One “L” of a Ride

Well I know you’re all dying to know who won the college jersey day contest!  With the storm I forgot to update that…or based on a few texts I got maybe you want to know if my tent was still standing. Let’s get the jerseys out of the way first…Emily with Purdue had 12, in a shocking turn Chris had 4 for Gonzaga, I had one Central jersey, and Ray had 0 Villanova. Ray tried to say he saw 6 at the beer stop, but this “picture didn’t go through”. Cheaters never win Ray. The unfortunate thing for Ray is I saw three Villanova jerseys but they don’t count in his total. Had he seen them, I would be the loser…and that just seems wrong since I’m the only person who went to an Iowa school. Come on Dutch let’s get it together!!

Ok back to the tents. It was still raining when we went outside but not down pouring. Thankfully I had my phone and could use it for a flashlight because it was a maze to get back to the tent. In wet slippery grass and unsure conditions the light was necessary. My tent was up!  That’s a huge win! Chris and Emily’s was up and so was Carlos. The fact that Chris and Emily’s tent was still standing was quite impressive given that they finished getting it set up as the storm rolled in and it was done in a hurray. Well done friends. None of us had water in the tents so another win!  Now Ray and Vince weren’t so lucky. The rain fly came off of Vince’s tent.  Which meant his tent just got drenched. It was still standing though. Ray’s tent….well that was another story. It crumbled down like a house of cards. It didn’t get blown away it just collapsed. So he had to get it back up. Not sure what about where they had their tents caused such a different outcome but I was glad to not have my tent in that area. I think Ray is the only tent at our camp that went down. That’s impressive in its own right. I helped him get it set back up…ie I held the flashlight and he did the work!  Once we got it back and got the rain fly back on, we saw the “damage”. He has areas that were completely dry and then other areas pooled with water. His pillow was dry though, so what more could you ask for?!?  Good thing he had two high absorbent towels!  He said he sopped up water all night!  Vince slept in the school because his tent was a swimming pool!  

When I got back to my tent I had to do some rearranging to even get in. We had thrown things in there in a hurry and now I couldn’t even walk in. So after some sorting and rearranging I went to bed.  We hadn’t discussed a plan or designated leave time for the morning. I decided I’d just wake up when I did…well I think others had the same thought. It was almost 5:15 when I woke up…latest of the week. People were very slow moving to get out. Normally the last day is a mad dash to get on the road and get home but that didn’t seem to be the case. I think people were tired from lack of sleep the night before, completely beat down from the previous two days of riding, and organizing/finding their stuff. 

The Air Force team was also slow moving. Their mangled pop up tent stayed right outside Emily’s tent all night. As many of you know the Air Force team spends the week riding and helping riders along the way. They have a nickname of “guardian angels of the road”. They spend a lot of extra time helping riders who have mechanical issues, medical issues, and directing traffic at accidents. They also took command getting people into the storm shelter. Usually on the last day the  meet up and ride into the dip site into formation but they announced that was cancelled given the storm. I’m not sure why but it probably had to do with not being able to leave camp on time in the morning. 

Once we got on the road it was a short trek to Iowa City where we went through the University of Iowa. We rode into Kinnick stadium, I waved at the kids in the children’s hospital, and then we went on our way past the baseball field, Carver Hawkeye arena, the new wrestling complex and then onto campus. I was disappointed they didn’t have Caitlin Clark welcoming us but I did point out to Ray where they would put her statue one day!  Since I had stopped earlier in the week at the state Capitol, I thought it only fitting to stop at the Pentacrest and get a picture with the Old Capitol as well. It was bright and Sunny was we rolled out into downtown Iowa City. But that quickly changed. 

The fog rolled in and we had a misty hazy ride to West Liberty. It was a welcome reprieve from the heat and hot sun the last three days. I still hadn’t eaten from last night so breakfast was a MUST in West Liberty. Well the Fine Arts students won the day!  They were selling banana crunch wraps. And I should have bought 2!!  Oh well it was delicious. You could make them at home and I would highly recommend. Flour tortilla, peanut butter, one whole banana, granola, and honey. Wrap and enjoy!  If you’re allergic to banana or peanut butter you may want to pass!! They were good, easy to grab and go, and supported a good cause. A win win win in my book!

We ran into Carlos and Vince in West Liberty and Vince had the audacity to say it was cold.  Come in Vince I know you’re only .2 percent body fat but it was not cold!!  The four of us got a picture as we knew were going to complete the whole week. Gary ended up sagging today because he got completely wiped out from the day before and said he didn’t sleep well. He was just going to ride with the bags to Bettendorf. Vince and Carlos said they didn’t want to dip their tires so we didn’t stick together after that. I passed on the ribeye steak sandwich at 9:00 am but that was probably a mistake. I was still hungry!

Riding to Muscatine we had a great tailwind and flat roads!  It made for quite the enjoyable ride. Muscatine had a great set up along the river. Muscatine is known for growing melons and they were giving away lots of watermelon. And they knew how to cut it…big huge slices!  So we ate even more watermelon. While watermelon is delicious it doesn’t do much to fix hunger!  So I ended up getting a Mac&Cheese quesadilla…yep I had never heard of that either. It was pretty tasty. I passed up getting pie because I figured that would be a good thing to do in the last stop before Davenport. EPIC MISTAKE! 

From muscatine the route took us along the River most of the way. It was pretty flat and had some good scenery. As we rolled i to Buffalo I was looking for pie signs but didn’t see any. I missed my last chance at getting pie number 7 for the week. You’d think I was a rookie or something. Definitely shouldn’t have passed up the major pie offerings in Muscatine. 

By the time we for into Buffalo I was very ready to be off my bike. My butt was done. I think I groaned, grunted, swore with every bump of the road. 500+ miles is a lot regardless of how trained you are. As we got into Davenport…or sort of final destination they had signs welcoming us into town.  One of my favorites was “Davenport…America’s favorite sofa!”  As we came up to make the turn for the ending and dip site we had to cross the railroad tracks. Well of course a train was going through. And we waited, waited, waited as it slowly rolled through. When we could finally see the end…it stopped…three cars from clearing the crossing. Maybe the conductor is the same guy who does this in Muncie regularly. So I got out of line, went further down the road and tried to get across. 

The line for the dip is always long!  They were saying it would be 90 minutes so we got out of line, took some pics and went further up the river to dip!  But we did get our commemorative medal! You can’t do RAGBRAI and not dip your tire. Especially after finishing this week!  

After dipping we went back to the the casino in Bettendorf where we were greeted by my parents, three dogs, Ed, and Gary!  Ed survived his time hanging in the hotel and Gary had already loaded Ray’s bags in the car.  Saturday’s ride was a measly (haha) 77 miles and 1450 feet of climb. For the week I rode 541 miles!  Not too shabby!  I’m very grateful to have made it through the week without a mechanical issue or accident. 

Final Thoughts:

• It wasn’t as crowded or as much of a headache as I was expecting. 
• The Methodist raspberry peach pie was by far the best
• It was the best ever year for watermelon on the ride
• Little kids lemonade stands are hard to pass up
• NEVER ride your bike up the hill in Colfax or from Kellogg to Grinnell. 
• “Hills are my friend, and sometimes I hate my friends” was the best sign of the week
• Coming into Des Moines and past the Capitol was pretty cool
• Never underestimate the mental boost a grab and go freeze pop can have 
• People are genuinely kind and everyone looks out for each other on RAGBRAI. The number of people who offered free water, shade, shelter from storm, etc can’t be understated. Maybe we could do more of that the other 51 weeks of the year. 
• A great town theme can make all the difference…looking at you Slater!
• Shade is king
• That little gravel stretch has motivated me even more to get a gravel bike 
• 95+ degrees with a headwind is like being a muffin in a convection oven instead of a regular oven

I told you about the Air Force so here are some of their stats:

177 riders, 16 support crew

Wheels/tires changed - 1162

Chains - 488

Medical assistance- 439

“Other” -521

These are all done volunteer and they use their own supplies/money to do the ride. It really is remarkable what they do and RAGBRAI wouldn’t be the same without them. 

Here are some pics of some “unusual” bikes and sights for the week. No pics of the rollerbladers but they were back too. 

All these people rode like this the whole week!  I didn’t get a picture of the guy riding backwards…his neck has to hurt!  

Finally, a HUGE thanks to the Fah family for running our charter all week. Jonathan, Karee, Jamie, Makenzie, Max and many others did an over the top job in getting our camps set up each day, getting us fun treats to beat the heat, and always having a positive attitude. They were the best. They own Argo Moving in the Quad Cities so if you ever need a moving company please check them out. They make our RAGBRAI experience and camp what it is!

Another year done. Not sure what 2024 will bring but thanks for reading along. For all the comments and encouragement!

98 degrees and the Tornado Shelter

I survived…let’s start with that. I’m writing this from the tornado storm shelter…so that should tell you how it’s going. Today was soooo hot and ended in a way I haven’t had on RAGBRAI before. Here’s the temp when I came into camp. The sun was full on from 9 am. No cloud cover or haze today. 

We left around 6 am and it is College jersey day. Ray and I got our annual picture and we said we’d have a competition for who saw the most jerseys between Villanova, Central, Purdue, and Gonzaga. Vince is wearing his Marine Corps jersey and Carlos doesn’t have a Villanova jersey. Emily has a distinct advantage with Purdue but we’ll see who wins. 

Before starting RAGBRAI my C26 triathlon teammate told me to look for this woman from his town. Now finding someone you know on RAGBRAI is VERY difficult. Finding someone you don’t know is nearly impossible!  Thankfully I knew she was on the West Point Women team, so I had a chance if I saw their jerseys. Yesterday I talked to some of them, but she wasn’t with them. Today as we coming into the first town I saw another one and it was her!  It was like finding a needle in the ocean…haystacks are way more feasible than RAGBRAI!  We chatted a bit and got a picture when we got to town so Brian had proof! I got a couple Kolaches (apricot and cherry) and then we headed on out. 

In Belle Plaine I had a great HUGE piece of watermelon. There was a place selling sausage and egg breakfast sandwiches so I hopped in line for that. Well…by the time I got to order they had run out of the biscuits. So they threw everything in the bowl and put it on a hash brown. It was tasty but extra salty…which I guess isn’t terrible for what was ahead. 

Leaving Bell Plaine I was on the struggle bus. I’m not sure it’ll it was the headwind or what but I just didn’t have much get up and go. I wanted something cold when I got to Marengo. I was thinking a smoothie, but I passed the root beer float stand first and went for that. I’m not sure ice cream was the best idea but oh well. They had a great city park with lots of shade and some good music. 

I still didn’t feel super awesome leaving there but I got my cold towel wet and left town. I ended up getting a little more steam and actually started to feel better. Maybe root beer floats are the magical ticket after all!! It was now officially hot and everything came down to getting water and staying hydrated. We rolled into Middle Amana and tried to get water, but the line was forever long. We decided to head the extra two miles to Amana. I knew I was going to need food and it is just a cool place to walk around. The Amanas are a historic German village and they have lots of cool places to visit. I would highly recommend you check it out when there aren’t 30000 bikes rolling through! I got zero pictures of the actually buildings and town….FAIL. I was more focused on food!

As we were about halfway to the town, Ray said I could really use an ice pop and I said I’d like a sprinkler. Maybe we can manifest things into existence!!  Then I saw it right as we came into town…a lady handing out freeze pops!  I grabbed one and had the biggest smile as I pedaled into town. We parked our bikes right by the Ox Yoke Inn (a famous restaurant) and they had a great mister/sprinkler. Ray said we should start manifesting lottery ticket numbers, but I’ll stick with sprinklers and popsicles. I needed some food and was hoping for pie or a hamburger. Instead I got a GIANT pretzel with cheese from the beer garden with Millstreet brewing!  It was good and hit the spot even though it wasn’t pie!

The temps continued to rise. There were 10 miles to the next town and the hills started coming back after some relatively flat stretches. We rode past a cool field of sunflowers but it was going up a hill so no pics!! Then we descended into Oxford and let me tell you it won for town of the day. I’m not even sure it was that great, but the fire department had huge cold pools you could get in, the fire hydrant spraying, and a water fill right as you came into town. They knew the goal of the day was hydration at this point and they nailed it. If that wasn’t enough they were serving basically all you can eat watermelon for a donation…we ate A LOT!  The Catholic Church was doing free will donation pie so I had cherry with a crumb top!  It was good but still not top for the week.  The Firestation was also giving away free ice cream for your pie, but I passed on that. To top it off, we got to sit inside out of the sun and they had big fans going. Oxford fire department wins the day. 

From Oxford we were told the hills would be the worst and it was 19 miles. Well that was a bit of an understatement. Those were brutal hills…not because they were that hard, but the heat and sun were tough. There was one hill where over half the people were walking up it…not because it was that steep but because we were just done!!  I stopped 4 times in the last 15 miles. I made it…that’s about all I can say. Oh wait…I passed up a slip and slide. I did stop at it but it was super muddy and gross and had very little water. You know it’s bad when I decided that the energy to go down a gross slip and slide was not worth it in this heat. 

I will give Coralville a D- on welcoming us to town. The only reason they didn’t get an F- was because they did have this cool archway. But they didn’t have sprinklers or fire hydrants. There was one kid with a squirt gun so he gets an A++. Our campsite is shaded and on a hill. Unfortunately that means not a lot of room for tents so it is super crowded and cramped. Definitely a tripping hazard going to the bathroom tonight. We are camped right by the Air Force team. I’ll have to fill you in on them tomorrow. 

By the time the guys all showered it was after 8 and we were going to go to dinner. Right as we were leaving camp the tornado sirens went off. The first time everyone pretty much did nothing. The second time people got more concerned. The third time a huge gust of wind came and then it go real. One pop up tent of Air Force went flying through the air and headed towards my tent. I wasn’t concerned about my tent but someone getting hit by it. Thankfully nobody did. We got evacuated to the local school storm shelter up the hill. I got my bike and one of Chris’s and Emily’s bags thrown in my tent before it got real bad. 

So here we sit…in the storm shelter for the past 90 minutes. They said we could go back out….BUT it’s still raining hard and lightning in the distance. Who knows what the tents look like!  Ray said his got blown over before we even went to the shelter so I’m sure it’s all wet now!  They guys all fell asleep, I’m blogging, and Chris and Emily are mad they didn’t get a chance to shower. Emily is thinking about going out in the rain just to rinse off. 

Who knows what I’ll go back to…I’m sure it will be wet! It’s 10:25 and we haven’t eaten. Tomorrow should be fun!! Ok headed to the tent….stay tuned tomorrow to see how it ends up. There’s a lot that need to happen before I sleep. Who would have thought the heat wouldn’t have been the main event for the day!?!?

Oh wait….we rode 82 miles and had 2500 feet of climb today! That seems so long ago now. Ok….to the tent. 

Recency Bias

It may be recency bias but I think today way the hardest day I’ve ever done on RAGBRAI. We had it all…heat, humidity, headwind, and hills…copious amounts of hills. But I won’t complain about the headwind because there were so many hills it didn’t matter and it helped to keep a bit cooler. 

I actually slept really well last night. Got up at 4:45 and was on the road by 5:45. The guys rolled out before me and  Chris and Emily left later. It was super foggy and beyond humid this morning. The bad news was the fog created very thick air making it very stuffy. The good news was the fog was so dense you couldn’t see the hills ahead!! Leaving Des Moines we went through the state fair grounds. I haven’t been there in years but spent a lot of summers there!

Since today was a pedal and try to not to die of heat stroke I didn’t spend a lot of time in towns. I just got the nutrition and hydration I needed and moved on. So here’s a list of the food/drinks I had while riding:

Pancakes, sausage, 2 glasses of orange drink

Apple pie Thelma’s ice cream

Gooseberry pie..the elusive pie of a RAGBRAI 

Ribeye steak sandwich 

A giant peach

A huge pickle 

8 Oz of pickle juice

3 bottles of Gatorade endurance 

6 bottles of water

One pickle juice shot

2 chocolate chip cookies

I had big enough plans when I got to Colfax. But before getting there we had to do 2 miles of gravel because a bridge was out. Everyone was worried about it going in to today, but honestly it wasn’t that bad. They had scraped off most of the gravel so it was hard packed and fairly easy. The only issue was the amount of people so it slow going and took a lot of concentration to watch what everyone else was doing. The gravel led us in to Colfax. Family friend Lisa Holdgrafer grew up there so I was going to stop to see her dad and family at their farm….BUT I missed it. Lisa had told me that Colfax had hills and she wasn’t kidding. The hill in the town of Colfax was the worst hill of RAGBRAI so far. I almost fell over on it but I did get a picture of where Lisa and Gary were married! I blame that hill for missing Lisa’s family. 

The Thelmas cookie followed by pie wasn’t planned but when you hear that there is gooseberry pie you don’t pass it up. So the the Amish in Newton well done on your pie operation!  They are serious about the prep. They bring their wooden pie racks and everything. 

After Newton we headed to Kellogg and that’s where i got the steak sandwich. It was 11:00 am when we got there. The sun had just come out and it was hot. I checked the temp and it was 93 feels like 103…I decided I wouldn’t check again in order to save my mental sanity!

From Kellogg the hills were unrelenting. The sounds from the road were a lot of huffing and puffing and the sounds of internal struggle. I wasn’t sure I’d ever make it to Grinnell. I pulled off to a place that was selling peaches and pickles and sat in some shade. They were nice and had water coolers out for people to fill bottles. 

When I got to Grinnell I had a guy take my picture as proof of life in case I didn’t make the last 25 miles. I wasn’t sure it was going to happen with the heat. But right as I left town clouds rolled in and it was such a welcome relief! I bought some homemade cookies from Iola a little girl in Grinnell. She didn’t talk much but the cookies were delicious!!  

Had the clouds not come I really don’t know what today would have looked like, but we lucked out and still got in a very hot humid day. As I was riding today and thinking about how hard it was I was reminded that I’m lucky to be able to do this. Two years ago I met Aarika and Megan very briefly. Sadly, Aarika passed away last August from colon cancer. Those two brought so much light and even though we didn’t interact much they made me appreciate the life I get to live. 

I got by today unscathed but I can’t say the same for the rest of the crew. Gary’s zipper broke on his jersey going into Colfax. Lucky for him the football team was selling t-shirts so he bought one!  Then he threw his jersey in the trash. 11 miles later as he rolled into Newton he had a an epiphany….his wallet was in his jersey that he threw in the trash…so he turned around and rode back, dug out the jersey and found his wallet. Given the heat he decided to sag. Instead of using the RAGBRAI sag, a lady called their church bus and they brought him to Toledo. 

Carlos put his glasses in his back saddle bag, but forgot to zip it up!  So his glasses fell out. He realized it when he got to the next town. He had the DJ make an announcement and a few people said…oh yeah we saw glasses on the road about three miles back. Then another guy said…don’t bother to go back for them…they’re toast. So he now no longer has his glasses. 

I haven’t seen Emily and Chris yet. They tried to sag about midway through today and waited forever. Then they decided to ride on. Eventually they got a sag to Toledo. 

I saw Vince in the last 7 miles. I rode up and said “hey are you from Philly”, he said, “yeah, how’d you know?  Did you hear me say, water?” He had no idea it was me!  Then when he got to camp he left his bike by the trucks, an hour later he said he needed to go get his bike….45 min later he said I need to go get my bike. …he forgot why he went down the first time and never got it!  So he went back down a second time and forgot to get the bike again!  I think he needs food!! 

We had a few sprinkles this afternoon but was still very humid. It wasn’t until 7:00 when we get some good breeze and less humidity. For the day I did 92 miles and 3780 feet of climb. We had a decent amount of sprinklers today and Grinnell had some nice fire hydrants going. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be just as hot and humid, slightly less hilly and slightly shorter…less than 10 miles shorter. So not really sure what the day will bring, but I can guarantee we will have laughs no matter what! Today has been one full of laughs. But hey at least we have a great camp site with a good breeze.  

Emily and Chris just got to camp…Emily, how are you doing? “Oh you know…just another day in hell” They are in great spirits as you can imagine when rolling into camp at 7:40. 

Sprinkler Paradise

Let’s cut right to the chase!  It’s HOT!  Today was a shorter day and we just planned to have fun and take it easy. No head down and hammer today. Thankfully that meant we’d get done “early” but that also means setting up a tent in the heat of the day. When I got to our Death Valley camp site at 1:15 it was 93 degrees and feels like 105. Our site has FULL sun and ground as hard as a rock so there is no respite. 

Ok back to this morning when it was cloudy and nice. It was a slow roll out of camp and we left about 6:35. Our latest leave yet. The first few pedals were a bit of a struggle but we got rolling the legs loosened up a bit. 

The first stop was Slater and they reeled me in with their cinnamon roll signs. As we approached they had a hot air balloon set up and a great Dr. Seuss theme!  They had lots of good photo ops!  From Slater we headed to the craft beer stop for our breakfast brat. We had some good shade and a nice breeze so it was quite pleasant. 

Madrid had a Mad Hatter theme and had great stuff painted on the streets!  Since our plan was to stop for acai in a few miles, we just did a water fill and moved on!  As we were leaving Madrid they said we could take the trail 2 miles to get to the High Tressel Trail bridge. I had never been there but it is an iconic cycling trail in Iowa, so what’s a little 4 mile detour?!?  The trail was shaded and smooth so you can’t complain about that. It was really cool to see and we got some good pics. Chris and Emily didn’t want to go so we said we would meet them at acai. Plus us adding in a few more miles made acai worth it!!

There was a fun brass band playing at Mr. pork chop and the acai place so we got some entertainment while we were there. But we also heard some disappointing news…today was the last day for acai. Guess I’ll switch to Thelma’s cookies tomorrow!!

Next stop was Polk City. It was starting to get warm at this point but still manageable. Well Polk City rolled out the welcome mat with some very solid fire hydrant sprays!  Plus a lot of locals had hoses and sprinklers set up! As I was riding into town I saw my C26 teammate Matt. We rode together until we got into town. His team sleeps in houses each night, and I think I will be very jealous of him tonight. I decided to get some cold watermelon!  The rest of the crew got corn but I wasn’t feeling that today. I wasn’t planning to get pie here but the Center Grove Orchard had different pies. They had Country Apple and Farmstead Apple…well not knowing the difference was enough for me to break down and buy one. I opted for country Apple which has a crumb streusel topping. Basically it was Apple crisp with a pie crust. It tasted good, but I think I’d rather have regular apple crisp. 

Leaving Polk City it was officially HOT. The sun was fully out, there was a hill right as we left town and I knew we’d be in for a toasty last 25 miles. What I didn’t know is that we were in for more sprinklers and misters than I have ever experienced in one day and honestly probably more than I’ve ever had in a single week. Ankeny’s sprinkler game was top notch!  I need everyone on the route tomorrow to take note because they are going to be absolutely necessary for survival. Seriously today they happened every quarter to half miles for almost 10 miles. I got some freeze pops from some kids, got soaked by kids with big water guns and rolled on. I was going to stop for ice cream, but after a few freeze pops I decided I didn’t need them. 

Leaving Ankeny we were on a completely closed road all the way to Des Moines. Shutting down a Highway and two major downtown city streets in the state capitol should tell you all you need to know about what this ride means to the state of Iowa. We don’t typically go into big cities, and definitely not Des Moines. This rolling circus is something that takes over a place and they pulled out all the stops for the 50th. I don’t usually complain about newly paved roads…BUT new black asphalt on a 90 degree day is not my idea of a great time. It was very toasty. They took the route past the Capitol and then through downtown and ended at water works park. 

They were predicting that today would be crowded since it was a shorter day and going into Des Moines. I didn’t notice that it was more crowded than any other day, but it was very obvious that there were lots of bandits and unregistered riders. They all did the same thing…they rode down the middle of the road in the center lane, going half the speed of traffic, carried on a casual conversation and then the tell tale sign was they almost always had a backpack or sling pack. Nobody who was doing this all week was wearing a sling pack!!  

Everyone is all camped in the same HUGE park. It took awhile to get to our camp site, but it could be because I wasn’t looking for the “Death Valley” signs. Yep that’s right…our camp area sucks in terms of shade. The only shade is in the few pop up tents that crew put up. Everyone is crammed under them hoping for a little glimmer of shade. Setting up the tent was brutal, but I got it done. Then I headed straight to the shower…I didn’t really want to shower because I knew I’d be soaked in no time, but I also could be the west sweaty gross mess any more. 

We found some small slivers of shade across the street so I’ve been sitting there for a couple hours writing the blog. Chris biked down to get some Mediterranean food for us….which was super awesome of him. While we were sitting here Jonathon and Jamie (the guys who run our charter) came by and we’re handing out Italian ice to everyone. They are the nicest guys and were giving it to anyone and everyone. They knew it was hot and were just trying to do their best to spread a bit of good cheer!

Tomorrow is going to be hotter than today and we have 88 miles with over 4000 ft of elevation. Today we did 59 miles and 1040 feet so it is definitely going to take longer and be much harder. I plan to roll out super early and get as much in before 11 as I can. Seriously say some prayers to the sprinkler gods to show up tomorrow. We’ll need every drop. 

Oh and for the record in the 90 min it has taken to write this the temp has gone up 4 degrees!  Feels like 109 is really great let me tell you!  I’m thinking I may take my rain fly off tonight to get max ventilation. Ok off to brave the hot tent for awhile!  

The RAGBRAI hunger monster struck and was very hungry!  in the past I’ve talked a lot about second breakfast, but today was a new one….second dinner. I was feeling hungry and low on fuel. Knowing what tomorrow entails I decided to get on the shuttle and head to the concert area for food. Pizza followed by some ice cream seemed like a great idea!!  My neighbor Sonny, whose birthday is today would love these John Deere shuttles!! Happy Birthday Sonny!!  And thanks to you and Mary for mowing my yard while I’m gone!!

Methodist Century Celebration

Well everything I said yesterday about the morning routine I sped up big time this morning. I was up at 5 but we left at 5:51!  I was in high speed mode but it was worth it to roll out with the sunrise. The temps weren’t low but the humidity was high. I think I was soaked in sweat within the first 5 miles. We rode on Hwy 30 to the first town. They actually closed this highly trafficked state highway for 3 hrs this morning so we could have room and not fight the cars. We all left together this morning. I think Ray and I are the only ones who are going to attempt the century today.

We had a nice tailwind at times so it was easy going early. Once we got to Glidden I knew I needed some breakfast if I was going to do the century. Let me tell you, the Boy Scouts won the efficiency award. They were selling breakfast burritos and had 7 lines with four people working each line so there was no waiting. The burrito itself was STUFFED with meat. I would have preferred an equal balance but hey you can’t be choosy on RAGBRAI. As i left town, we got stopped by train I tell you the heat was brutal. Just look what it did to this lady on the back of a tandem. 

From Glidden we went to Jefferson. I will say there’s first early miles we’re head down and get as much done as we could before the sun got super strong. While the sun wasn’t out yet the humidity was  insane. I probably sweat out three bottles in the first 10 miles. People were cruising but you could tell everyone was mission focused today. There was predicted heat in the upper 90s and with the century day it was going to be long. 

When we got to Jefferson we decided just to do a water full and move on. I did get a picture of the famous bell tower and then noticed later that Ray was actually in the picture. The funny thing is, Ray didn’t even see the bell tower. As you can see…it isn’t hard to miss!  I topped off my water at a trail head for the Raccoon river trail and they were giving cold water bottles inside. 

Rippey was the meeting Town and although I had my sights on acai today, I couldn’t afford to get burned like I did yesterday. Once we left Rippey we wouldn’t see another town for 35+ miles if we did the century loop. So I knew I needed to eat something and pray that acai came through for me later. Well let me tell you…Jesus pulled through. The Methodist church had pies and all their signs coming into town said that Jesus made the pie and they had signs that said “Jesus blessed, pie obsessed”. Well I can attest that today’s pie, raspberry peach, is at the top of the list for best pie of the week by far. It will take a lot to knock off the flaky homemade crust and deliciousness that I had while sitting in a small patch of shade outside the Methodist church. For the record, the Methodists are winning the week so for. 

After pie and more water filling we headed toward what we hoped would be acai!  And guess what 5 miles later there was a sign “big acai ahead” I let out a audible yes and a fist pump. I’m sure the people around me thought I was nuts but I was very happy. There was no line and I got fresh peaches and blueberries in my acai bowl. It was. Everything I had hoped it would be. 

We didn’t know how long it was until we turned to start the loop but Ray and I had decided we would meet at the final turn and decide if we were going to do it or not. At this point it was was about 11:30 and it was full sun. We were riding into a headwind and it was HOT. So hot that I was seriously thinking about not doing the century. I had already consumed almost 3/4 of my bottle that I had just filled up and I wasn’t sure I’d make it. It was at that point I saw a roadside stand that said they had cold water. It wasn’t a cute little kid but desperate times call for desperate measures. What I found was a girl raising money for her wedding… so I got my bottle filled used the little that was left to douse my head and back and down the road I went. Not even a mile down the road there was a lady handing out freeze pops as we flew by. I got a blue one and rode on happily eating and ice cold popsicle as I pedaled. All of a sudden I didn’t feel so hot anymore!  At the turn for the century loop I grabbed some pickle juice and secretly hoped that Ray wouldn’t say he wasn’t doing the loop. I wanted to do it but also wanted to know that someone else I knew was out there too. He got to the turn and we decided to carry on. We’d rendezvous at the patch stop. 

When you complete the loop on RAGBRAI they give you a special commemorative patch that says you did the 100 mile day. The stop is usually on the loop by about halfway and never at the end so you have to “earn it”. I talked to a guy from Kenya and he was doing his first RAGBRAI. He said it was hotter and hillier than he expected!  Welcome to Iowa my friend!! I got lots more water. Some to drink and some to pour over my head, a beef stick, and a celebratory patch selfie. They also had an air conditioned shop that we spent a bit of time in. As we were leaving the owner of the farm said, you’ve got one steep downhill, a short steep uphill, and then the last hill is a “son of a gun”!  So we knew we had a challenge ahead of us finishing this loop. We definitely got the first two parts of his warning but never saw the long hill he prophesied. Honestly I thought he didn’t know what he was talking about and clearly the little steep one was the big one….I mean what would a local know anyway?!?!?!….turns out…. A LOT!

I completed the loop and had a good conversation with Steve from Kansas City about bragging rights for finishing the century. We met back up with the route again and the lady was still handing out freeze pops so I went to get another one. Lucky for me she couldn’t get one torn off so she gave me two!  I stopped for my first craft beer of the week..I earned that! 

By this point in the day we went from full sun and light breeze to cloudy and strong breeze. Talk about game changer!! All of a sudden the dread of the afternoon heat was gone and it didn’t seem so bad. After a brief stop in Luther we headed out of town. As we were leaving there was a sprinkler set up so of course I rode through it. At the same time this guy cut Ray off as he bee-lined to the sprinkler…as Ray was saying “ did you see this guy cut me off?” He exclaimed…Vince!  Vince wanted to get to that sprinkler bad!. I looked to my left and said “Carlos!”  I hadn’t seen them since I had rolled out of camp. Turns out Carlos hadn’t seen Vince for 20+ miles but we all ended up there in Luther at the same time!

We had 15 miles to go but we made one last stop at the Iowa Craft beer tent so I could get a brat and another beverage!  It hit the spot for sure. From there it was 10 miles to the end Ann’s let me tell you those miles were by far the hardest of the day. Mostly because it was into a headwind and because I had nothing to look “forward” to. No acai, no patch, no next town, etc. Apparently looking forward to the “END” isn’t good enough for me. Geesh!!! The headwind sucked until we made a turn and headed north…then it was game on!  I had a sweet tailwind and I put the hammer down!  It was fun. I will say in those last 10 miles the sprinkler and hose game was strong. I went through 6 different ones. I hope the people on Thursday’s route take not because they help so much from a physical cooling standpoint and morale booster!!

But wait…what about that son of a gun hill???  Well shortly after you passed the turn for the loop as you heade towards Ames you went around a bend and saw a very nice downhill, but in the distance you saw these little ants pedaling up the hill. I just started laughing…oh that guy was taking about this hill. It was over a mile long and slow long grinder. Just keep pedaling, just keep pedaling!

As we got to Ames I knew our camp site was going to be early. As I approached the turn to go to camp my bike computer said 97 miles….oh heck no…I’m riding 100 not 97. So I decided against my better judgement to keep pedaling knowing that I would go down this hill and have to pedal back up. Ames is the home to Iowa State University and me being and Iowa Hawkeye fan I dontt have a lot of love for the Cyclones. But knowing that family friends (I’m looking at you Gary Holdgrafer) would be upset if I didn’t go ride by Jack Trice stadium, I decided to bite the bullet and ride further knowing it meant more hills. I did a loop around the stadium, took my picture and headed back up the hill to camp. 

After a shower where I had a nice convo with Terry from Maquoketa about our growing up in Jackson county and him qualifying for the Ironman World Champ from his performance at IM Wisconsin last year we (Chris, emily, and I) heeded out for food. We ended up at a Mexican restaurant where I ate my weight in chips, had a huge century celebration margarita and a fajita quesadilla. After the walk back to the camp. It was dark and I still needed to blog. So here I am tired and hot but finishing up for the night. 

My efficiency tomorrow morning will be terrible because my tent is a mess…I did nothing after get my tent set up!  Today I finished with 101 miles and 1877 feet of climb. I’m sure I’m forgetting stuff but I’m tired!! Oh and my top speed was 35.5 mph…that was right before the monster climb!