Comments on: Friday Fives: 5 reasons riding in Iowa ROCKS

By: Corn Dog

Corn Dog — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:47:59 +0000

GD, THANKS for validating my observations – sounds like we need more bikers working on the Iowa road crews! I realize that with all our state’s budget woes right now, keeping bikers happy is a very low priority. Still, I believe it truly does or will affect our level of tourism, which translates of course into dollars and revenue. I hope you’ll continue to spread the word about the importance of quality road repairs! (Because “infrastructure” should be a priority, right??) :)

By: grammadixie

grammadixie — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:55:35 +0000

As for road conditions, I work for the Iowa DOT as a Highway Maintenance Supervisor. Since I began riding my own bike four years ago, I look at our road repairs a whole lot differently. I ask myself, would I like to ride over what we have just finished. I have shared this thought with many of my peers and they say that they have never thought of it like that and will be more observant of what we leave out there. I do not have any pull with the construction side that leaves the uneven surface, but I have made the ones that I do come in contact with aware of the issue. I also love riding in Iowa. I really haven’t found anywhere that I don’t like riding.

By: PInky

PInky — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 01:25:51 +0000

Well, I’m forced to answer this one, cause I surely have an opinion. I live in Louisiana, and year round riding is a given. I wouldn’t know what to do with a winter break. The Northwest corner of Louisiana is deemed Sportsman’s paradise, and that’s because we have lots of lakes, bayous and wilderness. Where I live, I, too, can be out of traffic and on curvy roads in less than 10 minutes. I can ride four states in four hours, the piney woods of Texas, the hills of Arkansas, the plains of Oklahoma and, of course, the bayous of Louisiana. Another border is only 2 1/2 hours away, before I can find myself riding across the mighty Mississippi into the historic Vicksburg. You haven’t seen nothing until cross a bridge or a dam and see the cypress trees in all their glory growing out of the depths of the lakes, with the osprey and the cranes, and, yes, the alligators dotting the scenery. The sun rising or setting, it doesn’t matter much, because you’re enjoying nature at its finest. You might have to stop for a turtle, an opossum, a snake or even an armadillo that has the right of way on the roads. You might even have to stop for a white tail that are abundant in these parts of the country, but these are all things you learn to watch for, and they rarely spoil a ride. The summers are hot, yes; I mean hot, and you have to deal with dehydration threats, sunburn, and the humid atmosphere that makes you feel like you can’t breathe, but it’s all worth it.
And as for food, if you like it hot and spicy, Cajun is your dream. There’s nothing like biting the head off a crawfish (what the northerner’s call crayfish, or bait), and sucking the juice out of its head before you peel back the scales and savor the taste of the tail. Nachitoches (spoken Nack id dich) meat pies are the best ever, and gumbo and etoufee (e too fay) are staples in our diets. And don’t forget the sweet tea, there is no other kind here. And, the southern hospitality is everywhere. Rain is only a mild nuisance, although we have had some torrential downpours, tornadoes and even hurricanes. But, snow is almost non existent, ice is an occasional occurance, and most of the year, you just ride and have fun. No, I’ll take my year round riding any day.

By: wendyvee

wendyvee — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:46:38 +0000

I thought you were going to teach us how to ride through gravel (Iowa rocks) LOL

By: Janet

Janet — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:16:32 +0000

Hi BB – I do admit, I *dream* of taking a coastal ride one day! I haven’t been to CA for many years, but it was absolutely stunning. It always amazes me how different one region can look from another just from noticing the native plants. This’ll sound really silly, but on a bike trip to Colorado in 1989 I happened to take note that the “weeds” along the highway suddenly looked a lot different from Iowa weeds – LOL – for some reason that really reinforced to me that we were in a different part of the country. Well that, and the mountains. LOL

Thanks for reading – great to hear from you !

By: B.B.

B.B. — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:06:07 +0000

I’ve never been to Iowa, but it sounds like a place I might just have to visit.
I love riding in California, but then again, I have nowhere else to compare it to.
I can ride all year, but would love to have four seasons.
We do have some areas where there is a lot of traffic, but we also have a lot of areas where we can just open it up.
I can ride in the mountains and then along the coast, all in one day.