{"id":17527,"date":"2015-08-08T20:25:29","date_gmt":"2015-08-09T00:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=17527"},"modified":"2015-08-10T16:27:55","modified_gmt":"2015-08-10T20:27:55","slug":"day-29-saturday-august-8-ames-to-toledo-iowa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=17527","title":{"rendered":"Day 29. Saturday, August 8 – Ames to Toledo, Iowa"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is going to rain!<\/p>\n

Weatherman says so, radar shows all\u00a0<\/em>green, sky is dark\"DSCN6123\"<\/a> and the humidity is 100%. \u00a0But when we pedaled away at 7:15, it was cool and dry; we tried to make the best of it.\"DSCN6120\"<\/a> \u00a0Our road this morning had an\u00a0unnoticeable uphill grade,\u00a0plenty of cornfields,\"DSCN6136\"<\/a> churches\"DSCN6130\"<\/a> but old cars\"DSCN6131\"<\/a> seemed to be the theme.\"DSCN6128\"<\/a>The country roads\"DSCN6139\"<\/a> and small towns we biked through\"DSCN6126\"<\/a> were quiet on this sleepy Saturday morning.\"DSCN6143\"<\/a> \u00a0An hour into our ride, it began to sprinkle, but not heavy enough to put the raincoats on.<\/p>\n

Stopped at the bustling police department \"IMG_0918\"<\/a>of State Center\u00a0and their very nice dedication to our troops. \"IMG_0919\"<\/a>\u00a0Leaving the center of the state, the predicted wind in our face began to show itself. \u00a0But it was the rolling hills that also began,\"DSCN6152\"<\/a> that were really giving us a workout. \u00a0Luckily, our food\/rest stop was just down the road. \u00a0Daily, our motels’ “breakfast” of dried toast and coffee has fallen short of sustaining us, so today we made up for it. \"DSCN6158\"<\/a>\u00a0Breakfast was good, but it did nothing to give life to our already tired legs as we slowly pedaled over the Iowa River\"DSCN6167\"<\/a> and continuous rolling hills \"DSCN6156\"<\/a>into the wind for\u00a0two more hours; \u00a0We had wanted to stay at the very nice Meskwaki Resort and Hotel, \"DSCN6172\"<\/a>but it was their 101st annual Pow Wow<\/strong>, so no room at the inn<\/em>. \u00a0Five more miles we found our motel and a chance to rest.<\/p>\n

No, this is not our motel, \"DSCN6160\"<\/a>but liked the big flamingo!<\/p>\n

In the\u00a0over\u00a0five hours in the saddle,\u00a0today, we probably had only two total hours of light rain, plus the gift of overcast, keeping our temperatures in the 70’s all day….not bad for 57 miles. \u00a0Staying on the edge of town, dinner choices were fast food, take-out or sit down Chinese,\"DSCN6177\"<\/a>that does not sell adult beverages (?); we made up for it in volume.<\/p>\n\n\t\t