Day 48, July 17: Iowa Falls to Waterloo. Distance 57 miles, Morning temperature: 70s - low 80s.

We added a new rider, Chuck to our ride group for today’s ride. Chuck is from Seattle, WA and is riding to Chicago to visit family. Jim met Chuck yesterday at a convenience store on the route and welcomed him to join our group for some common traveling. So Chuck joined our group last night and rode with us today to Waterloo. After lunch Chuck pressed on to Independence, IA to meet some cousins today. We enjoyed your company Chuck and wish you happy tail winds. Our route today took us through Ackley, IA, Stout, IA then into Cedar Falls and finally to Waterloo. Iowa's annual RAGBRAI, (Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) begins Sunday and many folks asked if we were in that ride. RAGBRAI is sponsored by the Des Moines Register newspaper and is a very popular event all across Iowa. Our arrival time at Waterloo was early. About 4:00 PM we had a thunderstorm in Waterloo. Waterloo was affected by spring flooding earlier this year and is still recovering from the flood. The end of the day was a great meal at a unique restaurant, The Paca Restaurant.

Day 48, July 17: Iowa Falls to Waterloo. Distance 57 miles, Morning temperature: 70s - low 80s.