The 2023 Guitar Ted Death Ride: "W-V-W" - Part 2

There are two seasons in Iowa: Winter and Construction Season

 The 2023 version of the Guitar Ted Death Ride was going along great up to the point where I reached Vinton. I had overcome a sore muscle issue and beat the issue with falling asleep on the bike with a combination of a quick cat nap on a trailside bench and eating some breakfast pizza in Vinton. Now I felt great. I was wide awake and ready for the next segment of my route.

This part of the course was, by necessity, on Highway 150 out of Vinton. I had to cross the Cedar River, and this was the only option I had within reason in the area. So I made my way over to the bridge out of town only to find that there was major road construction going on. The Southbound lanes were cut off, and there was alternating one-way traffic via pilot car and a signal at intervals for those waiting to cross the Cedar. 

I watched for a bit to see if there was any possibility that I might be able to tag along in the conga line of cars and semi-tractor trailers. But seeing how the cars coming off the bridge were doing 35+ mph, I thought the better of it, because I would only get in the way. Besides, there are two bridges in this area which covers about a half a mile distance. I wasn't up to time-trialing with cars for that long. What to do?

Well, my only two alternatives were to go back the way that I had come or re-rack and navigate a new route on the fly. (The Wahoo would have been completely useless at this point, by the way) I whipped out my trusty iPhone, hit up the maps app, and within a few minutes I had a route out of town and on gravel. I would head West on 59th Street and I had options to go North off of that which I would determine once I reached 19th Avenue. 

Despite some big rains recently, the last week of super-hot temps have kept the severity of the drought in force.

So, you think Iowa is flat, eh?

Headed West now into unfamiliar territory to me. I'd never had any reason or chances to ride West of Vinton much, although N.Y. Roll has spent some time down this way in the past. That said, I did not have any idea what I'd run into out here and that was a bit exciting. I knew that overall my aim was to get to LaPorte City and from there I had deep knowledge of the country roads such that I could ride from memory. 

A view from what turned out to be the highest portion of my circuit.

Looking West on 59th Street

59th started out flat and then it went straight up on to a sort of ridge with a lot of steep rollers all the way out to my stop at 19th Ave to consider my route again. I consulted the phone and determined that heading two more miles West to 17th Ave would provide a better shot at connecting up with 15th Ave which was the road that would take me into LaPorte City from the South. 

It also would provide brief respites from what was now a pretty strong North wind. It wasn't terible, but it would provide enough resistance that it would be annoying at this point. The air was drier though, thankfully, and the air temperatures were in the upper 70's, which made for a stunner of a day. Much cooler than most of last week! 

An unusual big cut into this hillside to allow 17th Avenue to pass through.

17th Avenue where it crosses Highway 218

Just before I crossed County V-66 on 59th Street I saw an unusual sight. A man on a bicycle! He was wearing a "don't hit me" highlighter yellow vest and was riding a flat bar Cannondale. I waved him down and chatted with him for a few minutes. Turned out he owned a stand of timber back down the road, the way I had come, and he was riding out from his residence in Garrison to do some mowing on his property. That was a cool moment during the ride. 

56th Street looking West. I didn't go that far on 56th.

Up 17th, a bit of a jig-a-jog over to 16th, and then the plan was to run that out to a "T" intersection and another left turn to 15th. When I crested a hill on 56th and saw 16th, I was chuffed.

A Level B Road! Yes! 

Of course, with only an iPhone map I couldn't tell if a road was dirt or gravel, and sometimes whether or not it would be a paved road. So to come up on another dirt road was a gift, in my view, and much needed relief mentally and physically by this point. I was about halfway into a 10 mile slog into a stiff North wind by the time I reached this spot, so a bit of a lift was a good thing. 

The actual dirt part wouldn't start for about a quarter mile, just past a farmer's outbuildings.

Summertime dirt roads: I could ride this stuff all day long. 

16th Avenue turned back into gravel and that dirt section was lost in the rearview mirror and forgotten. Now it was back to grinding out hills and loose gravel into that North wind. And I had a lot of miles under my belt by this point into the ride. 

Of course, without a computer, and having gone off-script, I no longer had any idea what my mileage was so far, but I assumed I was well past the 50 mile mark by this point, making whatever I could get done on this day well past my longest ride of the year by far. I had all day to do this ride, and the thought of cashing it in, while briefly coming across my mind at times, was never a real option for me. 

I knew LaPorte City was not far away, and I knew that there was a Casey's there. Another slice-o-pie awaited me, and a bit of time to rest as well. Then it would be roads I knew and a short jump up to Waterloo, and then home. 

Reinbeck Road in Blackhawk County

Amazingly, these wildflowers survived the heatwave. I took this over my shoulder blind,as I had already passed them by.

So, I reached LaPorte City a little before noon and sat down with that slice of pizza and drank the water I had already on the bike, plus I ate a banana I purchased back in Vinton. I was tired, but steeled for the remaining bit of the ride. I contemplated ways to finish it off. One thing I had in mind was to take in the dirt roads Northeast of Washburn. Or, alternatively I could just head straight up Foulk Road, cross the Cedar on the CVNT, and head back to home via bike paths. 

The wind had ratcheted up a few notches by this point, which was not what I wanted to see. That and the likely fact that Southern Black Hawk County gravel roads would be deep, loose, and have no clear lanes was making any additional loops questionable to me. Had I known what I would end up with in terms of miles for the day, I may have added a loop, but looking back, I think I called it correctly. 

It looks as though the drought will have severe consequences for Iowa farmers.

Struggling against a heavy North wind here on Cotter Road.

Clouds started rolling in as the afternoon got started. I had been out on the bike now for over eight hours and I was still plugging along, albeit slower due to that wind and road conditions. Black Hawk County maintenance never disappoints! 

I took a couple of brief breaks during the stretch going North and gathered my strength to continue onward. It was rough, and I am okay with this as I ended up going over twice the distance of any previous ride to this going back now over a year to when I did my "Hall of Fame" ride with N.Y. Roll and the guys, which ended up being shorter than this ride would end up being. 

Crossing the Cedar River at Evansdale. The river is ridiculously low now due to the drought.

The final bit home: The neglected bike path from Evansdale to Waterloo.

I gathered up my strength and made a final push home after stopping in Evansdale to drink and eat one last time. I rode the bike path for a majority of the way in and then took city streets home from downtown Waterloo. I ended up rolling up to the door of my house at 2;10pm, a full ten hours after I had left the house almost to the second. 

Later on I tracked my route into Ride With GPS and it turns out I got 86 miles in. Fourteen shy of the original plan, but I am not upset by that in the least. It isn't a "full century" ride, but it's a heck of a lot better than last year and I have had my "day on the bike" that I wanted. 

Oh! And you may be wondering why I titled this "W-V-W". That is what I ended up calling this route. It stands for "Waterloo-Vinton-Waterloo".  It is not what I had intended to do, but it is a worthy route to consider if you want to do a long ride around here.

Tomorrow I am going to do a mash-up of a "Barns For Jason" post, a gear review, and give my final thoughts on this year's Guitar Ted Death Ride.