Oelwein to Guttenburg, IA. 65 miles and 2500 feet of climbing

Well, our string of rain free riding days came to an end today. We had rain for about 15 to 20 miles of the day. It was a warm rain so the ride wasn’t impacted too much. Also, I am so grateful that when we got to the point of significant and fast descents (35 to 40 miles an hour), the roads were perfectly dry. I was singing praise all the way down.

We passed through Amish territory and there were several families out watching the “parade” of riders and others selling homemade pie and ice cream.

I thought I had seen everything until I rode up to a man sitting on his handlebars and riding his bike backwards. I am glad I didnt have to watch him go downhill on that bike.

There was also this guy, who they call the “bike surfer.”

This guy had a little of everything going on: and octopus on his helmet and all kinds of stuffed animals at the front and back of his bike.

We pedaled through a few very small towns and there weren’t any games today that we saw.

This small schoolhouse has survived the years pretty well.

We left at 6 am because we wanted to be sure we didn’t miss one last opportunity to shower in the Pork Belly showers that were closing at 2 pm sharp. It turns out that we didn’t need to leave so early because we arrived at the river at 11 am.

You can tell that Bill has his mind on boy things as we ride…these are his photos:

It’s quite the thing to dip your front tire in the Mississippi River. There was a line growing, but we skirted the line because we saw a volunteer taking photos off to the side. You just had to be willing to lift your bike up over the rocks.

And with that last shower, we bid goodbye to Pork Belly Ventures and their showers and close the books on the 2025 Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Acroos Iowa.

Thanks for following along. We hope to see you all soon!