That was yesterday.
This ride report is about today. I took many of these pictures today, but some I took on earlier rides. I hope you don't mind. It's hard to take a whole bunch of pictures... and enjoy the ride... and get home in time for work... all in the same day. This is what I saw today...even if the pictures were not taken today.
Headed East...
The first small town East of Iowa City is West Branch. West Branch is known for one thing. It is the home of Herbert Hoover. Everyone's favorite depression era president!
Here's Hoover's house.
I dig this statue of Isis. We're big fans of Isis around here. She is the goddess of fertility/life.
The scenery around here is what it is. If it bores you, that's fine with us, stay away. There is definitely one good thing about the Iowa countryside, there isn't much traffic.
The scenery pretty much looks like this... Corn, beans, and hay
I generally try not post food pictures. I must post this one.
Actually, that last picture is maybe my favorite picture this year. It's so simple. It is almost like a child's crayon drawing. I really like the one animal on the horizon (left side). It might be hard to see on these small, low-res versions of the pictures.
Like I said before, one good thing about Iowa is the lack of traffic. The farmers can slow you down a bit. Not much tractor traffic today, but I did have to dodge plenty of sprayer-rigs. I SO MUCH want to ride underneath one some time.
When Boxer (Phil) rode up to Cedar Rapids a couple years ago, he asked me, "where does all of that corn go?"
I told him, "to the grain elevator."
He asked, "what does a grain elevator look like?"
I didn't know how to describe it. There are many different styles. Some are concrete, some are metal, some are round, some are square, some are tall, some are squat.
All I could say was, "the grain elevator is the biggest thing you will find in the itty-bitty towns."I love industrial, mechanical, form-follows-function things. Maybe, that's why I like my motorcycles naked. Maybe, that's why I like grain elevators.
My bike is on the road in front of this one, just ahead of the cab of the semi. Ya probably can't even see it.
This one has a big open air storage area. The long conveyer leads out to a big ring out in the middle of the field.
Enough of the grain elevators already...
I made it all the way east to the big muddy river. Just before crossing the river I stopped for a water and cigarette break. I chatted with Ken and Pam. Ken got a bite as we were chatting. Unfortunately, the line broke.
The pelicans were having better luck. They were also much more aggressive than Ken and Pam.
I crossed over into Illinois at Sabula, IA. I like that crossing. The road goes for a mile or so through the swampy back waters of the river.
Looking south down the river...
Looking up the river...
I'm not sure if this is where I would like to be buried. It did seem peaceful, though.
The inevitable church picture... Cornell College in Mount Vernon.
This is the Cedar River...
Time to get home and get to work...
My bike, in weeds, by a windmill...
Zoinks...I forgot this one...
