Day 15 Muscatine, IA to Dyersville IA

Friday 5 August 2011.  First day of week 3

Today was another cool, slightly overcast day which is perfect for cycling.  We are still in the Corn Belt but vistas of the rolling hills and curving roads make it look different.  Some of the farms we passed today were immense the biggest we have seen yet.  Each with thousands of acres of corn covering the hills.

We came upon another crop dusting plane working the corn fields.  They seem so unique and unusual to us but must be just a normal site for the locals.  Two crop dusting helicopters landed in the grass strip right next to the motel after we arrived.  The chopper landed no more than 40 yards from our room’s window. They were spraying the corn fields all day and the pilots and crew will spend the night at the motel before returning to work in the morning.  Ken went over to one of the pilots and asked him some questions after they landed.  Each chopper can hold 80 gallons of chemical which will treat about 40 acres of field.  After 80 gallons / 40 acres the chopper lands and a pumper truck reloads their tank. They repeat the sequence for days until all the field is treated.

The roads were nearly traffic free again today. Early in the day a huge John Deere crop sprayer drove past us on the road.  So big it nearly took up both sides of the road as it passed.  The sprayer looked like some kind of Star Wars alien machine coming at us. It must have been 18’ tall and just as wide.  The high pressure hydraulics that make it run squeal like some monster yelling at you as it whizzes by.

Finding places to sleep along our route is getting more difficult.  Remember if you are in your car and you need to drive 30 miles to the next town for a motel it is no big deal.   On a bike it can be a big deal.  Especially if you already have 100 miles in the saddle already.  The distance between sleep spots determines our daily mileage.

Because of this tomorrow (Saturday) will be a “short” day of about 60 miles.  It was either 60 or 140 miles.  We took the 60.  A little break in mileage is good once and a while.

 92 Miles

3649 Feet of Climbing

Temperature  75– 85 Degrees

Team is headed for Dyersville, Iowa.  Just west of Dubuque.
Looks like good weather today.  Today's updates as they come in.
And Now Ken Silvestri, Team Eliminator Roving Reporter