Update #19 - Thursday, July 05, 2007
ZEARING, IOWA
7,386.85 miles (11,818.96 kms) since Jan 01st
6,546.09 miles (10,473.74 kms) since March 03

The ride has been going okay. This is my first full rest day off the road since Linton, ND. I've ridden 687.35 miles (1,099.78 kms) in 10.35 days at an average of 66,41 mpd ( 106.26 kmpd). I feel so much better than what I felt in Linton, ND. I did have a half day in Jackson, MN courtesy of the Salem Lutheran Church and Pastor Eric.

I had some neat encounters with wild animals along the way. There were encounters with the encounter deer, ground squirrels, and chipmunks. I helped several turtles get across the road. One of the neat encounters happened back on June 29th after I had left Clear Lake, MN.

About a half mile out of Clear Lake, I rode passed a little black thing that was trying to get across the other lane of traffic. I kickstanded my bike on the shoulder and went over to investigate. There wasn't any traffic both directions. It was amazing to see that the animal was a tiny baby weasel. The black weasel was smaller than my hand. It seemed to be okay.

I used my red handkerchief to shepherd the weasel off the roadway over to the grass shoulder. I couldn't pick up the weasel since even at it's small size the weasel tried to attack me. It raised up and squealed at me. It took me about five minutes to get the weasel over to the grass. I left the weasel curled up about a foot into the grass shoulder.

I had some good meetings with churches. There were several times that I stayed in motels because of the churches. I was also happy that I came in contact with some very nice policemen and sheriff deputies. They took the time to help me out.

Yesterday, I rode through one of the largest wind farms that I've come across here in the Midwest. There were at least 200 wind turbines in a three mile area. The huge GE turbines had three blades that were at least 60 feet long. They were on pylons maybe 200 feet high.

I'm here in Zearing for a few days off the road. I really need to get out of the sun since my lower lip is a bit sunburnt and my face is a bit sensitive from the sun and wind. I'll probably be here in Zearing through the weekend.

After Zeaing, I'll be heading across Iowa in a SE direction to Bettendorf on the Missisippi River. From Bettendorf, IA, I'll be riding down the west side of the Mississippi River to Hannibol, MO and then crossing to the east side of the Mississippi River to Granite City, IL (across from St. Louis, MO).

I'll try and post an update as often as I can if my plans change. The next update should be posted between July 12th and July 19th. Hopefully, I'll have more to write about by then.