Country Views: Up Against It- Back With It

Escape Route: 2nd Avenue, Waterloo, Iowa.

Man! Tuesday was brutal! Humidity up the wazoo and hot to boot. One of those 'your sweating just standing still' kind of days. My son's graduation saw me get all gussied up in a suit and I tell ya....it wasn't comfortable! But regarding the occasion I wore it for, it was totally worth it. 

Overnight the air swapped out to a Canadian source and with that, a much lower humidity and temperature. Wednesday dawned bright, clear, and comfortable with a strong breeze from the Northwest. I knew I had an errand to run in the morning and I wanted to stay and eat lunch with my two children who weren't in school anymore. So, I did that and at 2:00pm I was finally ready to roll out from G-Ted Headquarters for a short ride up North first. Go into the wind, roll home with it. That was the plan. 

The breeze was coming at what the weather people claimed was a 22mph steady stream with higher gusts. Honestly, I felt no gusting. Just a blast from the Northwest that was loud in the ears. Oh well! At least it wasn't beastly humid and the temperature was in the upper 70's, so really nice.

Burton Avenue- Clean lines and fast, despite the headwind.

Rolling up Burton to the intersection with Mt Vernon Road here.

I decided to dust off the ol' Raleigh Tamland Two. It is a red, white, and blue scheme in terms of its looks, and with Memorial Day weekend coming, why not use it? Seemed like the proper thing to do. 

I had to re-up the sealant, since I have not used this bike since last Fall when I was still on 'The Quest'. Once that was done it was ready to go, and it worked flawlessly for my ride. I always forget how touchy and powerful those Tektro hydraulic brakes on this bike are. I mean, I can stop using my pinky off the hoods position, if I wanted to! It took a few stops before I adjusted my pulling power on my hands! 

The fields are slowly turning greener.

I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to hold a good pace up most of the climb up out of the Cedar Valley. There was a few downshifts, but considering the resistance put up by the wind, I was happy with how I was going. 

When I reached St. Paul's at the corner of Gresham Road and Burton Avenue, I'd had enough of going North!

I guess the 'new trend' is "big tires and drop bars". Hmm.... Meet my 2014 Raleigh Tamland!

By the time I had reached St. Paul's Church on Burton Avenue I had decided that I had had enough of headwinds. It was time for some relief and a right turn downhill on Gresham Road. Man! That white noise of the wind rushing by my ears was gone and I could finally hear the crunch of gravel underneath my poofy sized Vee Tire Rocketman tires. 

I must have just missed the dump truck! Freshies on Moline Road North of C-57 here.

Someone is erecting a ginormous machine shed on Moline Road and C-57 here.

I decided I only wanted to do a two to three hour ride, especially after working hard into that big wind. So, I turned back South on Moline Road and even with fresh gravel, I was flying. It was almost too easy! I was reminded of that time in Kansas when I did a ride up North into a stiff wind and came back on a mighty tailwind. I coasted a full country mile that day! I didn't quite pull that off Wednesday, but I was coasting far more than pedaling there for a bit until I got into the rollers South of Dunkerton Road. 

Back to clean tracks and loads of speed running with the wind.

Looking back the way I came at Moline Road's namesake- The Moline-Anderson Farm.

It didn't take long to roll out of the fresh gravel and I found myself on speedy, clean tracks which raised my speeds even more. The Vee Tire Rocketman tires were humming like bias ply truck tires! I made a short stop for a few images I needed to get but then it was back on the bike and my ride on gravel was soon over.

I still had to get back home, so I snaked my way through the North parts of Waterloo, crossed the Cedar River, and was back home shortly after 4:00pm. Not quite as long as I had hoped for, but later on, my legs were barking and I was tired. I knew that the heat, wind, and hills had given me a lot in those two hours of riding. I know it doesn't sound like much, but I was grateful for the time regardless.