Day #44 (6/19/24) – Bike Across America

Last night I saw that there was a Warmshowers host (Alex) in Sioux City and right on my route. So, I emailed him to see if he was available for the night of the 19th.

Warmshowers is an app where people can identify as hosts for bike packers or hikers. Each host has a different setup. They all provide showers, but the sleeping arrangements could be a room in their house, a couch, or a spot to set up a tent on their property.

I woke up at 5:00 and Alex had emailed me that his room was available for tonight. So, I accepted that room. I had tried to stay with another host in eastern Ohio, but he was out of town. So, this will be my first Warmshowers stay.

The weather was perfect for today’s bike ride. It was 57 degrees to start with the high temperature forecast to be 70 degrees. No rain. Mostly cloudy skies. A light wind (5 to 10 mph) from the north, which will give me a tailwind for most of my ride today.

I started biking just before 7:00. The route today I had planned yesterday afternoon by using Google Maps street view feature to ensure the roads were paved. In this part of the country, the roads either go north/south or east/west. So, my route switched between west and south all day. When I was biking south I had the help of the tailwind.

Here are a few pictures of the country I was biking through in the morning.

Mid-morning I biked through the nicest town I’ve seen in Iowa called Orange City. I stopped at the local grocery store and bought some fresh fruit and then went to the local park to eat it.

The road after Orange City had lots of these white flowers along the road.

The roads started off flat, like yesterday. But as the day wore on, there were a lot more rolling hills.

My route didn’t have any towns on it after Orange City until I got into Sioux City. So, I was just eating snacks all day. I got into Sioux City at 3:00 and stopped at Casey’s for a sandwich. I had put in 93 miles.

I was in Sioux City last July for the start of RAGBRAI. It was much cooler and less crowded this time.

My Warmshowers host wasn’t available until 5:00 and I needed to buy something from a bike shop. So, I decided to bike to the nearby bike shop. It was 3.5 miles each way, which put me just over 100 miles for the day. The rolling hills added up to 2,617 feet of climbing.

My Warmshowers host, Alex, and his wife, Taylor, were amazing!! Alex is an avid cyclist and just finished the Unbound 200 mile gravel race. They both love to travel and have been to many different countries. Taylor made an excellent dinner. It was great to get to know them.

I’m staying in a guest room in their basement. It is very nice and comfortable.

Alex was able to give me some intel on my next day’s route and the town of Norfolk where I plan to end my day tomorrow. Now I’m just hoping the weather cooperates, as right now the forecast is calling for rain.

I’m back on my original Komoot route plan. This should be my last night in Iowa. Tomorrow I’ll cross the border into Nebraska.