Mission: POSTPONED

My bike ride from my drive-way to Baton Rouge will have to wait for another time. Following a bike route titled "The Great Rivers Trail" during the flood of the century turned out to be bad timing. This morning as I peddled south of Muscatine IA I was diverted to Illinois. From there I traveled south to find all of the roads closed. I would have had take uncountable detours into the middle of Illinois to work my way south and then back west to the Mississippi River. Some of the towns that I would have traveled through were under water.

Traffic was another problem. Because of all of the detours the back roads that I was traveling on were loaded with semis and other vehicles. Forty miles into my ride this morning, I decided to turn back to Muscatine. Tomorrow morning I will work my way back home.

The picture below sums up my ill-fated bicycle trip the best. It was taken in Union Junction IA. My bike is leaning against a wall of sandbags that is protecting a service station from the flood waters surrounding the small Iowa town.

My Bike

Last night I did my last dry-run. I peddled a little less than 30 miles. The bike feels good and the weight that I'll be carrying seems easier to handle than it did 5 weeks ago when I started training. The above picture is what I'll be driving to Baton Rouge.

My Drive-way to Baton Rouge LA

Two years ago I completed a cross-country bicycle trip. Since the completion of that trip I couldn't wait to get back on the saddle and try my luck again on another extended bike ride. Because getting 2 and a half months off from work and home isn't an easy task...I decided to make my next trip a little shorter. My first thought was a trip around lake Superior. From my drive-way that trip would be a little over 1000 miles. That trip would take less than 2 weeks...I wanted the trip to be a tad longer.

I decided to go South to a state I've never been to before...Louisiana. On Friday June 13th I begin my next bicycle adventure. If all goes as planned I will be in Baton Rouge LA 22 days/1659 miles later.

Ideally I would have liked to end the trip in New Orleans. However, I was unable to find a safe route there from Baton Rouge. When I get to Baton Rouge I will seek advice from local bicycle shops to find out if they are aware of a safe route. The New Orleans portion of the trip will add 100-110 miles to the trip.

The first day of the trip might be the longest. My goal is peddle from my drive-way to Marquette IA, 127 miles. From there I will use a portion of the Northern Tier bicycle route to make my way to Muscatine IA. From there I will catch the Great Rivers Route which will take me south to Baton Rouge.

Check back to this blog often as I will do my best to complete daily entries on my progress and adventures.

"Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing" - Helen Keller