Buck's Blog: Iowa

Greetings

I'm very excited to announce that the trip has reached a new low!

Setting - Geode State Park Bathroom

Time - 7:00a.m.

- Brett and I had just endured a hellish night whereupon mosquitos, gnats, flies, and spiders attacked out tent. It was a hot night. This meant we were left with the choice of overheating in our sleeping bags or being eaten alive by invertebrates. I personally chose a bit of both. After fitfully sleeping through bites, buzzes, and overheating we awoke to swarms of mosquitos in our tent. Fun times were had.

Buzz.

- Then we put on all of our clothes and tried to cook breakfast.

The bugs couldn't eat us yet we were boiling alive. Again.

- We ended up eating breakfast (coffee in a water bottle and oatmeal) in the bathroom, the only place without bugs. There wasn't a lot of conversation at the breakfast table. I.E. the bathroom floor.

Life was looking bleak. Like this turtle.

Then we rode our bikes 121 miles over 7.5 miserable hours.

It was mostly on these gravel roads that were a real pain in the ass.

Not dirt roads but gravel roads. Much worse.

It was hot.

People tried to talk to us. However, we had no idea what was going on due to exhaustion/dehydration.

Finding water was a problem.

Brett pictured next to a random house borrowing hose water.

Then we finally got to the motel. I had a thick layer of dirt all over my body/bike.

I was this happy to get there.

And then we ordered pizza and ate it in bed. The classiest way to eat pizza.

I had an entire large dominoes veggie pizza and some hot wings. Those are my feet. They were not eaten.

The stages of suffering that day.

- Suffering -

- Humorous Suffering -

- Suffering Beyond Humor -

- Not Caring About Anything -

- Laughing At The Absurdity Of Mailboxes And Other Objects -

Then Things Got Better.

The next day we biked 40 miles to Des Moines. Sparkles, pictured above, lives there with Brett's aunt and uncle, Marcy and Monty.

The Next Day

We took a rest day, the first of the trip.

I slept 11 hours.

Ate food.

Played with Sparkles.

It has been a glorious 36 hours thanks to Marcy and Monty. Thanks forever.

How I know I'm Hungry Part II

1) If you put something edible in front of me I will eat it. Indefinitely.

2) Brett and I don't speak when we are eating. This can be awkward if we are eating with others.

3) Sometimes I see food and think, "I need to digest that".

4) I finish food, immediately forget I finished it, and then think "I was eating something delicious....". Then I spend the next 15 minutes looking for what I already finished.

5) Five hours into a ride Brett put butter on a cheese danish. At first I thought it was disgusting. Then I bought a cheese danish and put butter on it.

Assorted Photos