Day 1. West Des Moines to Montezuma. 69 Miles

    A great first day! Between perfect weather and the opportunity to ride with Nathan, it couldn't have been any better.
     Our start at 4:13 allowed us to get through Des Moines ahead of rush hour and gave us a beautiful  early morning view of downtown. Our route consisted of smooth roads and an abundance of rolling hills.
      People along the way were very friendly.  Many wondered if we were training for RAGBRAI. When one guy early in the morning found out our destination was N.Y., he told us we probably wouldn't make it today. Later at our breakfast stop, Nathan had to make a call so I decided to nap in the park. When we went in, the table next to ours wanted to know how my nap was - only in a small town. The restaurant was on the top 10 of USA Today for pie and another list of 100 restaurants to try before you die. Glad I've got that checked off!
      Fabulous day. Looking forward to tomorrow.
Pictures will be added tomorrow.