No Age Limit - Piaggio MP3

 
Morning, thinking of corn empire - Colo, IA

Day 20 - Colo to Clinton, Iowa

The Lincoln Highway demonstrates the development of roadside lodging. It’s progressed from campgrounds to bare cabins, from bare cabins to cabins with facilities and eventually motels. Our last night’s stay at Reed/Niland’s Corner (in Colo) - at the junction of the Lincoln & Jefferson Highway’s (the Jeff runs from Ottawa to N’awlins) - thoroughly immersed us in the Lincoln Highway tradition. The motel/cafe was perhaps the first 24-hour one-stop with gas, food and lodging. The pioneering spirits of the Lincoln Highway were with us last night.

 
Reed/Niland Corner, Colo, IA

We set off early — a 6:30 AM breakfast and an 0700 clutch-out (Bob, for some reason, refuses to acknowledge the MP3’s lack of a clutch). We anticipated a long day and we were right. Our research had shown that the segment of the Lincoln Highway to be covered today was loaded with points of interest. In addition, we had to deal to Bob’s concern over a nasty weather report: late-afternoon thunderstorms, accompanied by golf-ball-sized hail. Were we off to Oz? Marchello’s got a measure of disdain for ruby slippers… Mature Bob planned the schedule, intuitively rejecting the "Let’s see what happens" Buddy approach.

After the high of the Reed/Niland’s Corner cafe & Motel, the first twenty miles of riding were a disappointment: a four-lane road with no parallel secondary byways where the LH could hide. The blandness of this section allowed the retired Organizational Psychologist in me to surface. I was thinking about psychometrics (don’t ask why) and the issues of reliability and validity. Reliability measures the consistency of a measuring instrument, while validity measures the degree to which the instrument measures what it purports to measure. I applied these dimensions to the MP3 500. 

 
Abandoned gas station in Montour, IA

We’re closing in on 3,000 miles & the MP3s have performed with perfect consistency. I have written about taking these bikes for granted, which is a direct result of that consistency. Their reliable performance removes any preoccupation with the bike and keeps you focused on the road.

Now for the question of validity: Does the bike do what it’s meant to do? It’s not 1) a crotch rocket (it’s much kinder to the crotch than said rockets), b) a motorized easy chair for traveling the slab, nor is it c) a deep rumbler for those who get off on deep rumbling. It is exactly what it purports to be : an ideal bike for going relatively long distances in comfort with an increase in stability and safety. It has been perfect for exploring the Lincoln Highway; both a reliable and valid machine. 

 
Bank repurposed as Post Office - Montour, IA

Back to the day. We found an early section of the Lincoln Highway in the Marshalltown/Le Grand area, but these towns seemed disinterested in their rich heritage. We’re uncertain of why. In Montour we picked up E49, an Iowa Scenic Byway that runs to Tama. Terrific curves, trees and even some rolling hills. Tama is a failing town. Its Main Street is depressing — closed stores, a couple of bars and some run down garages. It’s ironic, since just outside town is the most famous one-of-a-kind bridge on the LH. Stopping on the bridge (built in 1915) is not recommended, so we hurried through the photographic documentation of this classic with "Lincoln Highway" molded in bold block letters into its side rails.

 
1915 Lincoln Highway Bridge - Tama, IA

And then the mother lode in Belle Plaine: Preston’s Station, the most famous gas stop on the LH. It was built in 1910 and moved to its present location when the route changed in 1921. Every inch of the station is covered with old road and garage signs. Two old, non-functional gas pumps beg for photos. The inside looked intriguing, but we found no sign of life. Bob thought it would be intrusive for us to knock on the door of the house in back, so I naturally proceeded to knock. After some minutes, out came a large, bearded, older man in overalls — George Preston’s son, Ronald. It took only a few minutes for me to make the sale, Bob came out of hiding and Ronald gave us a private tour of the biggest collection of "stuff" imaginable — from a two-headed calf to a giant Miss Piggy meant for a Harley display. 

 
Preston Station - Belle Plaine, IA

We tore ourselves away from Preston’s Station, had some blueberry pancakes at the 1923 Lincoln Cafe — and with dark clouds at our back — bypassed Cedar Rapids (Bob’s mature judgement at work) on the way to Clinton. Despite the increasingly-dark skies, we couldn’t resist a photo of Grant Wood’s American Gothic painted on the side of a barn and a stop at at Lisbon’s Lincoln Highway History Center, where we met Beryl O’Conner. Beryl demonstrated a one-of-a-kind "chicken killer" and filled me in on Lisbon’s pending "Sauerkraut Days". When asked, "Why sauerkraut?" Beryl thought for a moment and answered, "Because another town in Iowa also celebrated "Sauerkraut Days." Good enough for me.

 
The Lincoln Cafe, Belle Plaine, IA

We made it to the Timber Motel in Clinton ahead of the storm. Tomorrow I’ll be reporting on our big media day in DeKalb.

-Buddy out.

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