Ahhh…NW winds all day long heading SE. A very quick ride…at least for 60 miles. We were 1 mile from Roland (and lunch) when we hit a detour…urgh. 2 miles into the wind and I mile on a dirt road later. We mad it to Roland but those 2 miles certainly made us very aware of how lucky we were to have the wind with us and not against us today. Winding our way SE through county roads in Iowa, we were headed for Marshalltown but made a last minute decision to stay in State Center. It would have been over 100 miles to Marshalltown and we didn't think it was that necessary and actually prefer smaller towns.

We camped out in the City Park with permission from the city hall authorities. Our only entertainment is three pre-pubescent boys asking each other if they've sucked on nipples and were lighting left over 4th of july sparklers. Right now they are seeing who can jump off the swing and land the farthest while dodging each others spitballs. I drew my first blood of the trip today. I just tipped over right in front of City Hall with my shoes clipped into my pedals. Felt like a champ. The bruise tally increases daily.

Nice long biking day. It was a day of pure biking joy. Today reminded me of how fun it can be to be spinning down a hill or just humming along some long paved road not knowing where it might lead.