july 4
day 56
29 miles
total 1,463
i feel really good about today’s output.
i finally seem to be hitting that 2.5 mph stride.
i put in a solid 12 hours with a 20 minute breakfast break.
troy’s garmin read 17 for the pre break distance
(which i figured to be about 16)
and the last 13 i got from mile markers on the highway
(which i figure are right)
knowing the route and eliminating all the map study boosted my results considerably.
nights on the great plains are inspiring.
at times we got in places with no lights visible
except lightning bugs and stars.
it felt like i was looking over the shoulders of the first men to explore this land.
the greatest common denominator of iowans seems to be detasseling corn.
i can start you out on writing the biography of almost every iowan;
“in high school i detasseled corn for money;
down between the corn rows i decided to go to college.”
iowa should start an exchange program
for amotivated teenagers.
it seems like young people looking for themselves
might find themselves pretty quickly between the corn rows.
3 days now of smooth pavement has greatly improved the attitude of my feet.
realizing how many useless north/south miles i have covered
has done nothing for my attitude.
it will take another 6 unnecessary miles tonight before i finally get to iowa falls.
then i can start the quest for webster city.
my poor crews have made a valiant effort to add scouting out routes to keeping me fed, hydrated, and not lost.
with my phone now getting service about 10% of the time
that won’t be easy!
laz