Eric and Anna cooked eggs and cinnamon rolls for breakfast and we had a look at my route out of town (to check I wasn't going over any interstate bridges again!). They suggested I head north a couple of miles to a bike trail that would keep me off the highway for a bit, so I set out on that. It was a very beautiful trail and took me the first 7 miles of the day before I joined onto my planned route.
After a short 2 mile blast back on the US 6, I turned off onto some smaller country roads that cut across to the 130 West a very quiet bit of road across the farmland in Iowa. Sometimes you'd not see another car go by for 20 minutes!
It was on this road that I had my first cycling inury. My right Achilles started to hurt when I put pressure on it, probably from overextending the tendon yesterday whilst cycling in flip flops to the taco place. I stopped a few times to lower my saddle and take some painkillers, and tried to not put too much force down with that leg on the ride. A good bit of rest is what's needed!
The rest of the afternoon went slowly and painfully as my poor left leg had to work extra hard to get up the hills. Eventually I reached Cedar Rapids where I joined another nice bike trail that runs alongside the river up to the city. Not far from the trail I found my next hosts (Susan's) house just before 5 and just before she was heading out to her yoga class.
Susan cooked a vegetarian dinner of lightly fried nuts and seats in a Patty, with rice and vegetables. She takes in shelter dogs quite regularly so afterwards we walked (I hobbled!) Miles and Becca a few blocks to try to get them used to walking with new people. Despite being a small city, this area of Cedar Rapids has quite a lot of wildlife and I had to stop Becca from trying to chase a wild rabbit that was hopping around somebody's lawn.
When we got back we had some fresh peaches and blueberries with yogurt for dessert and chatted more about music and our bike tours. I then retired to my room to raise ankle and keep an ice pack on it for the rest of the evening. Fingers crossed for the morning!
Beautiful bike trails to start and end the day, with a lot of pain in between. My next 10 nights are motel stays, so I have the choice of when and where I want my next rest day, but it may be sooner rather than later if this ankle continues to be a pain!
Miles today: 83.3
Total miles: 1192.5
After a short 2 mile blast back on the US 6, I turned off onto some smaller country roads that cut across to the 130 West a very quiet bit of road across the farmland in Iowa. Sometimes you'd not see another car go by for 20 minutes!
It was on this road that I had my first cycling inury. My right Achilles started to hurt when I put pressure on it, probably from overextending the tendon yesterday whilst cycling in flip flops to the taco place. I stopped a few times to lower my saddle and take some painkillers, and tried to not put too much force down with that leg on the ride. A good bit of rest is what's needed!
The rest of the afternoon went slowly and painfully as my poor left leg had to work extra hard to get up the hills. Eventually I reached Cedar Rapids where I joined another nice bike trail that runs alongside the river up to the city. Not far from the trail I found my next hosts (Susan's) house just before 5 and just before she was heading out to her yoga class.
Susan cooked a vegetarian dinner of lightly fried nuts and seats in a Patty, with rice and vegetables. She takes in shelter dogs quite regularly so afterwards we walked (I hobbled!) Miles and Becca a few blocks to try to get them used to walking with new people. Despite being a small city, this area of Cedar Rapids has quite a lot of wildlife and I had to stop Becca from trying to chase a wild rabbit that was hopping around somebody's lawn.
When we got back we had some fresh peaches and blueberries with yogurt for dessert and chatted more about music and our bike tours. I then retired to my room to raise ankle and keep an ice pack on it for the rest of the evening. Fingers crossed for the morning!
Beautiful bike trails to start and end the day, with a lot of pain in between. My next 10 nights are motel stays, so I have the choice of when and where I want my next rest day, but it may be sooner rather than later if this ankle continues to be a pain!
Miles today: 83.3
Total miles: 1192.5
Sorry to hear about your Achilles' tendon, Sam. I hope it's doing a bit better today...you may just need a rest!
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