Algona to Wesley – 13.9 miles
Wesley to Britt – 9.5 miles
Britt to Garner – 15.0 miles
Garner to Ventura – 7.4 miles
Ventura to Clear Lake – 5.6 miles
Total Mileage: 51.4 miles
Total Feet of Climb: 934
Weather Forecast: sunny and hot, 84 degrees with 22 mph SSE winds!
Ahh, a rather short day. I "slept in" until 7, enjoyed coffee and a muffin at my host's house, I awoke to a swollen face and eyes. Is there such a thing as over hydrating? Maybe it was the sodium in the corn or corn dog.. or wind burn. My eyes were red too. Glad I had worn sun screen! Lots of riders looked like lobsters ;)
I biked back to the high school and loaded my bags on the truck back at rhe campground and took off! Oh, my aching bones... today was 20 miles shorter, by design I'm sure, with only 4 pass through towns. Day three on RAGBRAI XLV is People For Bikes Day! It is a movement to improve bicycling in the U.S. by collaborating with millions of individual riders, businesses, community leaders, and elected officials. The morning started off sunny and cool, a glorious day for cycling with one unexpected glitch... 22 mile an hour head winds. And later side winds whipping at us from the south as we peddled east. It was brutal and lasted all day, doubling my ride time and making me fight the resistance comstamtly! There was no gear low enough to help. We were all miserable, even seasoned riders! Ragbrai forums said westerly tailwinds usually are the norm, pushing riders across Iowa. Not this day...
After 14 miles, we finally passed through Wesley with lots of pancake and breakfast burrito vendors and a welcome water bottle filling station. I was amazed by the huge silos right behind the legion hall and library... a common site in small Iowa towns.
Another ten miles, almost hslf way to our end town, we arrived in Britt, home of the 17th National Hobo Convention and Museum, housing more than a century of hobo memorabilia! Britt had a pool, DJ, live music, and petting zoo. Food options included BBQ, Mexican, ice cream and more. They had a grocery stote on the main drag and we flocked there. I was craving fried chicken from the deli but they didnt really have one, so I opted for some seafood salad and a banana.
Britt is also home of the largest Draft Horse Hitch Show in North America. Organized in 1982, a unique type of performance featuring the finest hitches of Belgian, Percheron and Clydesdales from across the U.S. and Canada entertain thousands over Labor Day Weekend. They are truly impressive and enormous! The 1896 Armstrong House Victorian Museum and mansion was also a site to see with its 11 stained glass windows. It was built for Norwegian immigrant Lewis Larson.
Next stop, 15 miles away was Garner, the Tire Service Truck Capital of the World because of the vast amount of premium manufactured tire service trucks and tire handling equipment produced in town. This distinguished title is due to a couple of local businesses who have become industry leaders: Iowa Mold Tooling and Stellar Industries. August Duesenberg owned and operated a bicycle sales and repair business in Garner before producing the Classic Duesenberg car with his brother Frederick. The two were later inducted into the Auto Racing Hall of Fame and National Spring Car Hall of Fame. Garner's Historical Red Elevator was originally used by farmers who would bring their grain to town to get cleaned before bringing it back out to the field for seed. It was renovated in 2009 and now showcases much of the original equipment along with historic memorabilia and antiques from the community. Central Park has a Veterans memorial. They really went all out in the town's park, offering riders water mist, cornhole, an Iowa craft beer tent, and over 20 vendors including Carbo Hut, Tom’s Turkey, Asian Stir fry, Cheese curds, corn dogs, fries, Mediterranean foods, steak, brisket, pork, pies, cakes, cookies, ice cream, steak taco bowls, smoothies, corn on the cob, fruits, granola and more! It was one of the best pass through towns yet! I had a slice of pizza here.
Next it was more grueling peddling through heavy wind, on to "sportsman's paradise", Ventura, just 7 1/2 miles away. Winds had clocked around to the south, blowing side on and making it difficult to hold the bike upright, especially when gusts came along. This was crazy.. and so much work! When we would briefly turn a corner for a mile or so heading north, cheers would erupt as we took advantage of the hot tailwind!
Ventura is one of the few Iowa communities that has public hunting within city limits, it also boasts a gun club and attracts fishing and hunting enthusiasts. Ventura Marsh area is home to a wide variety of water fowl including eagles, pheasants, wild turkeys, swans, ducks, and geese. They refer to the birds overhead as the Ventura Air Force. Rounding the bend from town, I got my first view of water in days...beautiful Clear Lake
Five miles beyond that was the actual downtown of Clear Lake, featuring 12 hours of entertainment, including the Wailers (Bob Marley's band) and Cowboy Mouth plus a late night beach party! The town was founded in 1847. Clear Lake is a 3,687-acre lake, the fourth largest natural lake in Iowa. The distance around it is 14 miles! Formed by glaciers, the lake has been a summer resting spot since Native Americans camped here hundreds of years ago. In town, the Fire Department’s 9/11 Memorial features a steel beam pulled from the Twin Towers wreckage in New York. Local firefighters traveled to New York City to bring back a piece of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center.
The famous Surf Ballroom was open for tours, showcasing music history and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, & J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson played their last concert. The memorabilia was amazing, and they still host concerts.
In town, City Park and City Beach offered a place to eat, drink and relax with a stunning lake view. The whole town was literally overrun with Ragbrai team buses, riders, parties and tents. I've never seen anything like it. A craft beer tent and live entertainment were also available for riders to wind down our day. The main campgrounds and staging point for the baggage trucks was around the adjacent middle and high schools. Storm shelters, showers and bathrooms were readily available. I rode there first, claimed my bags from the pile, grabbed a few things for overnight and stashed my bags under the truck for the night again. I then peddled 3 miles to my hosts' home. I was exhausted. My hosts were a retired couple named Blunt with a home and pontoon boat right on the lake. Once I arrived, stiill sweaty and tired, Mike and Kris served us burgers and sides on their deck...so kind!
They were hosting 5 other women, traveling as a team, and I had my own room! After dinner, Mike took us all on a pontoon ride around the huge lake and Ragbrai festivities were everywhere, including fireworks. Ominous clouds were rolling in.
Sunset on Clear Lake above. On this, my 3rd day which was supposed to be easy, I fell into bed exhausted again. I'll be back at in in the a.m....58 miles to be exact. Looks like less wind but RAIN in the forecast ; (
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