Day 11 – Breaking in to Gnome town.

MORNING !!!

Total miles – 1,624.

I need to find a way of starting these posts other than ‘Today I got up’ hmmmmm ok.

I was awoke by my phone at about 4am,this whole time difference is doing my head in and the fact that the further west I go the further behind the UK I am going to get just makes it worse.

Breakfast was continental so I had a bowl of Frosties and accidentally poured waffle batter over them instead of milk which made for an interesting culinary experience as you can imagine. Fake Franco was having some digestive trouble after eating too much cheese the night before so we headed into town to find a pharmacy. There is nothing worse than being stuck 100 miles away from the next toilet while feeling like you may explode at any second. Sorry about that.

The Pharmacy was found and we were ready to roll to our first destination,Brandon and the worlds largest frying pan. We were back on route 30,a road that I am becoming very familiar with and  growing quite fond of which is good because I am going to be sitting on it a lot over the next few days as I cross Nebraska.

The problem with riding west is you are constantly riding into a head wind which means not only does it knock your top speed down quite considerably (50mph) but its also means you burn more fuel. The ride to Brandon was a pleasant one,the roads were clear,straight and in most places smooth and the sky was blue for as far as the I could see.

After a few hours on the road we rolled into Brando and stopped for fuel at the oldest petrol station I have ever seen. I struggled to work out how to use the pump before a guy came out to help me. We had a bit of a conversation about where I was heading and it was this that made me realise how deep into American I was.

His accent was something straight out of a film,a film that usually involves incest and full body suits being made out of someone elses skin. This is a massive stereotype and he was a lovely guy but how you imagine a redneck would sound was how this guy sounded.He pointed me in the direction of the pan and we rode a couple of blocks down the way until the magnificent monolith came into view.

The people of Brandon are so proud of their pan that it features on their ‘welcome to Brandon sign (sorry I didnt take a photo I was too excited about seeing the actual pan).

I could have stayed and looked at the pan all day but this country is full of big stuff so we saddled up and pointed ourself in the direction of Ames Iowa. Again the roads were straight and surrounded by farm land. The weather was perfect,hot but no too hot and not too windy.

Somewhere between Brandon and Ames –

80 or so miles later we pulled up to my hotel in Ames. After staying in the super 8 motel last night I thought I would spend a bit more and get somewhere nice. This place is very fancy,the room is more like an apartment than a hotel room. It has a kitchen,living room,bedroom and decent sized bathroom (I would take a photo but that would mean getting up of the sofa……oh ok then).

I checked in,unloaded the scoot had a face time conversation with Max and real Franco.

and then headed off to find the worlds biggest Gnome which was only a mile or so away on the University of Iowa campus. My gps directed me to a locked gate and according to the map the Gnome was only a few hundred feet on the other side so I rode up on the pavement (sidewalk) and managed to squeeze past the gate onto the university campus.

I walked down the road into an area full of gardens and gardeners where I was confronted by a friendly but quite confused lady. I explained what I was doing,I dont think she really understood but she told me I had to pay to enter the gardens where the Gnome lives and that I had to ride back the way I came and park out the front of the university BUSTED.

I found my back to the official entrance and got talking to the lady behind the reception desk. She loved me story and was very pleased that I was wearing a helmet ?! and so she let me in for free saving me $8 dollars. As I was walking in a guy asked me if I was going to see the giant bull along the way. I had no idea what he was talking about so my receptionist friend said that she would google it for me and give me the info when I came back out.

Walking is very painful at the moment,the cut on my knee sticks to the knee pads in my trousers and so every time I bend my leg it re-opens the wound. It is healing nicely but its taking longer than it should and means I have to walk around with a straight leg like some kind of land pirate……are land pirates technically just thieves ?

After hobbling around the gardens the Gnome eventually showed his face.

Fake Franco is hard to spot but he is there I promise –

While we were there FF posed with this other fake dog,his name was Jerome –

This scarecrow –

And this bird who I am guessing represents some kind of sports team.

After saying goodbye to my receptionist friend,getting the information about Albert the bull who I am going to visit tomorrow we headed back to the hotel.

Now I only brought enough clothes with me for about a week and it has been very hot most of the time so as you can imagine I have a certain smell about me so I decided it was time to wash my clothes. While my clothes were washing I sat in the hot tub which was like heaven but got pretty boring on my own so I got out and went to have a look around for some food.

I have just got back from eating the most amazing Mac and Cheese I have ever eaten FINALLY ! It had roasted garlic stirred in as well as broccoli,spinach and mushrooms and crispy onions sprinkled on top. I also had a side order of Jerk fries. I nearly didnt finish it all but I hadnt eaten anything since my frosties for breakfast so I forced in and washed it all down with a pint of cider and a jack and coke. The guys in the bar were not very talkative so I left them to it picked up my beautifully smelling,clean washing and came back to my room to write this.

Tomorrow I head south west to visit Albert the massive bull before crossing in to yet another state (Nebraska) and spending the night in a town called Omaha. Nebraska is pretty empty so I am going to blast through it as quick as I can.

Its only 19:13 here so I might walk into town or go to bed like the tired weiry old man that I am.

NIGHT !