Musky Muscatine

It took only 2 days to bike through the narrow state of Illinois. Early in the afternoon on day two, we reached the Mississippi River. I had never seen this river before. I considered it one of the major landmarks on the bike trip, eagerly anticipated since we left Vermont. On the Eastern shore were flat lines of corn and soy stretching as far as the eye could see. Although I had seen these crops so many times before, the fertile river valley conjured beauty previously unconsidered. Since it was so flat, we could pick up and maintain a swift speed on the bike, maxing out at 17 or 18 miles and hour for me, and probably 20 miles per hour for Gautier, who raced ahead of me. I hesitated a few times because the scenery beyond the road tempted me to pull over onto the narrow shoulder to snap a picture or two. Every time I did this, I lost some speed, but the view was just so overwhelming! I was torn between reaching the great river and soaking up the sights hiding her flow. We continued on until the bridge marking the name of the river rose above the road. We maneuvered carefully over the bridge, as the cars had no concern for a pair of bicyclists overloaded with panniers and camping gear, but we paused nonetheless at the top of the bridge to view the river.

Below us was a half-mile wide muddy stream; hardly the roaring rush I imagined from reading Twain novels. No, this river seemed tamed, poisoned, weakened. As the cars rushed by on the bridge, I wondered if anyone who lived in the area ever paused to consider the history of this river, and their fortune to have such a great potential lifeforce in their neighborhood. As we finished the crossing and entered Muscatine, Iowa, we saw that this industrial city definitely used the river, but most likely did not appreciate it. There was a boat yard and a lock system for transportation. Most of the barges which ride up and down the river deliver coal and other fuel to riverside factories or transport their raw and finished products. Monsanto's presence was felt in the town in the form of a chemical fertilizer processing plant. There were also factories for the manufacture of office-bound furnishings and corn-derived rubbing alcohol. So, the largest contributors to the Muscatine economy were products for exportation; no goods produced in the town seemed to benefit the people of the town. What Muscatine did receive, however, was industrial pollution carelessly released into the river or atmosphere.

Gautier and I spent the night in Muscatine. We wanted to spend the afternoon lounging in the warm sun on the banks of the river, but when we explored the small city, the atmosphere did not temp us. It smelled bad in town, not to mention that all river front was already claimed by factories and boat launches. So, we spent the afternoon in the library. (Tangent: public libraries have been an amazing resource on this trip. They are a free, welcoming source of bathrooms, internet, comfortable chairs, and a dry place to warm up.) We could not find any campgrounds within a reasonable biking distance, so we called all the hotels in town to find the cheapest available room. As I crossed off the fancier options for anywhere from $90 to $110 per night, we settled on a room at the "Muscky Motel." The librarian who gave us directions to the hotel joked that this was a place where crackheads rented rooms indefinitely, but it was all we needed for one night. In fact, Gautier and I each had a full size bed to sleep on! What luxury! We did not quite know what to do with the television set suspended from a frame in one corner of the room. After a half-assed attempt to find a suitable visual distraction, we gave up and settled on the silence of the room.

We woke early the next morning in order to attend a free lunch at a local church (we learned of this from the same library the previous day). When you are on a budget, you take advantage of any offer of free food. It was not the best food to prepare us for a day of biking, but we gained a wealth of knowledge by speaking with the people who attended the breakfast. The 'church' was really a rehabilitated building on a main street, the basement of which held a kitchen and community space. The upper floor housed a women's support organization, also sponsored by the church. So eager to get in line for food, we arrived early, and had the time to observe the 'regulars' as well as speak to those who were curious enough to inquire about our loaded bicycles. There was a great mix of people: an older man who openly discussed his unemployment and mental disorders; a quiet teen-aged girl who sulked in the entryway, dressed to repel people and constantly text-messaging through her cellphone; a young couple and their baby in her carriage; a homeless Vietnam War veteran who would linger to chat in between helping the pastor with little chores, going on and on about his opinions about the surrounding church-goers who thought they believed in God but, really, did not "get it"; an alcoholic pregnant woman who warned us about the previous man, stating that he was a thief; a super friendly man whose job it was to make coffee and distribute orange juice. All ages and several shades of color were represented. All of them spoke highly of the new women pastor who was a real "go-getter." She was responsible for these programs and their success, and she was organizing more.

Breakfast consisted of coffee, juice, hard-boiled eggs, white flour toast, and instant gravy of an unappetizing gray color. There was also a toaster and bagels, peanut butter, and jelly. I passed on the gravy but had two eggs. They were not fresh, definitely store bought, sitting on a shelf for who knows how long. I satisfied the rest of my hunger with a bagel and peanut butter, as if I had not consumed enough of these two ingredients during the trip already. Another church member who helped serve breakfast told me that 15 to 50 people came daily. All the food was donated by local supermarket chains, such as the (new to me) HyVee.

Although the food was donated, which allowed people who may not otherwise eat a breakfast to have calories before work, it was all corn syrup and soy bean/flour/lecithen filled bread and super processed toppings. I could not help but notice how many people who came for the free breakfast arrived by car, and how many sat outside smoking cigarettes as they awaited the breakfast call. When the ability to purchase necessities is limited, what IS really necessary? Were these people nursing hurts given to them from society when they pulled in the smoke from that cigarette, when they drank that bottle of alcohol or soda? Who pays for the medications some of them admitted to taking? Why the dependence on such substances? It seems to me that the poorest food, nutritionally, is also the most affordable. It is cheaper to buy processed peanut butter filled with hydrogenated corn and soy oils, or 'soda pop' (as they say west of Ohio) sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, or the 'family size' loaf of white bread which, although claiming to weigh one pound on the excessive packaging, can be compressed into a loaf as long as the length of my hand. Fresh fruits and vegetables are shockingly absent from grocery shelves. When present, they are the most expensively priced items in the store.

Why? Since the industrial processes which grow, transport, grind, process, re-ship, bake, package, and market our 'food' are so widespread in this country and globally, they have access to more capital. So, what would cost a small-scale, local operation much is relatively cheap to a large company which owns not only the food from seed to finished product. This does not take into account government subsidies designed to support larger farms producing those core crops (corn, soy, and wheat, remember?) over the small farmer growing a variety of crops. If you, the farmer, have no interest in selling a large amount of a single crop to a grain elevator operator, who can then sell the grain to the highest bidder, the government is not interested in helping you. This trend moves up the rungs of the latter until it translates as a low price in the grocery store for all processed and packaged goods containing wheat (the carbohydrate for energy), soy (the protein source and binding agent for texture), and corn (the sweetener, hooking our animal instincts designed to search for easily digested sources of food while, conveniently enough for the food seller, quickly raising our blood sugar so that is crashes just as quickly and makes one feel hungry again sooner). So, when vegetables and fruits appear much more expensive than processed foods, it is because the fresh, unprocessed, and more nutritious foods are priced at their 'real' price, while the processed foods are super subsidized.

So, when one has a limited budget for food every week, what does one buy? The most calories for the least cash. Typically, since the cheap food is also the most processed, it can be consumed with the least amount of cooking effort back home. This saves time and fuel for this person, who may also be considering how to pay for heating fuel or a baby sitter. However, this low price at the supermarket is a trick, because there are hidden costs when one buys food lacking nutrition. Obviously, one's health declines, so that their productivity weakens. I need to be in tip-top shape to ride a bike a 70 miles a day, and I ensure this by eating a balanced diet, containing whole or unprocessed grains (barley, oats for oatmeal), a vegetarian protein (lentils or other legume), fruit (usually dried because of transport on the road--but NEVER with preservatives such as sulfur), and quick snacks packed with energy such as GORP with raisins, peanuts, coconut, chocolate, and more oats. How can one function on white bread alone? Their productivity will suffer, and so will their ability to work and earn money. If this poor health continues, one may have to resort to the only medical treatment encouraged in Western society: visiting the medical doctor, who will prescribe expensive medicine to mask the painful symptoms instead of examining the root cause, identify a poor diet, and prescribe a healthier lifestyle. It is a deadly cycle which leads to more rich corporate CEOs and more low-income community members driving to free breakfasts provided by the 'charity' of these corporations.