Freemont, NE → Shenandoah, IA → the Farm → Leon, IA

The morning in Fremont was our earliest start yet. We had special incentive. By the end of the 100 mile ride to Shenandoah, we would be within an hour's drive of Maryville, MO and my parents had offered to come pick us up and let us sleep at home one extra night. So waking up at 5:30am was no problem.

The riding was easily the best of our five days in Nebraska. We arrived into Omaha before 9am and found that we were able to navigate the entire city by well maintained commuter bike paths. We zipped through neighborhoods and parks and waved good morning to plenty of morning joggers and cyclists as well as young parents and kids enjoying the fresh June air in the parks. The trail dropped us off conveniently at the Missouri River.

While crossing over into Iowa I couldn't help but comment to Kate that it seemed like only yesterday the Missouri was a little baby river outside Townsend, Montana. It had grown so much in the past two weeks.

As soon as we crossed into the Hawkeye State we became quite nostalgic about our two RAGBRAIs and Kate's year in Iowa City. The first town we rolled into, Glenwood, just happens to be this year's starting overnight town for the famed ride across the state. The nostalgia soon wore off as we found ourselves out of the saddle pumping our legs up some of our steepest hills on the most humid day of our ride. The last 30 miles on Hwy 275 and Hwy 2 in to Shenandoah were tough, but after 25 days on the road home was waiting.

My parents pulled up to the intersection of Hwys 2 and 59 shortly after we did. I wasn't as overcome by emotion as I expected. It honestly felt like my parents were meeting us for a ride home at the end of RAGBRAI (years before my Mom became an annual participant). What did feel abnormal was actually riding in a car. Cruising at 60mph in my parents little Prius felt like we were at warp-speed. It was our first car ride since the trip started.

The first thing we did at home (after saying hi to Daisy, our golden lab) was eat over of my mom's world famous (for sure Maryville famous) cinnamon rolls. The second thing we did was load up on some award winning barbeque prepared by our good friend Doug Padgitt. For anyone who was around for our wedding, yes this is the same delicious brisket, pulled pork, ribs, etc. We were officially home.

The next morning we tried to get up with the sun, but sleeping in the security of your childhood bed has a way of dashing such hopes. Besides, we had an easy 50 miles ahead of us, right?

Mom dropped us and our bikes (minus the panniers) off back at Shenandoah around 9am. She then drove back across the state border to her childhood town of Clearmont, MO, dropped the car at her brother's house, then rode her own bike back to meet us on the road. She caught back up with us at Clarinda, IA just in time to turn south into a strong headwind. My mom had always loved riding a bicycle, a passion I think she instilled in me at a young age. And despite being 20-some years older than me, she gave us a run for our money on that ride. I had wondered if her heavy, upright hybrid bike and fat tires would allow her to keep up with Kate and I on our upscale Bianchi road bikes. We were definitely the ones struggling to keep pace.

After taking a break from the very-unseasonable 100 degree heat at my Uncle Bill and Aunt Janice’s, we departed on Hwy B. This little black top road was a rollercoaster of pain with steep hills bunched up next to each other for miles. Perhaps one of the toughest 10 miles of the trip thus far, and it was in my own childhood backyard.

That night we enjoyed more delicious barbeque, amazing company of family and friends--special shout out to my sister Becca and her boyfriend Ian who made a special trip from Kansas City. We even had two reporters from local newspapers come out to interview us. It was a great visit. Getting two nights on the farm without missing a day of biking was perfect.

The next morning we had a difficult time prying ourselves away. I had to lock Daisy in the garage because she clearly intended to come along for the second half. Keeping with our tradition of hitting every gas station along the route, we stopped at Rick’s Country Shoppe in Hopkins, MO. We quickly learned that Rick is a lifelong cycling enthusiast and card carrying member of the Adventure Cycling Association--even has their calendar on the wall behind the register. After giving us some Hopkins USA handkerchiefs for the road we said goodbye and crossed back into Iowa.

The rest of the day we were pedaling hard to catch up for our late start. We finally pulled off Hwy 2 into Leon (also a 2016 RAGBRAI overnight town!) around 8:30pm and got a room in the Little River Inn and devoured a rotisserie chicken plus Boulevard beers from the Hy-Vee grocery store around the corner.