A man who calls himself a contemporary storyteller is starting an 11-daybicycle ride across Iowa today to recite his tales about the Hawkeye Stateand its residents. One organizer of the trip says Steve Thunder-McGuire isgoing to bring his show to a dozen nursing homes in a dozen Iowa cities.Buck Brock is spokesman for Care Initiatives, which owns 43 nursing centersacross Iowa, including the dozen where Thunder-McGuire is performing andcollecting stories. Brock says it’s a wonderful exchange and will bring abit of excitement into the lives of nursing home residents.Brock says this unusual storyteller plans to ride a thousand miles acrossIowa and release a package of his stories in book form and on compact disc.The work, “One Thousand Miles of Iowa Stories,” is slated to be released inthe spring of 2000. The first stop today is in Ottumwa, with the followingcities over the next several days: Corydon, Corning, Avoca, Dunlap, SiouxCity, Fonda, Eldora, Cedar Falls, Dubuque, Cedar Rapids & Coralville.