Time To Get Back On The Bike

Well, the time off has been relaxing. I haven't taken three days off in a row since the trip started.
The baseball game in Kansas City was wonderful, got up the next morning and shopped at a number of stores, notably Wall Mart and a bike shop. We had a lot of little things to get that had been building up for over a week as we were in such isolated areas of Nebraska and South Dakota. We needed tires for the bike (I have already worn out two since we started). I needed a new pair of bike gloves (which I wore out within two states), I had to get parts for my glasses, both the ones I wear on the bike and my regular pair. This trip has been hard on a number of things. The laptops are showing the wear, we need to get a new cooler. Of course we already lost one tent and are surviving on the generosity of GaryFriedman, our riding teammate from RAGBRAI.
We then drove up to see my good friend Diane Arant in Fairfield, IA. We had a bunch of things that we needed to order through the mail. I needed a new pair of bike shorts, Josh needed a biking jersey. I wanted a book on medicine for biking (my feet are numb from the riding) and we needed GU (our nutritional supplement for on the bike energy). Well, we haven't had a mailbox for the last 2,000 miles, so Diane offered to be our drop point.
We had a wonderful home cooked meal and Diane and I showed the boys that we were superior at Euchre. We had a great time. Thanks, Diane
This morning I did the maintenance on the bike. I changed the tire, re-wrapped the handlebars, general lube of chain, derailleurs, brakes etc. Nothing too drastic, but it needed to be done. Actually, I may have stripped a bolt on my chain ring, but I won't know if it's a problem till I start to ride tomorrow.
Did laundry and went out to lunch with Diane, then drove to Bettendorf, IA to stay the night with Bob Loch, another teammate from our Iowa RAGBRAI week. Bob works for John Deere in their international audit department, so he is on the road a lot. We were fortunate to catch him at home. We went out for a great Italian dinner and now we're back here looking over maps for our route tomorrow.
We are planning to go south of Chicago and through Illinois in 3 days or so. It is only 200 miles wide. Indiana is about the same, so we plan on being in Ohio late August or early September. We'll let you know exact dates soon.
Well, I'm tired and it will be a big day tomorrow. Time for bed.
Till later.