USNA 1973 Ride-2-Remember

Day 39, 11 September: Clive to Montezuma, IA

Start: 0630

Temp: 59F

Humidity: Mucho

Total distance: 72 miles

Total distance ridden: 59 miles.

It rained all night stopping at 0600 costing me $1.00. A bet with Mark on when the rain would stop.

Leaving the hotel we once again picked up the Clive Greenbelt Trail riding it for 5.5 miles then through an old neighborhood with beautiful stone houses from the 40s. This took us all the way to Old Town Des Moines where the old part of the city has been rejuvenated with bars and restaurants. We then took a right onto MLK Trail taking us South of Des Moines with a beautiful view of the Cathedral and all of downtown.

Once clear of Des Moines we were back in the rolling hills of Iowa with corn and soybean fields for as far as you could see.

Sally stopped at the 25-mile mark for a sitrep, but I took the right turn from the cue in Ride with GPS to Rt. 163.  Sally phones me and has me come back, 2 extra miles for the day, 1 down and 1 back. The reason, Rt. 163 is a 4-lane high speed road with no shoulder. Our alternate route is straight from where Sally is parked, but it’s gravel and has been made a mess by the all-night rain.

So Mark and Nick rack the bikes and we shuttle 13 miles on Rt. 163 to Farm Rd. 63 and are off again. Hills, hills and more hills for the rest of the day to Diamond Lake Park where we are camping. Tes and I ride on to Montezuma Country Club, a private club, but they are kind enough to let us in and order lunch.

We’re now all showered and in our tents hiding from a brief rain shower. Cooking Chicken Alfredo over linguine for dinner this afternoon.

Dave Haefner