Day 3 All Iowa, All Day Long

Good morning,

A great overnight camp at the Red Barn Campgrounds in Lansing, Iowa.

Some light rain to the west, but I think I'll miss it as I roll south.

I enjoyed a big breakfast: bacon, egg and cheese bisquit, two Pop-Tarts, coffee, and 20 oz. of chocolate milk.

Here's SPOT satellite to show where I'm departing from this morning:

Latitude:43.3621
Longitude:-91.2253
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=43.3621,-91.2253&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

It's really hilly and the headwind is once again my companion.

At noon I was just north of the Effigy Mounds National Monument.

Latitude:43.1174
Longitude:-91.2004
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=43.1174,-91.2004&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Had a good lunch of spaghetti and cake, washed down with an icy Coke. Ahhhhhhhh!

At 3p.m. I was here:

Latitude:42.8884
Longitude:-91.1562
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=42.8884,-91.1562&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

I'll be riding near the Mississippi for awhile, and away from these bluffs. I hope that cuts the winds a bit.

By late afternoon I had traveled to Guttenberg, Iowa. On the way, I met a fellow cyclist who has ridden this route clear down to Louisiana. Pretty cool.

Guttenberg is in Clayton County, Iowa, and has a population of about 2,000.

Prairie La Porte, meaning "the door to the prairie," was the first name given to Guttenberg by French explorers in 1673. The Guttenberg area was a site of Sac and Fox campgrounds until 1823. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 transferred ownership to the United States and the Black Hawk Purchase of 1833 finally opened the area for legal settlement.

Thus ends our history lesson for the day. :-)

The wind is incredible this afternoon. Sometimes I'm standing on the pedals being buffeted by the up to 40 mile an hour gusts. I talked to John in Minneapolis and they were having similar high winds. I probably only did 60-70 miles, but it feels like 100.

My destination was going to be Dyersville, Iowa, but I've gotten a motel room in Guttenberg. The Guttenberg Motel is a great inn, and the proprietor Jerry Schmitt gave me a discount on the room. Thank you Jerry!

This evening I was interviewed for KFSI-FM, a Christian station serving southeastern Minnesota and SW Wisconsin. The story will be airing several times throughout the day tomorrow. You can listen live, just visit KFSI.ORG.

I had a neat experience today. Riding along, I saw a snake beginning to cross the road. All of a sudden a red-tailed hawk came swooping out of nowhere, grabbed the snake in its talons and flew off, snake hanging limply. It was amazing. Perfectly executed. I guess the hawk thought he'd better get it before I did. :-)

I'm riding for ovarian cancer awareness and my late wife Susan is on my mind as I pedal onward. Please tell your friends, family and co-workers to visit the blog and review the ovarian cancer symptoms. And please post a comment. We love to hear from you!

Brad