I also discovered a brilliant solution for my blisters, superglue!  I had pondered it during the ride the day before, then did some research to see if anyone else had been dumb enough to try it before.  I found a few sites that said in a pinch it would work to make the blister less painful if you had to continue with activity, so I went for it.  I peeled the outer blister skin open away from my heel, braced for some pain, and squeezed the glue directly into the blister.  It wasn't as painful as I expected, although I think it would have been if I had done it the day before when the blister was fresh.  It worked like magic though.  Mom put gauze over the blister and expertly wrapped both feet to prevent further blisters, as well as support my weak arches.  I should mention that since high school I have been bothered by Plantar Fasciatis (spelling?).  Basically I tore the tendon in the bottom of both feet in wrestling, and it never gets back to 100%.

So, blisters remedied, encouraging words from mom, and the short (57 mile) ride ahead of me, I took off for Grinnell.  The day was wonderfully overcast for most of the ride, though temperatures still reached the nineties.  We had our first rain of the week in two brief spurts today.  I'm not used to riding in the rain, as I can't afford replacing my bearings constantly, but hell, I got this boar for RAGBRAI and this is part of the deal.  The heat was strong enough that the roads dried up rather quickly after the rain quit, so all was good.

Each day there has been sections of road that are perfect for boarding, as well as miles and miles of crappy concrete.  Today was a lot of the bad.  Big gaps between the seams that were nearly big enough to put my wheel in every ten feet, as well as holes in the right side of the road near the shoulder where I ride most of the day.  There was also a bit of a headwind today, strong enough that I had to push on some of the more gradual downhill slopes.  The worst concrete I found however, was one that I'm sure the bikes didn't even notice.  It appears smooth and nice, but there are horizontal lines that cross the road every 1/4 inch, just deep enough and spaced just right to make my wheels vibrate like crazy.  This concrete not only drastically slowed me down, and used more energy to keep momentum on, it also vibrated the board to the point of putting my feet to sleep.  I was always glad when we would make a turn on to a different type of pavement.

There were essentially only three real pass-through towns today, with the final gap to Grinnell of 28 miles.  After yesterdays many breaks and free water, it was a little harder to judge how far I had gone, and how much was left for the day.  I ran into a few friends, former co-workers, and people from my hometown which was cool.  Always surprised to see people I know.  Still have yet to meet up with the team I had originally planned on camping with, but I saw their bus and driver when I got into town.  Also, the route went directly past my friend Travis' parents house just outside of Grinnell, so it was nice to stop and have a chat with them before making the final 3 mile push to the finish.  

When I got to Grinnell I pushed all the way through the town, probably another mile or two, until I found a Caseys that was on a street that was open to cars.  Called mom to come pick me up at her leisure, and sat down for a gas station sandwich and a gatorade while I waited.  While there I met another rider from Mason City.  A guy in his mid seventies that I had been to running races with in the past (11 years ago).  Him and his wife are doing the ride on a tandem, and he was excited to tell me about the cross-country trip that they had done a few years ago.  So impressive to see a guy his age