Bicycle Ride from Muscatine to Wapello and Back

Caption: From left, Maria Conzemius and Jim Conzemius standing in front of Jim's bicycle and the Big Axe somewhere in Louisa County, Iowa on a ride from the Missippi Brew on the Mississippi River in Muscatine to Wapello and back.Jim and I explored Muscatine and Louisa Counties on our bicycles with the MelonHeads Saturday, April 16th, 2016.

Our fearless leader, Tom Hammer, told us it would be a 42-mile ride round trip (it was actually longer than that) with the first half into a stiff headwind, so I was worried. A long, steep hill was also mentioned. When I thought I was at the top of that hill, I wasn’t. I was nearing the top. Around the bend there was more hill, but I never stopped riding my bike. It’s a point of pride not to walk. I haven't walked my bike up a hill in years unless construction blocks the way.

At one of the first stops I was so stiff my right bike sandal cleat got stuck in my right toe clip, and I couldn’t seem to keep myself from falling over. Tom Hammer came over and said, “You’ve got some road rash,” so I knew I was marked up. He had a medical kit that served me well. The astringent cleaner wipe was the best part because after the first few stings, the wound was a lot cleaner than it would have been otherwise. Thus, it hurt much less for the rest of the ride. Jim, a former orderly, bandaged up my elbow. My knee just had a couple of scratches. No big deal.

Our reward at the end of a grueling ride out to Wapello was Johnny B’s Restaurant on the Mississippi. At least I think it was the Mississippi. It was beautiful, whatever river it was, and we were out on the balcony.

My feet felt like they were on fire when I got there. I wanted to ask for a basin of ice water to cool my bare feet, but I knew better.

Our hostess was 16 and could get us ice water in glasses but nothing else. Under-age staff abounded. We were assured there was one waitress who could take our food and alcohol orders, but she was very busy and we didn’t see her for a good while. It was 5:00 p.m. on a Saturday evening, so you’d think the owner would do a better job of staffing his restaurant. The food is very good, worth waiting for, so it’s a popular place. After my salad and steamed broccoli, I could only eat around the edges of my enormous Johnny B burger. Jim’s tenderloin was so big we wondered if we’d ever seen a larger one. We both took doggie bags and Jim put them in the bicycle pack riding on his fender.

I described our ride on Facebook later and forgot to mention the good parts: Johnny B’s, the big axe, and the scenery.

“You sure do know how to make a bike ride sound like fun Maria,” friend Dave Arnold commented.

“Was it the fall, the stiff headwind, the killer hill, or the flat tire that made it sound like the most fun?” I asked him.

“All of the above,” he replied.

I guess I thought of it as an endurance contest, an athletic feat that I could either do or not do, and I freakin’ did it, all but four miles of it due to a flat tire in the dark.

Deb Bentley, Brian Bentley’s wife, was kind enough to pick me up in someone’s driveway. There Brian and Dave Bender decided to fix my flat in the dark, but by that time Deb was on her way. I was just as glad to get a ride back to the Missippi Brew and rest a while with Dave, Deb, and Brian before heading home.

Tom Hammer, Al Ames, and Norm Kasten were so far ahead of us that they’d already disappeared and gone home. I’m not sure I’ll ever be as fast as they are. Norm rode with Lance Armstrong for 1.25 miles once on RAGBRAI.