Day 35: Marquette to Dyersville, Iowa

Before I begin today’s entry I’ll provide a brief notice: yesterday’s entry included a short quiz which I’d love for anyone who has been following along to respond to. If you haven’t done so already, please look back to yesterday’s post and reply in the comments with your answers. Thanks to those who have already responded.

This morning began, as expected, with a climb out of town. Immediately, we ascended from the river to the ridge, where we continued through rolling farmland for nearly the whole day. Adventure Cycling does an excellent job routing you away from the busiest roads and has a great reputation for providing quiet cycling routes. However, at times, when you look at a map it’s easy to wonder “how bad was that other, much more direct, route?” Today was one of those days, as we rode about 70 miles in what seemed like every cardinal direction throughout the day, rather than the much more direct 45 miles due south to Dyersville where we ended our day. At our lunch stop in Colesburg, the bartender seemed to share our feelings. When he saw us looking at the map, he commented that the route was “35 years old” and that there were several different ways to go to the towns we’d passed through. He suggested alternates. However, compelling as his expertise may be, the reality is that what may seem like a decent, quiet road in a car, may feel very different in a bike. As such, we continued on our prescribed route, and plan to do the same tomorrow. 

Dyersville is most famous for a small patch of corn field on which Field of Dreams was filmed. We explored the downtown, enjoyed some good pizza, and the new brewery which only opened just a few weeks ago, but already seems to have drawn most of the town on a Friday night. 

Tomorrow we’ re heading south to Muscatine where we will cross over the Mississippi and continue our journey into the next “I” state.

By the numbers;
Miles traveled: 71
Total climbing: 3058 ft.
Average pace: 11.7 mph
Ed’s average heart rate for the last 40 miles: 108 bpm
Square inches of pizza consumed: 254 minus one slice
Fluid ounces of iced tea consumed: 110

Ed in front of the Basilica in Dyersville.

Ed climbing one of our hills today.

Ed climbing a different hill. 

Riding in front of fields.

 Trying beer in the former pajama factory in Dyersville.

In front of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Petersburg. This is the oldest consecrated church in Iowa.

What much of the day looked like.