CraigRegs
Well-known member
Before I start this report, let me just say that this is the only group of people who will "get" the reason for this ride. I tried explaining it to "normal" people, and it just generates a lot of blank looks (or eye rolls, in the case of my wife). So for them, I just said I was taking a ride around the state.
On with the report.
This ride was inspired by Tony Osborne, 101stPathfinder, in this thread from 2014(!) when he "drew" the letters F-J-R on Florida.
EDIT: If you look above Cedar Rapids in the final image, you'll see a green dot, a salute to Tony's hometown of Independence. And I added the Relive videos at the bottom.
As Mayor of Iowa, I figured it was my duty to give Minnesota a tramp stamp by tattooing Iowa. (Guess what that makes Missouri.) It was simple to put together a path spelling out FJR on the state...I had that years ago. Execution just took a bit longer than anticipated.
But I finally identified an 8-day window in August where I could fit the ride in. I only needed 4 of them to ride the letters and return home. As the dates approached, we were being seared by 100+ degree days with 115-degree heat indexes. And then, the extended forecast showed not just a break, but simply beautiful weather for 4 straight days. I started packing the camping gear.
Day 1: J
Forecast: 82 degrees F.
Playlist: Rush albums, in order.
Miles: 511
The start point of the J is an hour from home in Anita. (I do know how to spell "FJR", but starting with the J saved over 150 miles all told compared to doing the letters in order.) Reaching Anita around 8:45am, I turn on the GPS so it will start leaving bread crumbs, turn on my SPOT tracker, and start recording with Relive. And I head south to start tracing the hook of the J. Some light rain had moved through southern Iowa, but all I saw of it was wet roads. The pace is easy, just 5 over the 55-mph limit on secondary roads, and +2 on the speed limit on 4-lanes. I want the SPOT track to be even and not too much spacing between the pings. As I get near Indianola near noon, I realize I can stop by one of my favorite places just a block off the track without blowing the shape of the J. So Crouse Cafe serves up a nice BLT, and an even better slice of blueberry pie.
By 5:10, 300 miles later, I'm at the northern point of J, and shut down all the electronics to preserve the shape of just the J. Then I head an hour west to near the starting point for the F, and camp in a county park.
Day 2: F
Forecast: 84 degrees F
Playlist: James McMurtry in the am, shuffle of everything PM
Miles: 565
The F starts outside Gruver on a foggy morning.
The previous evening after supper, I'd scoped out a known detour around road work in Estherville and that intel paid off, as I found a straighter route through town than the official detour route. On this foggy morning, with the rising sun at my back, I experienced a phenomenon I'll call a "fogbow". I couldn't capture it on camera, and trying to look directly at it caused it to fade in my vision. It was clearest in my peripheral vision; an arch, like a rainbow, but denser and whiter than the surrounding fog. Really neat. Or maybe I just shouldn't have had that shrimp on my salad last night.
378 miles later in the southwest corner of Iowa, the F is complete and I start east across the state to near the start point for R. I camped at Lake Rathbun, an Army Corps site, so nice grounds, but I didn't realize it was down 3 miles of gravel. No biggie, but I knew I'd be going back out the same way in the dark morning.
Day 3: R
Forecast: 84 degrees F
Playlist: More random shuffle
Miles: 592
Start point was 30 minutes from camp, so it was up at 5:15 to break camp, pack, and get rolling.
As I pulled out of the start point in Centerville, I passed an '04(?) FJR for sale in a parking lot. It made me realize that I'd seen an FJR each day of this trip; the first in Des Moines, another rolling between Onawa and Modamin along Iowa's west coast, and now this one. I took it as a good sign.
This is my longest day, and the last almost 4 hours will be on a 4-lane, trying not to get rear-ended by regular traffic. I'll be spending the night with a friend just 3 miles from the endpoint. Beth Howard is a published author whose specialty just happens to be...pie.
https://theworldneedsmorepie.com/
She and her boyfriend provide an incredible stay. Within 30 minutes of arriving, we're floating in the pond nestled next to a corn field to cool off. After a shower, I walk into the kitchen to find both Doug and I wearing the same shirt, supporting Beth's documentary-in-the-making.
Dinner? Are you kidding me? Grilled burgers with tomato, lettuce, and Beth's special sauce; corn on the cob; tomato caprese; and fresh from the oven blubarb pie - that's blueberries and rhubarb. ALL but the mozzarella cheese, buns, and ice cream fresh from Doug's farm. And look at this setting!
Add a fire in the firepit and a taste of Templeton Sherry aged Rye, and oh my, what an evening.
The following morning, after a sound sleep, it was another slice of blubarb pie with coffee for breakfast. (Hey, I was a guest. It would be impolite to refuse.) And after more conversation, I finally packed and got on my way home. Because today would have been my dad's 90th birthday, I stopped by the cemetery to thank him for the wanderlust he instilled in me, then stopped about 40 minutes from home in Sully at the Coffee Cup cafe for a piece of coconut cream pie. Pretty damn good day.
1873 miles all told. So, by the powers invested in me by JWilly as the mayor of Iowa, I hereby proclaim this state as claimed in the name of Mama Yama, with all FJR riders granted special privileges to be determined.
On with the report.
This ride was inspired by Tony Osborne, 101stPathfinder, in this thread from 2014(!) when he "drew" the letters F-J-R on Florida.
EDIT: If you look above Cedar Rapids in the final image, you'll see a green dot, a salute to Tony's hometown of Independence. And I added the Relive videos at the bottom.
As Mayor of Iowa, I figured it was my duty to give Minnesota a tramp stamp by tattooing Iowa. (Guess what that makes Missouri.) It was simple to put together a path spelling out FJR on the state...I had that years ago. Execution just took a bit longer than anticipated.
But I finally identified an 8-day window in August where I could fit the ride in. I only needed 4 of them to ride the letters and return home. As the dates approached, we were being seared by 100+ degree days with 115-degree heat indexes. And then, the extended forecast showed not just a break, but simply beautiful weather for 4 straight days. I started packing the camping gear.
Day 1: J
Forecast: 82 degrees F.
Playlist: Rush albums, in order.
Miles: 511
The start point of the J is an hour from home in Anita. (I do know how to spell "FJR", but starting with the J saved over 150 miles all told compared to doing the letters in order.) Reaching Anita around 8:45am, I turn on the GPS so it will start leaving bread crumbs, turn on my SPOT tracker, and start recording with Relive. And I head south to start tracing the hook of the J. Some light rain had moved through southern Iowa, but all I saw of it was wet roads. The pace is easy, just 5 over the 55-mph limit on secondary roads, and +2 on the speed limit on 4-lanes. I want the SPOT track to be even and not too much spacing between the pings. As I get near Indianola near noon, I realize I can stop by one of my favorite places just a block off the track without blowing the shape of the J. So Crouse Cafe serves up a nice BLT, and an even better slice of blueberry pie.
By 5:10, 300 miles later, I'm at the northern point of J, and shut down all the electronics to preserve the shape of just the J. Then I head an hour west to near the starting point for the F, and camp in a county park.
Day 2: F
Forecast: 84 degrees F
Playlist: James McMurtry in the am, shuffle of everything PM
Miles: 565
The F starts outside Gruver on a foggy morning.
The previous evening after supper, I'd scoped out a known detour around road work in Estherville and that intel paid off, as I found a straighter route through town than the official detour route. On this foggy morning, with the rising sun at my back, I experienced a phenomenon I'll call a "fogbow". I couldn't capture it on camera, and trying to look directly at it caused it to fade in my vision. It was clearest in my peripheral vision; an arch, like a rainbow, but denser and whiter than the surrounding fog. Really neat. Or maybe I just shouldn't have had that shrimp on my salad last night.
378 miles later in the southwest corner of Iowa, the F is complete and I start east across the state to near the start point for R. I camped at Lake Rathbun, an Army Corps site, so nice grounds, but I didn't realize it was down 3 miles of gravel. No biggie, but I knew I'd be going back out the same way in the dark morning.
Day 3: R
Forecast: 84 degrees F
Playlist: More random shuffle
Miles: 592
Start point was 30 minutes from camp, so it was up at 5:15 to break camp, pack, and get rolling.
As I pulled out of the start point in Centerville, I passed an '04(?) FJR for sale in a parking lot. It made me realize that I'd seen an FJR each day of this trip; the first in Des Moines, another rolling between Onawa and Modamin along Iowa's west coast, and now this one. I took it as a good sign.
This is my longest day, and the last almost 4 hours will be on a 4-lane, trying not to get rear-ended by regular traffic. I'll be spending the night with a friend just 3 miles from the endpoint. Beth Howard is a published author whose specialty just happens to be...pie.
https://theworldneedsmorepie.com/
She and her boyfriend provide an incredible stay. Within 30 minutes of arriving, we're floating in the pond nestled next to a corn field to cool off. After a shower, I walk into the kitchen to find both Doug and I wearing the same shirt, supporting Beth's documentary-in-the-making.
Dinner? Are you kidding me? Grilled burgers with tomato, lettuce, and Beth's special sauce; corn on the cob; tomato caprese; and fresh from the oven blubarb pie - that's blueberries and rhubarb. ALL but the mozzarella cheese, buns, and ice cream fresh from Doug's farm. And look at this setting!
Add a fire in the firepit and a taste of Templeton Sherry aged Rye, and oh my, what an evening.
The following morning, after a sound sleep, it was another slice of blubarb pie with coffee for breakfast. (Hey, I was a guest. It would be impolite to refuse.) And after more conversation, I finally packed and got on my way home. Because today would have been my dad's 90th birthday, I stopped by the cemetery to thank him for the wanderlust he instilled in me, then stopped about 40 minutes from home in Sully at the Coffee Cup cafe for a piece of coconut cream pie. Pretty damn good day.
1873 miles all told. So, by the powers invested in me by JWilly as the mayor of Iowa, I hereby proclaim this state as claimed in the name of Mama Yama, with all FJR riders granted special privileges to be determined.
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