Decorah to Ossian – 14. 7 miles
Ossian to Castelia – 5.1 miles
Castalia to Postville – 6.1 miles
Postville to Waukon – 14.7 miles
Total Mileage: 60.1 miles
Total Feet of Climb: 2,483
Weather: 80 / 57, winds NNE 6mph
After camping last night at the Fairground, I departed at 7AM. I was still shell shocked from the previous night's cold swine shower. Our first town was 20 miles out, so I stopped along the way at a roadside tent and ate a slice of watermelon and one of the "famous" lemonade slushees, made with real lemons and grated pulp. Delicious and refreshing! Today's ride was 60 mile,s and we got to practice on a few big hills prior to Saturday's 3,200 foot climb!
I made good time into Decorah by zipping down the hills. The weather was great too! We visited the town during their Nordic Fest, and the theme was evident everywhere with flags, Viking combat demos, Nordic dancers, crafts, food and costumes. Scandinavian food offerings included Lefse that you top with butter or white/brown sugar, Kringla (soft buttermilk cookies), Krumkake (“curve cake” based on a special iron and rolled into a cone shape while still hot), Norwegian meatballs, and Rommergrot (warm cream pudding), Varme Polse (sausage wrapped in lefse). The quaint town was beautiful with some impressive historic homes. Decorah has won many "Best small town..."awards.
Riders arrived in town and walked bikes up a hill. The city was named for Winnebago leader, Waukon Decorah, who was a U.S. ally during the Black Hawk War of 1832. Waukon, immediately east, seat of Allamakee County, is also named after him. Decorah serves as the county seat for Winneshiek County. The town is also well known for their eagles that nest near the Decorah Trout Hatchery. Hatching usually begins in late March to early April, and the eaglets fledge in mid-to-late June. While young usually disperse between August and October, the adults remain on territory year round. Recent airborne geophysical surveys near Decorah indicate a meteorite crashed into the area nearly half a billion years ago.
Next stop, 15 miles away, was Ossian. It was their first time as a pass through town. The terrain along the way was starting to change as we entered eastern Iowa with its rolling hills. We rode them all day, gentle climbs followed by nice downhill coasting. The photo below pretty well sums up the day's ride, not easy but not horrible either. Total elevation was 2,483 feet of climb for the day!
On the way to Castalia, population 179, I passed another roadside beer garden, this one with twelve Iowa craft beers, tapped from an old school bus. The lines were long. I dared not drink and bike with 15 miles to go to Waukon after we passed through Postville, another small town..
Postville's famous citizen is John R. Mott – 1946 Nobel Peace Prize, founder of YMCA. The town is home to AgriStar, a kosher packing plant. Postville is known as the “hometown to the World” because of its diverse cultural community. It is a welcoming community with diverse cultures and an industrial community. Residents include immigrants from Guatemala, Somalia, Russia, Philippines, along with a large Hispanic and Jewish population.
Big news today... Lance Armstrong joined the ride on day 5 and rode today too, with his entourage! He posed for pictures with riders, signed autographs, ate at the Mr. Porkchop bus and just blended right in!
He brought with him NASCAR champions Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth, as well as retired motocross champion Ryan Dungey and adventure racing cyclist Mike Kloser. Johnson, a seven-time NASCAR champion, joined Armstrong on RAGBRAI last year. Armstrong has won the Tour de France seven consecutive times, but the victories were stripped because of doping. He has since become an annual fixture at RAGBRAI, attracting fans as he eats and drinks along the route. (I "borrowed" these photos of Lance from the RAGBRAI page!)
Our overnight town was Waukon, home to a Dairy boasting homemade ice cream and cheese curds and a local winery with a wide selection and beautiful tasting room. After another long day, I rode right into camp at the high school, set up my tent and grabbed some nachos from the only vendor onsite. Not very tasty or healthy, but I just didn't have the energy to take the shuttle into town to explore and hear the featured band, Hairball. This is the crowd photo from Waukon's Facebook page. I could actually hear the band from the campground ;) A pretty uneventful day, but I was resting up for the big finish and dreaded hills.
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