Well. We're in Iowa at my mom & dad's after a rather eventful drive on Thursday. We got a late start after packing the van and car tighter than a kielbasa, kids and cats included. We packed a picnic that saw us through two meals in two states and provided opportunity for the cats to become as overheated as they have ever been. Shortly after lunch in Momence, Il the muffler on our van decided it had had enough and started falling apart. We limped into a nice, family owned shop in Kankakee where they kindly removed the pipe that was dragging for no charge. We decided to go on without a fully functioning muffler until we got to Mom & Dad's and could afford the time to have it worked on. In pulling out of the lot, my bike (which was on the back of the van) met a parking barrier destroying the back wheel (more on that later). The rest of the trip was uneventful and we arrived in at about 11:00 Thursday night.
Friday kicked off with us making arrangements for the van to be worked on in Sheldon at our family friend's shop and trying to find a bike shop with wheels that would work for me so that I can start the Tour de Kota tomorrow. Dad and I dropped off the van (along with a lot of our cargo that I would later regret not unpacking) and came home for lunch before taking the bike to Storm Lake. I had called a bike shop in Cherokee which I wasn't convinced could really help me out, one in Sioux Falls that will be providing support at the ride which would have cost me close to $400 for one wheel (the bike only cost $350 new) and Lakeshore Cyclery in Storm Lake. I had bought a mountain bike there about 15 years ago and I was pretty comfortable that if there was a local shop (only an hour away) that could help me out, it would be them.
I was on the phone with the owner for probably about 15 minutes while he looked to see what they had and I checked the specs on what I was needing to replace. The prospect of having to build a new wheel was probably going to be too time consuming as he'd have to order the rim and it would be a stretch for him to finish it in time for me to pick it up before the start of the ride. I was also wanting a shop to check out the frame to make sure that it wasn't damaged or bent since we weren't sure whether the parking barrier had only made contact with the wheel or with the rear drops on the frame. The owner looked around and found a pair of used wheels that a guy had traded in when he upgraded. These wheels probably cost more new than my bike did and he was selling them for $170.
Dad and I hopped in the van and drove the hour to Storm Lake, dropped the bike off, puttered around town for about an hour and then headed back to pick it up. Turns out the frame was "misaligned". The guy at the shop (the owner's son, I think) said they had never seen one quite so bad. They got it all set straight again, put on the new wheels and we were off to home.
I mentioned that I would regret not unpacking some things. Well, we weren't originally expecting the van to take more than a day, so I left our computer, my guitars, all of Amy's jewelry (she is selling jewelry and has a few thousand dollars worth of inventory) and most of my bike gear in the van. Aside from the stress of leaving an estimated $7000 worth of stuff in a van on a car lot overnight, I had really hoped to ride today to test the new wheels and frame alignment, but didn't have my gear. I haven't had a chance to ride since Wednesday and I start the Tour tomorrow with a 100 mile day on new gear I've never ridden. Not the best situation, but it will have to do.
Friday was also Maia's (my daughter) first birthday, so we had to get back for a party with my folks, our family and our nieces, Cassie and Lexi. The girls had helped Mom plan the party and they did a great job. Maia now has more clothes, a few more toys and no idea what all the fuss was about. She lit up when everybody started singing to her. That was probably the highlight of my day.
The cats are living in the coop on my Mom and Dad's place. Maja seems to have settled in pretty well and enjoys watching the world through the windows in the coop. Morpheus has remained in hiding behind a wood pile and was seen briefly yesterday. Not sure how well he's adjusting to his first trip.
I'm hoping to check in intermittently during the Tour, but it may be that I'll only get to blog about day one while we stay at Amy's mom's and have to save the rest until we get back on Friday night or Saturday.
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