Des Moines is a big city! I’m not sure we all quite realized that until we saw the skyline and the stadiums as we rolled over the hill into town. We didn’t go through the middle at any point, but the area we were in had traffic and much to do and see on its own. Sometimes, we feel like our stayovers and the surrounding neighborhoods are a kind of miniature world that exists only with us and everything else continues around as if we weren’t there. Today kind of felt like that.
Ride Overview
Mileage: 39.5 miles
Elevation: +1,853 ft. / -1,827 ft.
Tales of the Trail
We had a little different routine to our morning today because of how we were having breakfast. Just as last night we had dinner at the church and then biked just under a mile over to the YMCA to shower and sleep, we did the opposite after waking up. Everyone made it out of the YMCA dressed and ready for the day, but we had our first “rest stop” just eight tenths of a mile into the ride. Once again, we had some good food: biscuits and gravy. There was a little concern it would put us asleep on our bikes as we rolled out, but we figured that for such a short day relative to our usual rides we could power through.
With only one rest stop en route to the stayover, everyone was anticipating a pretty easy stroll through the miles on our agenda. In the end, the day was easy, but the miles were not. The winds were quite strong and right at our face for a start. Then, about half of our miles to that first rest stop at a Casey’s were on a road that was under construction and had just had its surface grinded. We had headwinds and constant bone shaking vibrations going through our bicycle frames. By the time those first 19 miles were up, we already felt like we had ridden 40, or maybe even 60. The one saving grace was that the views were quite nice over the rolling cornfields.
At the rest stop, we had a great combination of a Casey’s and a Dollar General right next door to each other to give everyone their choice for where to buy snacks and take a trip to the bathroom. We gathered around the van before rolling off again to take a picture with our dedication to Lauri. On the second half of the ride, we seemed to get to Des Moines pretty quickly now that one of our foes from the first half (the bumpy road) was gone. The city, as we rode in, was looking really neat and we were excited to have some time to actually spend here. We also celebrated about a mile before our stayover because there was a laundromat which meant the extra time in the afternoon could also be used to get all of our clothes clean.
Upon arrival, some of us went to a bike shop to figure out mechanical problems and get parts while others took advantage of the close laundromat or time to sleep. A local gym (Anytime Fitness) allowed us to use their showers and most of the team enjoyed some pho for lunch. Then, the reality set in that we were all tired again and we went to do some separate activities or go to sleep before dinner.
Speaking of dinner, last night in Newton, we had some pulled pork and cheesy potatoes. Well, today the meal was pulled pork and mac and cheese for dinner. The Grace United Methodist Church where we were staying had a community dinner and we were allowed to join! The food was great and definitely filled our stomachs.
As the night arrived and the looming weather for tomorrow rolled in, the team spent time together inside before going to bed not quite knowing what the forecast would mean for tomorrow’s ride.
