It was humid this morning. Dew point of 80F and my shirt was quickly damp. Forecast highs in the upper 90s and a heat index even higher made me happy to be on the road at sunrise. A majority of the ride was also on trails, so hopefully some shade from trees.

The first four miles brought me back to the main RAGBRAI complex. While I was only on the RAGBRAI route for a quarter mile, the first eight miles today I kept encountering groups of riders headed the other direction. Today was expected to be a tough day with almost 90 miles and a lot more climbing.

Des Moines has this network of connected trails, so from mile #2 until #35, it was all trail riding as I went via Clive, Waukee, Adel to Redfield.

The dinosaur marked the intersection of these trails.

The Raccoon Valley Trail was the longest and it started here.

Waukee has a lot of strip development along US #6 and this trail going the same direction. It all looked fairly new and some buildings like these being built.

Slightly more official trail sign.

This next section did have parts in the trees. This was welcome as it was getting warmer.

Redfield and spot I would leave the trail. After Redfield, it was definitely getting warmer. I had one gradual hill where I really sensed the heat.

Traffic, Iowa style. I continue to be impressed by Iowa drivers patience with cyclists. Not sure if they are patient with waiting because of other slow moving vehicles like tractors, or RAGBRAI getting press or some other reason. Also in the foreground you can see a plaque along the road.

Another of these road side displays.

The plow. After this, I side tracked to Dexter and cooled down inside a Casey’s. At the same time, skies were getting darker.

The last few miles to Stuart. It rained very briefly. More important, it cooled down as the storm came through. It will be interesting to see the RAGBRAI reports, but today ended up being not too difficult of a hot day.

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