What an incredible day. I wasn't able to get out of my sleeping bag very early this morning because it was too cold. I went to bed with wool socks, leg warmers and shorts on. Every time I tried to open up the tent I could feel the cold air breathing on me. So I covered up and slept until about 8. By 9 I had packed up and eaten some food and was cruisin down the road. The first thing I noticed were two bikers in front of me. I was about to speed up until I noticed three bikers behind me. I waited for the bikers behind me and was able to catch a good draft for about 10 miles. Apparently I had finally found a good cycling community. While I was biking through the area I saw a lot of bikers going the opposite direction and going by me, I felt welcomed for the first time in a while. There were a lot of great climbs in the area and the road wrapped in between mountains and around giant lakes and reservoirs. It was a saturday, so everyone and their neighbor was outside enjoying the fresh air. Boats were out on the lake and families were out having picnics and fishing, it was a great sit to see. I made it about 30 miles to a town called Echo and pulled in to chat with a nice older gentlemen. He said he had lived in the area for 60 years and so I jumped at the opportunity for better directions through the state. I was surprised to hear him tell me to bike on the interstate. At first i though this guy had a grudge against Iowa boys and was trying to get me killed. I later found out that he was right, the interstate had an entire lane on the right for cyclists and it was great. I also talked to a biker at a bike shop and he told me it was fairly common to bike on the interstate because there wasn't another route to take. I told him thanks for the advice, saving me a trip through Nevada's desert, and let him know not to try biking on an interstate through Iowa. As I continued to talk to the older man in the cafe he started to tell me about an old church just two blocks away. It was a non-denominational church that had been around since 1876. The church was very small, but looked like it had been maintained very well. There was a small museum downstairs that contained old photographs from the early 1800's. It was very cool and free, I enjoyed every minute. I left the museum and rode the interstate for about 20 miles and was very impressed with its' condition. I then hopped onto a highway that took me straight through Ogden, Utah. It was a fairly large city with three lanes of traffic going in both directions and was easily larger than Ames. As I rode in I could see three large mountain peaks in the distance and it was great to witness as the sun was going down behind them. I had weaved myself down and around to about 4,000 ft. and couldn't wait to get a good sleep. I knew that I would finally be able to wake up with out freezing in the morning. I stopped at an excellent chinese buffet and rode another 20 miles to what was said to be a campsite. I pulled in and it was fairly dark and so I couldn't see much of the place. It was completely empty with no one camping. The charge was 15 dollars and I was only charged 5. The accomodations were well worth the five dollars though. With heated bathrooms and showers and extremely hot water to shower in. I was able to shower and do laundry for the first time in a few days. When I came out of the shower I was ready to call it a night, but my bike had other plans. While i was in the shower my front tire had blown and so I ended up staying up until about midnight replacing the tire. I expected the tires to last a little longer, but they have blown a tube yet so I guess I'll continue to use them. The front is now ready to roll but I know the rear is going to go any day soon now. I slept great and enjoyed not having to wear wool socks and the whole bit through the night.
Daily mileage: 86.1 miles
Average speed: 15.4 mph
Total mileage: 1,216.5 miles
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