Bike Ride Around Sioux City

Todays ride.

2008-08-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

No camera the last 2 rides. Just want to ride hard and get my muscles ready for climbing mountains. The other day we rode 11.6 miles. Did Adams and the long loop from over climb to over climb. Today we rode to Leeds and back. It was a lovely ride. Beautiful weather and wouldn't you know it a head wind all the way back. I drank the Cytomax and it seemed to help. My IBS kicked in though so hope its not from the drink. Would hate to be in the boonies and have to go. Note to self. Bring biodegradable tissue, LOL. The ride today was short. Only a little over 7 miles. We are not practicing enough but I had plenty of reserve today, just not enough time so we will be OK. We don't have to break speed records. Just have fun.

Todays ride

2008-07-16T17:06:00.000-07:00

           It was so hot. We are always so slow to get started in the morning. Which means we ride during the hottest part of the day.   I have the burn to prove it. I burn, then it goes away, burn etc.... It never turns into a tan. I really need to get some sun screen.

     Today we went 12.9 miles. I am getting discouraged at how slow our progress is. Yes I am riding in 3rd gear most of the time. Yes I am going further but I had to use my inhaler again and it is slow going getting my body in shape. I truly wish I had never ever smoked. 30+ years of being a heavy smoker have come to haunt me. I think with my leg muscles I could ride forever but my lungs give out after about 11 miles and it is a struggle. I hate using my inhaler because it gives me mouth sores. So seriously, if you smoke quit. You will so regret it when your my age.

      The positive part of the ride today.   Our average speed is better. Over 12 mph which isn't bad considering we were 8.7 last week. If it hadn't been so hot today I could have easily rode another 10 to 15 miles. Unfortunately my head is so burnt I feel terrible with a hangover type headache. My legs feel strong and ready to go the distance. My toe is throbbing and I have been having charlie horses in my broke toe which has been a small not so silent hell for me. Have you ever felt the ends of bone rubbing together. I need to tape them better so the bone doesn't move. It will never heal at this rate.

    Of course we ended with a very cold wheat beer. Yes I know. I was giving them up. But it did make the toe feel better and wheat beer goes great with my sunburnt face.

    I am thinking of starting a bike riding club for plus size people. Children, men, women, you name it. Loose and without weight loss being the main objective. Just riding and getting healthy. I know lots of people who would ride more if they had someone to ride with. I probably wouldn't ride as much without Rick to go with me. It would motivate me. Plus the more I rode the more calories I would burn. So I am giving that some serious thought. We can get tee-shirts and the whole thing if it goes over well. If I had to lead a group I couldn't come up with any excuses not to ride, right!

Broken Toe Ride

2008-07-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

   I decided to see how riding would go with my broken toe and was pleased to see that riding is much easier then walking at this point. Since I wasn't sure how it would go we planned a short ride today. We rode 9.5 miles. Today I want to go much further. We started in South Dakota at the park.

The weather was perfect for a ride...well it could have been slightly less windy but otherwise just great. It was wonderful to be moving without pain from my toe. You start out in a neighborhood but after a mile your in cool tree lined trails.

     The path is crushed gravel which is OK to ride on but my tires were a little overfilled and the front tire wanted to slide out on me around curves. So I had to watch my poor little toe. There are a couple of places by the river to rest and adjust your bike.

        And you can see Chief War Eagles Grave on the bluff.

      The next stop has a small building that I think is for taking pictures or just watching wildlife. I don't think it is for hunting as there is a campground right across the river. Anyway it is pretty cool.

   All the windows had spider webs.

There are all kind of plants and flowers by the river including our local marijuana plants. They don't bother to cut it down as it is known as ditch weed and isn't the kind anyone would want to smoke. Neat leaves though and some pretty flowers on the other plants.

     Since the weather was so nice people and cattle were enjoying the river

     On the way back we saw a path down to the river so did some off trail riding. Bumpy and since I went first I had the unpleasant task of breaking down the spider webs. Going down wasn't bad but it was steep going up. At the bottom was just a couple of shots that looked pretty but would be great for fishing.

      We then drove to town and went to an antique car show. Ricks relative was showing his old car that Rick laid carpet in. I had left my camera in the car and didn't want to hobble back and get it so no pictures but there were some great cars and live music. After that we went home and Rick grilled me some chicken and we sat outside and had dinner and wine. A good day. Zoey of course was begging the entire time.

another ride

2008-07-03T19:12:00.000-07:00

I didn't take pictures today. I am just training now and trying to ride as hard and fast as possible and get my legs muscles built up. But we did good. Twice as far and in the hardest speed as that builds up the muscles.

I was just bragging about how I thought my asthma was cured. I think my lungs are as good as they used to be. Wham, wheezing and gasping for breath. Of course as soon as I rounded a hill there were people at the top. When your heavy you do think about the impression you make, and you don't mean a good impression. So I rode on puffing on my inhaler and soon was able to breath again. Good clean air, deep grateful breaths.

A better ride

2008-07-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

I must admit it has been slow getting started on our riding. But I think we are getting there. Today's ride went better. I didn't get rubber legs this time and we doubled our distance plus more important I am back riding in the gear I was in last year with is the 3rd gear usually around 3 to 5. I can tell my legs are stronger. We rode the South Sioux bike trail which I must admit isn't that hilly but it was very windy. The head wind is a killer.

We like the trail though town as it goes right down the middle of neighborhoods.

    Poor Rick as usual gets slowed down by my pictures.

   When we cut through the high school I saw this poor hawk getting swooped on by these 2 birds. They were probably protecting their nests.

    It looked big enough to take care of itself though

      They have this weird trail by the school made of recycled tires. Spongy feeling and smells.

   It was hot today and I forgot my sunscreen. Since I have had to have some pre-cancerous moles removed that wasn't the brightest thing and I could tell I was burning already. Still I was having a great time. I have mentioned I love to ride?

     This trail ends at the lake. We stopped at the dock.

     In the water you could see all these small bluegill.

       They are a pain when your fishing as they nibble your bait off and aren't any fun to catch. Except for the kids love it. They hide in the seaweed.

     We took the long way back and looked for some sprinklers to ride through but no one has to water with all the rain we have been having. Bummer. So we stopped by the river at one of the sand beaches.

    We left our bikes on the grass and went down to soak our feet. I love riding in croc's because you can just walk on in.

      Then we sat on the bank and rested while my feet dried. It was lovely out.

      So that was our ride. 2 months to get ready for the Black Hills. I can't wait.

yesterday's ride

2008-06-30T14:15:00.000-07:00

When I was young my mom used to tell me to get my nose out of my book and go out and play. Life goes by to swiftly she would say to just read about it. Go and live it. I couldn't really understand that as a child but as an adult I can. It both frightens and stimulates me now how fast time goes by. I have trouble sitting idly by not doing anything because what if...what if this is the last day of my life and I wasted it not smelling flowers or looking at the blue of the sky reflected in the darker blue of the water. What if I missed that infectious laugh of a child chasing a kite or the tender look exchanged by a long time married couple. What if this is the last nice day to ride my bike.

It has been raining and storming off and on for days. I am tired of waiting for a perfect bike riding day. Any day will have to do. Today will have to do. High winds, cool breeze. Maybe get rained on. Maybe get really tired. But I want to do it regardless. So I am loaded up on water, my batteries to my camera are loaded. I have checked the air in my tires and I will soon be off. See ya all later.

We rode out at Adam's and it was perfect. Windy but perfect.

First ride of the year

2008-03-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

Bike riding tipnumber 1.   Never...and I mean never take months off without doing anysort of exercise and expect to ride like you used to. Yikes. I wassure I was having a heart attack a couple of times and we only went 7.6miles.

        The weather felt warm until we were actually riding. I was not dressedwarm enough initially. I needed a hat, gloves and something around myneck. Fortunately.....well maybe not, being in such terrible shape Isoon worked up a heck of a sweat.

   Why is you always meetpeople on the trails when you are climbing an incline. Gasping forbreath and beet red in the face I breathlessly gasp out....to yourleft, and ring my bell. What?, they ask, as my voice was barely abovea whisper. Left!, I wheeze and that is all I can manage. With a lookof alarm they leap to the side....visions of how to do the CPR theylearned 10 years ago running through their brains. I am always avision when I ride. Of what I can only imagine. Being fair skinned itdoesn't take much to turn me bright red.

      I am doomed Ithink. Visions of climbing huge massive mountains in the black hillsloom darkly before my eyes. Why oh why did I slack off on my workingout. What was I thinking about? Why did I let myself gain some weightback?

   Behind me Rick happily chatting away and asking mequestions. Questions.... as if I can truly spare the breath to gaspout a reply to him. Reason number 856 why it doesn't bother me tosteal the covers at night.   Darn man.

    Finally I get to theend of the trail. Not the entire trail, just the first half. I stillhave to go back. I climb off my bike on wobbly legs which instantlywant to cramp up on me. Sadly I look at my speedometer to see we haveonly gone 3.3 miles. How could this be. How could I have slipped sofar.

I am happy to see, yes I am terrible, Rick sag to the curb and voice my sorrow. Gee, I really let myself go this winter.

       Evilly this makes me happy. I am not alone. After all if he wasn'tsuch a great cook I wouldn't be in this bad of shape to start with andstrangely enough it give me the incentive I need. OK I say, lets startback. And it is time to start the gym again. By this time I realize Iwill need more then riding to get back to the shape I was in. I needto pump some iron and use that stupid treadmill. But you know what? Iam pumped about it. I contacted the place we are thinking of rentingand made reservations. At Forest Haven. I am not quitting. I am going on a bike ride. A great bike ride.

      So we rode back. It wasn't easier, but for some reason that gave methe push I needed. I vow to get it back. I want to get it back. Wepulled up to the van and I felt great. The first tiny step to going onour ride.

Pulling up to the Lewis and Clark building where we had parked our vanI even felt I could ride more. But I am not pushing it.   7.6 milestoday. 10 the next time, then 15 and so on and so on.

Another beautiful day on the trails

2007-07-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

When I was younger I was so worried about what others thought. I wouldn't join the gym in case anyone thought a heavy woman shouldn't be there. I wouldn't ride my bike because I wasn't your typical bicyclist, tight nylon pants, sleek skinny wasp like body. Matching jersey, pants, and socks with their helmet mirror set just right.   For too many years I put off doing the things I wanted to do....waiting until next year when I lost weight and could show myself without being ashamed.

    Thank goodness I got older and wiser. Before it was too late. Old enough to know my body is never going to look like that no matter what I do. Wise enough to know I loved riding my bike and even like working out. So who gives a flying turtle what anyone thinks. Because life is way to short to think like that. So I go to the gym. I ride my bike. My hair isn't perfect, it is dripping with sweat. I don't wear makeup because it would just run on my beat red face. But I am having fun. I am in much better shape then I look. I am having a better time then some I see on the trails....those who are there because it is cool to be seen riding a bike. Like people who will only ride a harley. It isn't about the ride to them, its about how they look to others. With me.....its the ride. So here we go.

    I wanted to ride early because it is cooler and the light is better for pictures. I just can't get started early. It was about 11 when we got to the trails. Already hot and humid. Today I wanted to hit every trail and some that weren't trails. We started off by going on the maintenance road. Just two tracks in the tall grass. Not a bike trail...not sure if we were even suppose to be on it, but really nice anyway. Not maintained. Wild, like it would have been 100 years ago. If not for the electrical power lines running through it. Sigh. Since it wasn't a real trail it was slower going and I stayed in 2.9 gear.

   We saw all kinds of turkey feathers. Since we are having more sightings of mountain lions and bobcats in the area I kept my eyes pealed. I would have loved some pictures. But none showed their faces, just their scat and leftovers from their turkey dinners. Rick was having bike trouble so I kept getting way far ahead before I realized he wasn't behind me. So I made him go first. Smart because in the trees the spiders have webs across the paths.

   We kept going in and out of the trees breaking up the trail until we got to the meadow I wanted pictures of the other day.

   Here were the purple and white flower I saw the other day and the smell, just heavenly.



     We used the washroom and then hit more of the mowed area. Our goal today was to do every trail. Back to the sand and grass and dried mud area's.

I was drinking cytomax, a bike drink to make your muscles recover faster so was doing pretty good. It is different riding on grass and sand instead of pavement or gravel. More resistance. It felt good to use my muscles. My gut may be shot, but my legs are like steel. Thank good something is hard like a rock on me, LOL.

    There were lots of people on the trails. Am I the only one in the world who sweats and gets as red as an apple when I ride? Sheesh. They all look at me like they think I am going to code any second. In reality I feel fine, just look like crap. Trouble with being fair skinned and menopausal. We hit the gravel trail and finished the loop.

   Rick was still having trouble with his bike. He has 1500 miles on it so it must be time for a tune-up. Better get it done before the Black hills.

We saw some neat things on the ride. Don't know why my pictures are so fuzzy. Need to clean my lens.

   Watch out for the poison ivy.

    And the corn is looking great this year. It must be at least 7 to 8 ft tall.

    We finished up the trail after seeing some pretty berries and a couple of snakes

.

    Our riding isn't as strong as it was last year. I was in 2nd most of time instead of 3rd gear where I rode last year. After 9 miles I was ready to call it a day but I could have done more. The heat just saps your well power. All in all 9 miles wasn't bad but it just didn't feel like enough. I am worried about Rick this year. I am ahead of him often. He is lagging and not because he is taking his time. He has trouble keeping up at times. With me! I can't wait until he gets his heart problems fixed. I worry about him these days. Hopefully we can have his surgery before our bike ride in the hills if we get to go.

   So after we smoked some chicken and had a lovely dinner we went downtown and sat outside drinking a bottle of wine and relaxing. Life is good.

Bike Ride around Sioux City 2

2007-07-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

We got some new art work downtown, so we went for a ride. First we started downtown on 3rd street and took the Floyd river trail to Leeds. Not the prettiest starting point but central for our purpose.

We wanted to see how they ended the trail now. This part of the ride has no trees or shade so it gets very hot. No place to sit or rest either. Just a hot long trail, well not that long. Only 3.5 miles to Leeds. They had mowed and it was pretty.

There were Canadian geese in the river and it was still fairly cool.

   At one time I looked back and Rick was way back behind me. That doesn't happen often.

    At the end they didn't finish the trail. To get to the street you had to drive over a dirt pile. I hope they finish it when they get the track laid. We didn't go all the way as we saw a couple of dogs, big dogs, at the end. So we turned around and started back.

   Going back we were unfortunate enough to have to ride into the wind. I hate riding against the wind and the 3.5 miles seemed like 8.

   When we got downtown we decide to ride through town and take the new trail again. I am trying to get my training in so if we make it to the black hills I can go further then 3 miles.

   By this time is was hotter. I had trouble getting my bike to shift into 1st gear, (yes I use the first gear occasionally going up steep hills), just call me whimpy. I slipped my chain and did a real number on my ankle. Rick fixed it though and we continued.

I wanted to show this funny sign. Duh.

   Starting to see more evidence the trail is being used, mostly by the trash people leave behind. Ticks me off as there are garbage cans all along this trail. And the big bad gangsters with their spray paint. Get a life.

   Back to town I wanted to get the new art work they put along the streets. They are so good from local artists.   Most were bronzes.

     This one is called Victory.

   The one above is called A Close Knit Family, hummmmm

         The Kiss, I like this one.

   Downtown has planted some beautiful Lilies and you know how much I love flowers,

   The next couple of sculptures I really like also. Especially the Chocolate lab.

    Love this last one showing the importance of learning first, then games. Titles Priority.

    The ride was only 15 miles and ended with my favorite. A cold Widmer's at Sweet Fannies.

New bike Trail

2007-06-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

As part of our flood prevention they fixed a creek in town that flooded every once in awhile causing a huge mess and destroying peoples home. Fortunately for us they made a nice trail to run next to it. It is a walking or bike trail and we decided to take it yesterday. They aren't completely finished but you can still ride.

   Along side they have planted some pretty wild flowers and grasses and they have put rocks in the water so it looks like rapids in some places. It will be very pretty as long as the vandels leave it along. Already some idiot gang has put graffiti on some of it and a few pigs have littered. Sometimes I think the human race is hopeless.







   Unfortunately the trail isn't that long.   I remember when I thought 3 miles was far but now if I do under 20 I feel like I am slacking. This was only a couple of miles to the end. It is nice and hilly. Not terrible hills, just hills to get up to the bridges to cross back and forth over the river.



That was neat, going on both sides. Single file of course.





   It brings you across town fairly rapidly and we saw quite a few people using it. We rode the entire thing which is only a couple of miles and ends in the unfinished part. I wonder if that will be the end or if they will go further?


                       the end.



        When we got back to the river I decided we hadn't riden enough so we kept riding. It is pretty this time of year.







      We hit the trail to go to Riverside again.



    Didn't see a Llama this time but did see some wild parsnip which will give you a nasty burn and blister if you tough it. They should be cutting it down.



    Saw some pretty pink flowers and delicate white ones.



    Rick spends a lot of time waiting for me while I take pictures.

We got to the park on the other end and rested.

the cabin


   Then we rode back to town. We rode through town. Check out this neat building.



   And then in the street is the grave marker of the Rev. Haddock who was killed trying to clean up all the saloons and whore houses and was murdered by a brewer. A marker was put on the spot he was killed and is still here today.



Sioux City was wild in its youth and they called us Little Chicago. But the river trade died and Sioux City started to die also.

   All in all we did about 17 miles. It was a good day to ride.

Boaters and llama and riding OH MY

2007-06-19T12:14:00.000-07:00

   What a great day for a ride. Cool, light breeze, overcast. Loved it. We are short on time so just went on the river ride. It was great to be on the bikes again. They have one area that is a gradual uphill. Following that is this double S turn I love. You can go all out on. It is my own little tour de Julie
.
   After the climb I love going as fast as possible around all the curves. I was having a blast and threw my legs out, put my head back and let out a happy yell, IEEEEEEEEEE......only to round the corner and run into , (SERIOUS BIKE RIDERS). Lean hard bodies bent over low handles, the trio in perfect time. As one, startled helmeted faces jerking up to see this mad woman coming tearing around the corner. Beet red face, legs straight out, mad happy grin on my face. Oh my, what must they have thought. "Try it", I hollered, IEEEEEEEE and flew around the corner, hopefully to never see them again, LOL. Rick following behind...shaking his head and laughing.


   Then he calls out. Is that a Llama in the water? What, how strange. By the time I got my camera out it had climbed out of the water, but it was a strange thing to see down by the river in their backyard. We also saw boaters throwing a net. Its illegal but I think they were game wardens.

     The riding is already easier. Each ride gets easier and I am looking forward to a long long riding season. We got to the park at one end where they have this really neat cabin.

    Isn't it cool. Then we rested and rode back. Old War Eagles monument watched us ride.

    It was a perfect day for a ride, we only wish we had time for a longer ride but plan on riding again tomorrow.

2nd ride of the year

2007-05-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

Word of advice. Don't take the entire winter off of any exercise program and expect to pop on your bike and ride like you did the year before. Doesn't seem to work that way, LOL. That will teach me.

   I wanted to ride with my sons at Adams so we loaded up all the bikes. A friend of my sons came also. Here we were with 2 people who ride 50 to 60 miles at a time and at speeds I could only dream of.

My sons bike weights only about 9 pounds, seems so light compared to the 24 pounds my bike weighs. But then I didn't pay almost 3000 for mine either.

It was a beautiful day but very windy. Bad wind. Wind is a bicycle riders enemy. My legs have lost the muscles from last year and I struggled at first and wondered if I would even be able to do this easy 8 mile ride. Wow. I need to get back in shape. Had to take my asthma medicine also which I had forgot about all winter. But once I loosened up it went better. It really doesn't take long to get back to riding. We didn't do near the speed we are used to and the boys rode around twice to our once. Fast also, oh to be young again.

   It smells so good out there with all the wild flowers and wild roses blooming.

   The trail was in pretty good shape and I only had to move about 2 branches.

My oldest has lost 50+ pounds and is doing really heavy work as a waste management specialist so had no trouble outriding us old folks also using one of his brothers bikes.

    It was later in the day and the snakes were all over the trail sunning themselves. Little gardener snakes that I almost hit a couple of times, I love snakes so didn't want to ride over them.

   By the time we got to the overlook even Rick was regretting taking the winter off.

I was my usual sweating red self, happy though.

We stayed for awhile at the overlook and rested and then off we went to make our way back to the park.

So here it is the next day and I feel great, no sore muscles and ready to go again. I know from last year that each ride gets easier and I have trails to hit and places yet to explore.

Finishing the Wabash Trace Ride

2006-09-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

This is the final leg of the Wabash Trace Trail ride. Now we know other people have ridden further, and other people have done it faster. That was never our goal. We just wanted to ride it, and we did.

We were so lucky in the weather. We picked the days a couple of weeks before. The weather was rainy up until the night before we left, it rained the day after we returned, but we had beautiful sunny days both days we were gone. The day of the ride itself we had a very light breeze and the temps peaked out at 84. Perfect. The next day they had strong winds. If we had chosen any other days the ride wouldn't have happened. So lucky.

Even though we were up very early it was after 7 by the time we got started. The river and fields had a heavy bank of fog, but we didn't have any trouble driving.

It was after 10 am by the time we got checked into our motel. Thankfully we then made a decision we were both very happy about later. Initially we were going to leave from the hotel on our bikes and ride through town to the trailhead. Since we were so late already I convinced Rick to drive the car to the start of trail. We were both so happy we had made that decision later.

The ride was pretty and started out with a gradual hill though trees. Time for the 5 hour energy as my legs were already tired.

Boy does that stuff make climbing hills easier. I felt great. We went through tunnels and over bridges and it was perfect.

Most of the view was just of corn fields which were already brown and dead and sunflowers were everywhere.

I saw some flowers and plants we hadn't seen the last time I got some nice pictures of.

I didn't take a lot of pictures of the trail as how much of a long straight gravel trail can you take pictures of. We did see some pretty fields of prairie flowers that Rick got some pictures of.

8 miles into the ride is the yoga shelter where we rested. It looked like someone made grapevine wreaths and put them on the fence. Pretty.

The first leg was from Shenandoah to Coin. Coin is a small town and on the side of the trail they have a park you can stop at with a real bathroom, shower, and you can camp.

We didn't go into town but there is a restaurant there and you can get a cold drink. This part was 12.5 miles long and mostly uphill from Shenandoah. We ate our sandwich and rested there.

The next stretch from Coin to Blanchard is only 5.4 miles. It is pretty flat and the tree cover is such you can't see much. Fields etc.... We did get to a great bridge with places to sit and rest and looking upstream we were thrilled to see this pretty doe picking her way down the stream. Made for a nice stop and a pretty picture.

Now I must admit to it being pretty anti-climatic getting to Blanchard. The trail just fades off into the woods. No picnic table to sit on, no store in this very tiny little town to get some cold water or ice. No stores at all, just a garage, postoffice and some houses.

The town sits on the boarder of Missouri. Some of it is in Iowa, some in Missouri. We crossed the state line to say we made and then turned around to start the 17.9 miles back. We did, the entire trail.

The highway goes straight to Coin and we decided to ride on it. Traffic is real light and we had this great hill to ride down, how wonderful to go fast without having to pedal. Yippy! The trail condition had been somewhat boggy due to recent rains and we were slowed down quite abit by it. It was tiring to ride on and you had to pedal most of the time. This was a treat and I would have ridden it back to Shenandoah if it hadn't gone so far out of way.

I was having such a good time and really not much difficulty riding so I didn't realize until we got back to Coin that Rick was struggling, really struggling. He could barely talk or walk by the time we got back to the shelter. He had gone back into uncontrolled A-fib. Turns out he had gone into it shortly before we got to Coin the first time and hadn't said anything, he wanted to finish the ride. AAARRRGGGHHH men. It was not worth dying over.

I was pretty mad, but more worried. We still had 12.9 miles to go to get to the car. 2.9 miles of it would be uphill, but then the rest was downhill or level. As he lay on the table I tried to figure out how long it would take me to get to the car and back. It had taken us 1 and a half hours to get there the first time, but we were fresh, now I was tired. I am pretty good for 25 miles, but after that it gets to be a struggle. No cabs in these little towns. I told Rick I would ride on and come back with the car but he wouldn't let me. If I got a flat I wasn't good at changing it and if he got worse he needed his nurse wife to be with him. So we rested and went on.

I didn't want to make it harder on him, but I wanted to go as fast as possible to get him safely to the car. The hills was the worse but we took it slow and fortunately going back is more downhill then uphill. Even downhill though we couldn't just go all out. All over the trail are walnuts, hit them right and you'll go flying. The ground was boggy so even when we could go all out we were lucky if the speed got more then 12.9. It took us 2 and a half hours to get back to the car and nothing in the world looked as good as that car. Thank goodness we still didn't have to drive through town to go to the motel. Rick just collapsed in the car and the relief was apparent all over his face. We loaded the bikes and went and got cold water then to the motel.

Unloading the bikes we got another unwelcome surprise. Both of Ricks tires were flat.

Inbedded in both tires were these nasty thorns that I think looked like little devil heads with 2 horns.

I only had one in my bike and my tires were fine. Thank goodness this happened at the end of the ride instead of the middle. We had 2 spare tubes but Rick wasn't in any shape to be changing tires and I suck at it. Boy what a day. We ate at the Depo Deli pictured below and went to bed early. A ride like that really tires you out.

By the morning, my birthday, Rick was back in a regular heart rhythm. I was grateful for that and happy I felt wonderful. No aches or sore spots at all, my "magic" pad had done its trick. I was 52 and feeling great!

Shenandoah is a pretty small town. They have a nice hospital, great downtown, cute little stores plus Hy Vees and other stores, Mayberry like.

Pella windows started there and there is a big EarlMay store which also started there. I could live in a town like that. We found a great little cafe in town Lou and Ed's Cafe where we had a nice breakfast and your coffee cup is never allowed to empty. It was beautiful out. We decided to take the long way home so off we went. We stopped at Waubonsie State Park for some nature. The trees should be glorious in a couple of weeks.

Check out this very old shelter

I had taken the day off so we decided to drive to Nebaska city to see tree town. . That is were arbor day originated. The have this massive inn. Red Oak inn with trees of all kinds surrounding it. I couldn't get a single picture because of all the trees. I told Rick I was going to write them and tell them to get rid of some of the trees so I could take pictures of the motel, LOL.

Next we went to Brownville, Nebraska's oldest town. That was nice and they had some great old buildings.

Since it is on the border we crossed into Missouri again in the car on a scary old bridge and then came back to look at this huge old side wheel boat.

Then we decided we were way to close to Kansas to not drive down there so we would at least say we had done 4 states today. It turned out to be pretty far for just a lark of hitting 4 states but we did that also and got to see a cowboy heading a herd of horses on horseback which made the trip worth it. After that it was back to Omaha for supper.

In Omaha the Modern Woodmans tower has a huge flag they hung for the memorial of 9-11. At night they have 2 blue lights shooting up into the sky. They are doing it for a week. Pretty neat.

And that is the trip. We had a nice ride home with a beautiful sunset. I am not sure if we will ever take a bike ride that far from home again. It is a concern if we need medical attention and being so far from home. We had the cell phone but I would hate to have to go to a hospital not in my network. What an expensive bike ride that would be. But I am glad to have made this trip. Now that it is over it doesn't seem that bad but trust me, I did do some real suffering on this trip. I should be in better shape to do it then I am. But I didn't let it stop me. It was a good birthday.

Wabash Trace Nature Trail part 2

2006-08-27T09:24:00.000-07:00

This is the 3rd time I have tried to finish this entry and I lost it all times. First I tried to do it all one one entry, too long, then I did part 2 and lost it twice. Now I will put in the pictures, save and then write the entry. Will this be the charm?

The last 20 miles of the trip were very hard on me. For one thing 15 miles was uphill. I was at the end of my endurance. Mentally and physically I was tired and hot. The joy was rapidly leaving me. The last 5 miles was downhill or level which was better. For the last 3 miles I kept telling myself, soon Julie you will be in Shenandoah and can have a cold homemade beer at the Depot Deli. Just a little farther, you can do it, you can do it, you can do it, I just kept repeating that to myself. You all know how I love a cold beer after a long bike ride. In the distance I could see the depot. I would have been drooling if I had any moisture in my mouth anymore. We ride up and WHAT! CLOSED, ABANDONED, EMPTY, SOB.......No cold beer! No air conditioning! No seats to sit on and rest. I almost started to cry. HOW COULD THIS BE! WHAT A CRUEL JOKE THIS WAS.

But I didn't. I wearily climbed back on my bike and started pedaling to the outskirts of town to find a motel. We passed through the downtown and even though I was in zombie mode by this time I did notice how pretty it was. In my zombie mode though I just kept thinking......must find motel, must take shower, must rest........

Wearily we rode on grimly looking for highway 59 and a motel. Out of the corner of my eye what was that..... could it be.....Yes it was. The Deli Depot. The real one, open, bright, inviting. IT WAS REAL! Happy happy joy joy.

Rick and I decided we would go clean up our act first. Hours and miles of trail has left us dirty, sweaty and smelling not the best. Burnt to a crisp we would frighten most folks in this condition and besides, now that we knew where it was we could come back. We took off in better spirits this time to find a room. Up the road was a Kum and Go. Something cold to drink. Looking over the vast selection the only thing that really looked good was a large bottle of water so Rick and I both bought one. Oh my, it was the best water I had ever tasted. Nector of the Gods! We both sat in the parking lot guzzling it down like we hadn't drank in years. We both at the same time got terrible severe stomach cramps from drinking the cold water too fast. Rick almost lost his on the parking lot. That was a surprise.

Traveling by bike is strange. It is strange checking into a motel by bike. Riding up and parking your bikes outside while you go to check in. Sweaty dirty travelers looking for room for 2 people, plus 2 bikes! We stayed at the Country Inn. Rooms were $50.00. It was OK to bring our bikes in the room. We had made it. I collapsed on the bed in total exhaustion. I would never move again. Except I wanted a shower, I wanted a beer.

Clean and thirsty we once again got on our bikes to go back for that much anticipated cold beer. The Depot Deli is really neat. Old depot with hundreds of pictures on the wooden walls, Antiques all over. I loved it. The only homemade beer they had the time was Bock which wasn't quite what I had in mind, but I managed to down a couple as did Rick. Of course it wasn't as good the Ricks bock, but pretty good. I had a small steak and sweet potato chips with a side salad. They had a low fat toasted sesame dressing that was wonderful. Rick had catfish which also tasted great. Then back on the bikes for the last ride of the day to the motel. Finally we could rest.

The next day decisions had to be made. I had had chest pain the night before and my little embarrassing problem was also a concern. Part of me wanted to finish the ride. Part of me just wanted to die. I slept terrible as did Rick. You can tell how restless we were by the bed. The last thing I wanted was to get back on the stupid bike. Lets stay another day and rest I begged. In the end we packed up and decided to return home.

We went to McDonalds where neither of us had eaten in years. Rick wanted coffee. After breakfast we went to Hy Vee and got 10 pounds of ice and a gallon of water and filled all our bottles. Plenty of people stared and more then a few probably thought we were nuts, I did.

We passed a van for rent that I though would be just great to throw the bikes in and drive to the car. Rick said no so I then spent the next 4 miles feeling so sorry for myself that he didn't love me enough to end my misery. How could he let me suffer this way, even though it had all been my idea.

We have been married for almost 33 years so Rick was used to my moaning and groaning and quietly rode by my side giving me encouragement. He also took his gel pad off his bike and rigged it to my seat. That helped the situation right away. I was really suffering and always get pretty b----y when I am suffering.

I had had so little rest I felt like I had no reserve left. My legs felt like lead and they took forever to loosen up but finally they did. My Tylenol kicked in, the weather was great and I love being outdoors in the country. Slowly but happily my mood improved and I started to enjoy the ride again. We saw sights I hadn't noticed coming in the other way.

And no matter how bad the hills seemed they weren't as steep as the real roads.

The air smells so good, clean and fresh. It was overcast at times and cool. Really a perfect day to ride.

I had to do quite a bit of walking at first. I was just too tired to walk up the hills and I was getting charlie horses in my thighs. The only way to get rid of them is to walk. That was OK though as I like to walk and it was a nice day. Rick rode along side and told me to take as long as I wanted and to do what ever it took to finish the ride. We were enjoying ourselves again. And walking I notice more things. Since we were the only ones on the trail and this part isn't traveled as much mushrooms grow right in the middle of it.

The hills are there but as I got limbered up I rode again and they didn't seem as bad.

I personally love the look of farm country.

The wood on the bridges is weathered and bleached. Growing up though the cracks are plants. Made a nice contrast. It would have looked better if I had gotten down and taken the shot instead of shooting from above, but I think at this point if I had laid down for the shot I would still be there today.

This plant is so cool, Hot pink stem, the berries start off green and turn eggplant purple further up. They hang from large plants and are quite striking. I have never seen them before.

Also we ran across these wild plums. At least I was 99 % certain they were plums. The 1% uncertainty kept me from trying one.

There were lots of butterflys, grasshoppers, turkey, quail, grouse, deer, hawks and caterpillars on the trail. A couple of dogs which worried me, but they were friendly.

For at least 20 miles I was tortured by some type of fly, maybe a deer fly, that the second I stopped it would land and bite. It really hurt and it drew blood! They hadn't been there the day before so the cooler weather must have drawn them out. It forced me to up the pace more then was comfortable andalot of times I was riding and swatting with my bandana trying to keep it off my head. Almost crashed a couple of times and must have looked a sight. All the cows stopped what they were doing to stare. I braved getting bit once again for a shot.

What is the purpose of the green stripes I wonder, decoration?

This is near the end, yes I said the END of the trail. Such pretty horses and their colts. The colts watched us the entire time, but the mares could care less. Rick gave me his last energy drink. I didn't think I felt a thing but bombing along a short time later I looked back and no Rick. He said he stopped to empty his shoe and looked up and I was just pedaling up the hill and disappearing at a rapid pace. He had to hop and and really pedal to catch me, LOL. Good stuff and I highly recommend it for rides like this.

We had some hazards on the trail. The sad part was it was downhill and we hated to lose our speed. We were finally making some time and going about 15 mph. Would have hated hitting the tree at that speed. We also were starting to see evidence of more people on the trail. Unfortunately mostly by the garbage they left behind.

What is wrong with people that they can't pick up their trash and throw it all over. We carried trash sacks with handles so we could hang them from our bars. The only evidence we left behind that we were ever there was our tracks, as it should be. Shame on all the riders and walkers who trash the place.

With around 5 miles or less left we took one more rest stop. For the first time Rick is showing his fatigue. He is so much better at hiding it then me. We are seeing more riders. We are the only ones without helmets. I still don't see how it was necessary and how a styrofoam helmet would protect you, but to each his own. Most were friendly. It is all downhill or level from here.

We got into Council Bluffs around 5:15. We had left Shenandoah around 10. 7 hours on the trail to go 44.4 miles. Of course we rested, I walked some. I took pictures. Our car looked heavenly. It took us another 35 minutes to unpack the bikes and get them on the rack so we could leave. The ride was done. Now that it was over I was glad I finished the ride back, sorry I didn't ride to the end and really glad the leather car seat was so soft. We drove back to Sioux City, Stopped and ate and had a beer and drove home to rest.

The next day. My thigh muscles are very sore from the charlies and I have bruises all over my legs. Rick is stiff and sore also. But all in all not bad. It already seems like a good memory. I am even talkng about how it will be in the fall, so pretty and if I practice more on the hills it should be easy. Who knows.

Wabash Trace Nature Trail Bike Ride 8 24 06

2006-08-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

Right off the bat I had better fess up to not making the entire 126 miles. Minor medical problem I hadn't anticipated made cutting it short approbriate. Can we say Preparation H, nudge nudge say no more. I did however manage 90+ miles. We made it to Shenandoah. Was it easy? The first 27 miles wasn't bad, the last 5 miles was OK. 13 miles was all uphill and after awhile I was so worn out. So anyway. Come along and I'll show you the way.

We finally got everything loaded and ready. We didn't know about taking all that water but it turned out we needed most of it. It was hot and there is just hardly any place to buy more. We were on the trail by 9:45 give or take. We were slightly nervous about leaving our car after we arrived and found the porta pots had either been vandilized or blow over. Fortunately no problems.

Since this is a converted railroad track it is straight most of the way to start and no steep hills. There are grades though and they fool you. They just gradually go up and up and up. The great thing about the torture of the hills though is the bliss of the long slopes down, Wheeeee....

We saw this house on the outskirts of Council Bluffs, Ia. It doesn't look haunted to me. This is actually a daycare!

We saw this pretty horse on the way and I had to get a picture. You can also ride next to the trail on horseback.

The grades are gradual so it wasn't too difficult at first. Only when exhaustion sets in do they seem to get really bad.

Fortunately the path is canopied with trees along most of it. It cuts down on the view, bad, but it helps with the heat, good.

Some time was spent initially adjusting the load so the ride was smoother. Rick had about 30 pounds of water and supplies on the bike. Heavy on a bike.

Parts of the path reminded us that fall was right around the corner.

And at first there were plenty of benches to rest your tired legs.

Not your typical biking clothes or your typical biker we saw on trails, I was by far the heaviest and oldest. Gee, I wonder if I broke any records? Still smiling and completely enjoying myself.

At this stop we decided to try the 5 hour energy drinks we had brought. We were both chicken to drink the whole thing the first time so we split it. The taste wasn't near as bad as we had been made to believe. Also we were slightly worried it might throw Rick into A-fib. It didn't and we did get a boost which was nice. At least 2 1/2 hours worth. We also had a power bar. The view was pleasant and the wildflowers pretty.

The sweet scent of flowers though soon gave way to manure, lots of it.

Not a blade of grass or tree escaped the cattle on this feedlot.

You can buy a t-shirt with a drawing of this bridge on it to remember the trip by. I might get me one. This bridge is pretty cool. The wooden timbers are really old.

There were some neat rural things to see on the way.

But some of the farm houses sure have changed since I was a girl. Raising those beautiful dogs must pay well. Or farming allows them to have all those beautiful dogs!

One thing kind of unnerving was above your head in the canopy were a ton of web worms. They completely strip the branch they are on.

The walnuts look like they survived though.

Rick is smiling most of the time. He is always happiest when traveling.

I think it said there are a total of 21 bridges on the trails. Most are wooden and fun to cross. Watch out for nails though. Across was what the cars use, not as much fun.

The first part of our trip was 9.6 miles to get into Mineola. People do this ride on Thursday's for tacos and margarita's at the steak housein town. So far it has been an easy ride and we are feeling good. The gentle slopes didn't even faze us. We both had a good laugh over the name of this porta pot. Turd Toters. Little did either of us know it was the last one on the trail!

The elk horns were why I took the picture but check out that massive tree in the back!

From here it is on to Silver City. 4.3 miles.

What do you think of this bird house. Even the dead trees are important.

Since we were on a gravel road we spent alot of time emptying out our shoes. Doesn't he look cute!

In Silver City is the original jail from 1911. I sure would have hated to be stuck in that tiny place for long!

A little door opened behind the bars, I assume to shoot anyone trying to break the crook out.

The posse could tie their horses up right outside. And use the great bathroom indoors?

From Silver City we traveled to Malvern which was 8 miles and then to Imogene which was a long stretch, 13.6. After Malvern most if not all of the benches disappeared and finding a Turd Toter was just a dream. No cold water, hot hot hot and by this time it was getting onto 4 oclock.

They had a nice park in Malvern and a bathroom. However it was outhouse type bathroom. Now I spent summers on farms as a girl without indoor plumbing so that didn't bother me but there was a big spider web in the hole. I went out and looked for a stick to clean it out and the park was so clean there wasn't a stick to be found.

The park was pretty though and we had some trail mix and rested.

I took less pictures and buckled down to try and make some time. Oh,and no more benches! That was really bad because I would have loved to sit, and not on the trail, too dirty. Most of this stretch was uphill, gradual, but uphill still. I would come around a corner expecting to see it start going down only to see it still went up. Weird though as it was so gradual you couldn't always see it, just feel it in your legs.

We still had some pretty sights though.

My legs are bruised all over. Why? Grasshoppers. You would be flying downhill enjoying the reprieve and whack, right on the leg or face, or arm, a grasshopper would smash into you. I am such a fragile flower, Yah right, I bruised from it.

We saw a few places where the train had derailed and they just left the cars in the water. Would have been hard to get them up.

Couldn't you just picture Huck Finn fishing on this bank!

The trail stretched on for miles and by this time I was beginning to think it had no end. Who's stupid idea was this! Oops, mine again.

Miles and miles of trails and miles and miles of cornfields.

Happily, we finally came across this bridge which had seats on it so we could sit and empty our shoes and rest. Simple comforts. Looking over the river I saw where another train had derailed. Hummmm how safe were these bridges we were driving over?

It was a pretty wild river though.

The next bridge was my favorite. Not only was it really neat and looked great in pictures, it was the last bridge before Shenandoah. You can see it in the distance. I almost cried.

Looking at my reflection while I resting on the bridge I wondered what had I been thinking when I suggested this trip. Perhaps this. The quiet view from a bridge. Bone tired but peaceful. Almost there.

This bridge was my gateway from suffering.

So I climbed back on my trusty bike and prepared to ride into town. The last few miles seemed as long as the whole trip. I was completely done in.

2006-07-14T21:19:00.000-07:00

I love old cemetaries and love wondering around looking at the headstones and wondering what their lives were like. How did they live, how did they die. Was it an epidemic? Flu? Some of them have children die 3 or 4 at a time days apart or on the same day. What caused it. Come and walk with me while I visit Logan Park Cemetary.

This is an old cemetary and some of the towns founding citizens are here. What was my town like back when they lived here. They used to call Sioux City little Chicago. Crime, red light districts, river trade and bootlegging. This town was suppose to be big. Then the railroad came and river traffic died. Sioux City settled in to being a smaller town with the usual problems. But the people here started and lived when the town was big and alive.

Some of the headstones are huge and ornate, boastfully letting everyone know how important they were in life and still in death. Some are monuments to grief.

Some were simple and heartbreakingly sad. Why was this mother and child buried together with no name to remember them by. What was their story?

But rich or poor they all ended up here, side by side and in the end who remembers how much money you made......or didn't.

We also have many of our war hero's buried here. We had a cival war troop and there is a tribute to them along with many of their graves.

Content I'll be when I am under neight the sod,

If I have strengthened things within my heart

And made it right with God

The picture above contests to the parents grief of the loss of their young daughter.

What was a person worth? The love of their family and their memories live on through those.

The trees nestle and protect the graves.

And a crow keeps watch.

Father's Day, It's a Good Day to Ride

2006-06-18T16:36:00.000-07:00

It's father's day today and we wanted to do another bike ride. The weather was in the high 70's and there was a nice breeze. We actually got to the parking lot before 11 am. Unusal for us. The trip we took into Nebraska and to the lake will be repeated today but I have my trusty camera with me so I can share the ride. We started out at the usual place by the Lewis & Clark Center. They have the 13 star flag flying which is huge and looks so pretty agains't the sky.

Below is the bridge across the river we will be crossing. What you can't tell is how high it is and it's in the shape of a bow. You climb up one side and then coast, or fly down the other.

I was hoping you could tell how high up the bridge is. Have I mentioned that heights bother me? I like the fact that the guard rail looks pretty sturdy. No cars crashing into us.

It is all uphill that you are looking at.

Yah, finally safe on the other side. I was able to pedal up without stopping unless you count the pictures. I used my inhaler before the rideso it helped prevent an attack. Below is the Dance Pavilion that I have shown on other pictures. Now it is on the other side of the river. We are in Nebraska now.

I love the sign below and would love one for my driveway.

Below is the old railroad bridge. It is also really high up there. Once, as a silly 15 year old, I walked across it to meet my boyfriend. Coming back I met a train. I had to climb underneigh and sit on the cement piling until the train crossed. I was scared to death and the noise was deafening. This might account for my fear of heights. I broke up with my boyfriend after that because he lived too far away and he was afraid to cross the bridge. Around the same time a kid I knew rode his shetland pony across the bridge. Stupid, stupid. I even thought it was stupid back then.

The trail brings you through the corn fields. By the 4th of July it is suppose to be knee high. This looks like it will make it. Not as good as Iowa corn though. The recent rain has helped.

As I kid I used to de-tassel corn in the summer for money for my school clothes. I don't think kids do that anymore but we all did when I was growing up. Below is one of the reasons I hated it. Big, Big, hairy spiders. Yuck. Better out there then in my house.

Along the route were some pretty wild roses and we ran across some wild raspberry patches and we stopped and had some treats. I am bringing a baggy next time.

Below is just more of the trail as it winds around the field. The weather is perfect for this and we have come around 6 miles so far.

Rick is patiently waiting while I take pictures.

The foundry where my brother used to work. It is very hot in there. They melt down scrap metal. The building is old, old, old, and smells terrible. Didn't trigger an attack.

Follow the green signs

The trails curves out around the building. What is weird about this trail is soon we will be riding through neighborhoods. I think they took their alleys and turned them into the bike trail. Then you ride through the high school. It is still a nice ride but I like woods better.

These old quonset huts just screamed to be antiqued. They are old already and were probably around when the pictures looked this way.

The trail also winds through a pretty park.

Here we are at Crystal Cove park.

The dock makes me want to fish. I want to go on one of my days off but not here. I don't have a Nebraska liscense.

I think it is a mile around the lake which we include in the ride.

It is a long way back to the park where we parked so I take advantage of a handy porta pot. A necessary evil. Fortunately a clean necessary evil.

Across the river is the Floyd Monument. The picture turned out terrible so I will drive there and get a good one but for now here is the sign. Sergeant Floyd died here in 1804 in Sioux City and is buried here. They built the monument on the hill.

I thought I would mention my footwear because another bike rider was commenting on my choice of bike shoes. She had on the skin tight bike outfit with the expensive shoes and a helmet. I had on my croc's. Sorry but they don't hurt my feet and they grip the pedals better then anything else I have tried. I look terrible in spandex and I like to be comfortable when I ride. Love my croc's!

So another ride is over. We did 16 miles and yes, we did end up at Jolly Rogers for a cold one. We got caught in some rain on the way back and really kicked it up. The wind also picked up and it was more challenging on the way back. I was worn out by the time we got to the top of the bridge and did have to stop and rest. My new computer for my bike says I only burned 678 calories and 65 gms of fat. Seem like it should be much more then that.

Julie's Big Adventure

2006-06-08T06:18:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take a long ride and see if I could do RAGBRAI this year. Last week Rick, my DH, rode from our house to Adams and back, a round trip of around 35 miles. He picked the hottest day and the windiest day to do it. I wanted to do it on a nicer day and I didn't want to end the trip going up the huge hills to my house so I started at the river. I wanted to prove to myself I could ride that far. I wanted to prove I was in good enough shape to do it these days.

Just got the bikes off the van and are getting ready to go.

My bike loaded for the trip. Extra water and I have ice in the cooler and the camera is hanging from my handles. Added about 5 pounds to the bike which doesn't seem like much until you start riding

There I am, your's truly in my coolest clothes since no matter how much I tried, I couldn't get Rick started until noon.

The first part of the trail which will take us to riverside. We ride this often.

This trail is always collapsing as the bank gets eaten away. Nice ride though.

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More view from the river trail.

When we reached riverside park we had to drive on streets and the the sidewalks. Not many pictures because the sidewalks were cracked and heaving in places. The curbs were square and it wasn't that pretty. So far we have gone around 3.5 miles.

We decided to get some cash so we could get extra water if needed.

Over the bridge is South Dakota. The town over the bridge is almost all casinos. Every store, every eating place, every gas station, casinos. It used to be home to Gateway also.

Yes, we have bait stores. This is right by the river.

This is what's left of Gateway. They leave and leave the buildings to rot. They should be required to take it down. Anyone want a huge building painted like a cow? When they left hundreds of people lost their jobs.

Another casualty of Gateway leaving were these business which had no business when Gateway left. A new bank and the Grocery store in the back closed shortly after Gateway. The town died except for the casinos.

This was the hottest part of the ride so far. We are on the way to McCook Lake. The path is better then it looks in this picture.

This little park was a nice little rest stop and fresh water. The smell of the honeysuckle was heavenly.

This park is in McCook Lake.

McCook Lakes water tower.

The Preserve entrance. So far we have been riding about an hour. The temps are in the 90's. I feel really good though and it hasn't been hard at all. There haven't been many hills though.

The Barn where the trail starts. They were having some type of dedication ceremony out there and we were glad we didn't drive as there weren't any parking spots. Usually the lot is almost empty.

The trail here turns to gravel. It is easy to drive on though but the bikes get really dusty. The smell is heavenly as there are flowering trees all over.

More of the trail and Rick fixing a tie.

I love this part of the trail. Slightly downhill and smells great.

Ricks getting tired of stopping for pictures.

We stopped for lunch at the river lookout. We had sandwiches packed and trail mix.

Darn, all that riding and I still am heavy. Felt like I should be dropping a pound a mile in sweat. It's hot! There are the dreaded shorts. Sure was glad to have them on thoughin the heat.

This is the map of the trail at Adams. 7.5 miles if you do the whole thing which we do

The Missouri River.

The path away from the lookout. The trail on the way to the lookout is mostly downhill. The trail on the way back is uphill. Usually a gentle uphill but still uphill.

This meadow usually has deer and we have scared off a couple plus some pheasant. No mountain lions thank goodness.

I am including this plant because it is neat and I can't ID it. Anyone know what it is?

This is the 20 mile mark. I hit the wall here. My butt is numb and my thighs are cramping. Rick is resting while I walk off a charlie and get some pictures. I still have 10 more miles to go and am starting to regret this silly outing of mine. I just filled my water with the rest of the ice. The good thing is the weather has gotten alot cooler by 10 degrees. The sky is cloudy and now we are wondering if we are going to get caught in some rain. Might feel good. I can't stop long though to rest as the sun screen I used attracts bugs and I get bitten the second we stop anywhere

We are now back in Riverside Park. I stopped to get more ice and we are enjoying a cold drink. My knees are killing me and my shins broken. I am walking off more charlies in my thighs of all places. 3.5 miles more to go. It seems like 100 miles.

I always love this part of the trail with the wooden bridge. The end is in site.

Back to marina we are stopping at Jolly Rogers for a victory beer. We made it.

Cheers! I did it. I may not be able to walk in the morning but I did it.

Ricks knees are killing him also. Oh so much fun to get older!

I had to get these pictures of the thistles at the river. So cool.

They use blue mulch which really makes the flowers glow.

A much welcomed site. The van to load the bikes up so we can go home. I am proud of myself that I made it. I enjoyed it for the most part. I will even do it again.

I don't however think I will do RAGBRAI. We started at noon and it is now 5. If we hadn't stopped so much we would probably have still only averaged around 11 miles a hour. I would have to be able to ride 50 to 70 miles a day alot faster and not stopping to do RAGBRAI. In July when it is even hotter and windier. At the rate I ride it would take me around 8 to 9 hours to get anywhere. It wouldn't be fun which is why I ride, to have fun and for exercise. So my decision is made. I feel sad but my husband is thrilled. He never wanted to do it and he can ride alot further then me. He is in better shape and he didn't want to do it. He would have though if I insisted and to keep an eye on me.

The Ride

2006-05-23T12:14:00.000-07:00

Our ride starts by the Sgt. Floyd welcome Center which is the boat across the marina. There are some great documents from when Lewis and Clark came through here. It also has the rest stop which is a great place for me to start and end our ride.

This is our new Lewis & Clark Interpretive center with natural pairie grasses and wildflowers outside. Again more Lewis and Clark information there.

This is a pretty cool statue of Lewis and Clark plus Seaman their dog. It is outside the center above.

Also at the center is this replica 15 star flag. It is huge and looks beautiful in the wind.

From the center we ride the river bike trail through the river front. This has been completely redone from when I was a child and is very pretty.

Also on the river front is the Flight 232 Memorial. We had a terrible plane crash in Sioux City. I worked in outpatients that day and will always remember the saddness of the day but mixed with joy at how many people survived. This sculpture was from a photo of one of the rescuers.

The Anderson Dance Pavilion is a favorite place for weddings and live music on the river front. The flowers are always lovely and it's cool by the water.

We also have a huge gambling boat on the river front. I have only been a couple of times and have mixed feelings about the boat. They cater to seniors and we get lots of seniors who have lost everything on those boats. If they are starting to get senile they sometimes get impulsive and bet it all. There are no limits anymore and they bus these seniors in and have bus tours going from Casino to Casino. You see lots of saddness there.

However on the top deck of the boat is the best place to watch the fireworks.

The event center. This huge autotorium is where they play hockey, the circus sets up here, concerts, you name it. They added on a huge addition, my tax dollars at work.

This glass is from our art center. I love the glass on it so that is all I have taken pictures of. I should have gone inside and taken pictures looking up and will, another day, with my new camera when I get it. The art form in the other 2 pictures is called Twig Amore. You can go in the various rooms and it will be there until it falls apart. It is starting to come apart at the top. Neat.

Above it our City Hall. It is a very cool building that we had to fight to keep. They finally added on making the new look like the old. The clock tower and below is the old. Outside are some Wigs giving a press conferance telling us again how by raising our taxes they are making things better for them......Cough cough, us here in Siouxland!

The first sculpture above is called Circle Totum

Blue Moon Rising

Siberian Iris

In The Eyes Of Your God

Shapeshifter

Buffalo Warrior

Knocking On Spencer's Door

In 1998 a tornado destroyed Spencer SD. This sculpture depects that super cell coming at the town. Spooky!

N'Ice Life

Aim: True, Strong & Free

Ahab

Triagle totum

Suspension

A Waste Of Locks

Sioux City

Pegasus Going Mobile

No sculpture, just a water pump downtown.

After A Knights Meal Cigar: This depicts a dragon smoking a cigar and relaxing after his meal of an unfortunate knight. The bones, sword, and helmet of the eaten is underneath the figure.

Knock Off

The Roth fountain is new and is made to remember the origin of Sioux City. We were built around the River and Stock Yards. The old Stockyard Exchange burn't up so some of this was saved from the building. Pretty cool fountain.

Warrior

This mural was so cool and looked good for about 6 months. Then as you can see, a large portion of the mural came down. Will they repair it? Who knows. Next time they raise our taxes I suppose they will. Francis canteen is an adult porn store! They put it on the side of this building.

This store is Alfs manufactoring. They used to make blue jeans here. Now it is the corporate headquarters. From the $90.00 pair to the $12.00 pair, they all come from here. I made sure I told my sons about this. Your only buying pants that are made the same place, just different tags are put on them and different prices. Don't be a fool and pay for the expensive pair. One of the few things they listened to me about.

At the end of our ride down historic 4th Street is Buffalo Alices and Sweet Fannies. The one of the inside of the bar are from Sweet Fannies where we stopped for a Widmers which is the beer shown. Wonderful Wheat Beer. Peanuts are free. He has the inside decorated after world war 2 airplanes. Pretty cool and great atmosphere.

Above is the Bagerow Building. So Tragic and sad is this story. Look at the Art Deco lines and great architectural design of this wonderful building. Inside is all brass and dark mahogany wood design. It is condemned. We need a rich person to save this wonderful piece of history. You can not believe how beautiful this building is on top.

Back to the river. This is the Jolly Rogers. We go there and get one more glass Boulevard Wheat Beer and ride out to the end to drink our last glass and look at the river. What a great ending to a wonderful ride.

Here is Rick, My wonderful riding companion drinking up. Thanks for joining us on this wonderful ride. Cheers all.