Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 (Day 7)
The weather this morning was unpleasant. 61 degrees F, windy, damp, and cloudy. We went to Casey's for a hot chocolate before our ride. It worked pretty well to lift our spirits on this crappy morning after a bad night!
The morning went fast, the roads were pretty flat and we cruised at 20 for a long time. We stopped to fill our tires up a bit, and while I was trying to pump up my rear presta with Adam's mini pump, the valve snapped at the tip, and I had to change the tube. -.-
I ended up having to flip my velomobile on its side to take the entire rear wheel off. When I did this all my crap fell out of my bags inside my velo. Yay.
The morning went fast, the roads were pretty flat and we cruised at 20 for a long time. We stopped to fill our tires up a bit, and while I was trying to pump up my rear presta with Adam's mini pump, the valve snapped at the tip, and I had to change the tube. -.-
I ended up having to flip my velomobile on its side to take the entire rear wheel off. When I did this all my crap fell out of my bags inside my velo. Yay.
The flat-ness ended pretty quickly. The rest of the day, Iowa threw hills at us like skee balls. 15 miles before our destination tonight, I had a blowout on my front right tire. It happened at the base of a really, really steep hill, naturally. So I walked it to the top and changed it. The front wheel had to come off because the bead on the tire was rediculously tight.
At the end of the day we arrived in Harlan, IA. There was a bit of a declining slope into town and i decided to haul ass. When I got into town I stopped at the first gas station I saw. After being there for a minute, a police officer came up to me and asked what the thing was (meaning my velomobile.) I explained to him what it was and he told me that someone had reported me as a go-kart coming into town, so he just had to make sure it wasn't motorized.
After the cop left Adam and I headed up the street where the cop told us we could find a motel to stay at. We had an incredibly hilly day but still managed to cover 82 miles.
At the end of the day we arrived in Harlan, IA. There was a bit of a declining slope into town and i decided to haul ass. When I got into town I stopped at the first gas station I saw. After being there for a minute, a police officer came up to me and asked what the thing was (meaning my velomobile.) I explained to him what it was and he told me that someone had reported me as a go-kart coming into town, so he just had to make sure it wasn't motorized.
After the cop left Adam and I headed up the street where the cop told us we could find a motel to stay at. We had an incredibly hilly day but still managed to cover 82 miles.
Miles covered today: 82
Miles covered total: 484
Overnight Town: Harlan, IA
Miles covered total: 484
Overnight Town: Harlan, IA