July 26, 2010

Today we journeyed from Storm Lake to Algona - 82 miles. I was quite slow getting started and it took me 16 miles before I found a cup of coffee and breakfast. We got to Pocahontas around noon. The sign that welcomes you to town calls it the "City of the Princess". We liked that since we have crowns on our bike helmets, but I couldn't get my friend to stop and get a picture. We met Pocahontas soon after coming to town who put a feather on my helmet. We met up with the Poppen sisters (the remainder of our team) and had out group picture. They cannot be missed with their pretty boas hanging off their helmets.

I was starting to sweat it around Pocahontas since we weren't even half done for the day and I was going slow, but the second wind picked up from there and we made great time to West Bend. West Bend is best known for the being the home of the "Grotto of the Redemption". Now as a good Catholic family in western Iowa, my mother had made the field trip a couple of times during my childhood to visit this site. It is a conglomeration of nine grottos depicting the life of Jesus made totally out of stones and minerals. It is the largest collection of stones, minerals, fossils, and petrifications in one place. It is said that over 100,000 people visit the Grotto each year, but with 10,000 bikers, it will be a bumper year for the icon. There are no major highways leading into West Bend, so unless you know about it (like all good Catholic families in western Iowa) and are willing to go 10 miles out of your way when heading to Lake Okoboji in Iowa, it's not on the beaten path.

I completed all 82 miles today and am moving a little slow this evening. We are staying with a lovely retired couple in Algona, IA tonight. I am hoping they are coffee drinkers which will make tomorrow go better.

So 152 miles down and only 290 left to go.