: Davenport, IA
We finally made it to the metal bridge, which was sketchy as hell to cross, everything rattled and you could see right into the water the whole way. When we made it across we threw our arms up into the air and cheered, "WE'RE IN IOWA!"
Sandy ended up signing for us at the Econolodge in Davenport, IA, which is where we stayed tonight. She was so sweet, we don't know what we would have done without her. Sandy, if you're reading this right now, we cannot thank you enough for all that you did, you're the best! The staff at the motel was really nice, the manager loved our velomobiles. She gave us a 35% discount and tried her best to get the local news to come out but they couldn't unfortunately.
We both had a kickass dinner tonight at "The Machine Shed." If you're ever in Davenport, make sure not to miss this place, seriously.
Miles covered today: 80
Miles covered total: 205
Overnight Town: Davenport, IA
