Day 03: Eagle Grove, IA to Lizard Lake, IA
Sunday May 27, 2012, 38 miles (61 km) - Total so far: 159 miles (256 km)
Today was such a challenging day, really horrible actually. I should have realized it was going to be a hot one when I got up and it was already quite warm. But it really got hot (95° F (35° C)) and to make matters worse, 25+ mph headwinds and/or crosswinds all day. I stopped about every 6-8 miles to rest in the shade and get more water and other cold drinks. I lost track of how much I drank, but it was a lot. As I pedaled on fighting the wind, I would catch myself talking out loud. I would stop realizing that nobody was listening, and then realized that I wasn't even listening and that threw me into a whole other line of thinking. Its only the third day, too soon to go crazy.
Twice I stopped in peoples yards for breaks under trees, each time they gave me cold water. The second time (above 30ish miles) I pulled into a driveway and was laying under a shade tree (I usually ask permission, but nobody answered the door and I really needed the rest). About 20 minutes later I was joined by their German Shepard. Really sweet dog. They invited me in and I ended up spending a couple hours with them talking and waiting for the heat to subside and hopefully the winds as well. Around 6:00 clouds had rolled in and did help with the temps, but the wind seemed even worse, but I needed to push on to make it to where I intended to camp (Lizard Lake). (If you do read this, Thank You, again for your hospitality.) Lizard Lake (well not really a like now) has a very small campground which was pretty much full. I found a spot to set up my tent in the shade.
Another note. I did get to test the solar charger today, which seems to work nicely. It would work even better though had I not stopped every 6-8 miles in the shade so it had very little sunlight except the periods I was riding.
