Day 30: Kewanee, IL to Muscatine, IA

My sadistic GPS started early by taking me on one of its “shortcuts.”  My instincts told me to stay on the main road, which took a wide looping curve northeast before turning west, but the route suggested by my dastardly GPS did actually look a lot shorter.  When the pavement ended and nothing but dirt road lay in front of me, I knew I’d been played for a fool yet again.  Once more I was faced with the dilemma of turning back or forging ahead.  If you’ve read any of my previous blogs that contained similar dilemmas, you already know what I did – I forged ahead.

The ride over the rough dirt roads was trying, but after about forty-five minutes I found a spot where the farm track came close enough to the main road for me to bushwhack through some scrub and return to the wonderful world of pavement.  Things remained relatively wonderful until shortly before lunchtime.  The road I was supposed to go down was closed due to a bridge being out. 

Not a huge problem in the land of grid-style road systems.  I just had to go either left or right and take the next westbound road I came to.  A quick look at my deceptive GPS told me left was the most efficient move to make in this case, and off I went.  Upon arriving at my west turn, the road there was marked with a “Dead End” sign.  D’oh!  I decided to trust the sign over the device whose name shall not be spoken, and had to pedal back up and down the hill I’d just humped over, go past the bridge-out road, then up and down two more hills before getting back on track.

The most frustrating part about this area of Illinois is the weird topography.  I’d be riding west and contending with one steep hill after another.  Then I’d turn north or south expecting some relief, but the steep hills ran in that direction as well.  It’s like Salvador Dali and M.C. Escher got together to design the landscape I was riding through. 

After a long day spent cycling up and down the serpent’s back, I managed to make it across the Mississippi River.  This felt like my first big milestone since making it out of Massachusetts.  I was relieved that the city of Muscatine didn’t have any campgrounds to offer and gratefully checked into a hotel.

After a shower, I needed to get some ice.  When I opened the door there was an adorable little blond-headed girl in nothing but a diaper looking up at me.  She was maybe 18-months old and tottering around unsteadily.  I checked the hallway and didn’t see an associated parent.  The lobby was nearby, so I assumed her mom must be there.  The girl followed me when I went to look, but the lobby was empty.  This was not good. 

The elevator doors opened nearby, but no one was in it.  I was getting that Twilight Zone vibe again.  The little girl toddled into the open elevator and I had to lunge for the closing doors before it took her away to another dimension of time and space.  I had her follow me back down the hall as I searched for her owner.

I looked through the glass door to the pool and saw a woman swimming alone.  Ah, there’s her mom – how flippin’ irresponsible was this lady!?  But when I asked if the kid belonged to her, he denied all knowledge of the child.  I continued the search and came across a room door that was propped open by the latch ring.  I knocked, a guy opened the door, and by the way his eyes went wide when he saw the little girl I knew he was surely the one who’d lost her.  It all suddenly made sense: Dad was left in charge of the baby while mom went out to pick up dinner.  I was still pretty impressed that he could lose his daughter while in the same room with her and not notice.  People are amazing.

What I Learned: If you want to know if you’re almost to the next town, look for a water tower.  If you don’t see one, you’re not close.  If you do see one, you’re 2 to 3 miles out.

Distance Today: 78 miles
Total Distance: 1,457 miles