If You Don’t Like the Weather....

Well you’ve all heard the saying if you don’t like the weather...wait a day. Well...today was completely different from yesterday! We had thunderstorms during the night and didn’t get a ton of sleep!  Oh and the temperature dropped a good 20+ degrees. After more thunder and lightning I finally decided to get up at 5. This wasn’t your am I going to die type lightning but I probably was the type you shouldn’t stay in your tent for! Once I got up the rain stopped and so we decided we’d try to head out. Of course right as it got time to take down the tent the skies opened up and it started raining again. Nothing like packing up a newly wet tent!!

Ray’s choice of campsites proved to be even better this morning. After all the rain over night the hay field was now a mud bog. Everyone’s shoes were caked with mud and their bikes were a mess. Score one point for Ray that we avoided all of that!!

We made the trek to Missouri River to dip our rear tire. This is a RAGBRAI tradition but I’ve never actually gotten my tires in the Missouri. Now maybe today doesn’t count but we actually were in the Missouri at a Casino parking lot because the river is so flooded. You can see the bank in the background and can see just how much the water is up!  

Now it would have been really cool if we got the lightening in the background. But we couldn’t time it right!!

It rained practically all day!!  I stopped for pancakes about 20 miles into the day and what was right next to the pancake vendor but the mini donut ladies. If you remember last year...you never pass up

Mini donuts and you definitely never do that on a rain day in Ragbrai!! Mini donuts are the best!!!


Now after the mini donuts it started raining harder. Ray had been looking for out for pie but not having good luck. The. We were coming up to me pork chop and he had a pie last with him. I was excited and Ray decided to stop too. This lady advertised her place as the place for berry pies. I was hopeful to see if she had the holy grail of pies....and she did...gooseberry pie!!!  This is a rarity in Ragbrai!  So the girl  said you can have one of these pieces or if you want to eat this last piece of  the pie tin...it’s yours!!!  Of course I chose the pie tin!!! Joke was on me though....that piece wasn’t gooseberry but rhubarb instead. It was still good but I felt a bit cheated. Rain and not getting my sacred pie...not cool Ragbrai. 

As we left Underwood about 30 miles into the day...ray says “man we haven’t had many hills”. Well in the next 30 miles we had plenty. Way more than necessary actually!  My Indiana flat land training did not prepare me. While Ray and his “new” bike and his PA hill training did just fine. Rain and hills....what a way to be demoralized and speaking of rain!  The temps were about 72....hard presss to find the 95 from yesterday. Actually it wasn’t that bad riding. But when we stopped for pancakes...or pie...or pie....or pie...it got cold until we got going again!

We got our picture taken with Uncle Sam in Avoca and we got some great Iowa seeet corn. I love the corn tent because it is free corn dipped in glorious butter!!

Th corn was really good!  I can’t wait for the next few corn stops!  Yes that’s a roaster full of melted butter!!!
Oh and we need a poll. How do you eat corn on the cob?  Do you eat it typewriter

Style with a row the length of the ear....or do you eat it circumference style by eating around th ear and the working your way down?  Ray and I need to settle a bet!  He says that because he’s Italian he has to eat it circumference style because Columbus was Italian and he believed the world was flat therefore he has to eat circumference....this logic does not make sense to me but hey...never argue with the Italian!

 After we ate corn...and maybe some more pie we headed into the last 15 miles of the day. It “sort of” stopped raining which was a huge bonus....but we got some cross winds and other pleasantries....like more hills!!

We got to Atlantic and it wasn’t raining. I think the only worse than packing up a tent in the rain would be setting up a tent in the rain!!!  Of course our campsite was further into Atlantic than some and it included this lovely, steep, want to fall over hill. I’ve heard some people say it was a 10% grade and I don’t think their exaggerating!!

Our campsite was nice and grassy so no mud bog!!  Victory!  And we were right next to the showers!  AWESOME. And the showers were free will donation, they gave you a towel and a bottle of water....what nice people!!  I was excited....and then they dropped the bomb. The women’s was “a little cold”. The men’s was warm but ours “a little cold”. I decided that despite all day wanting a warm shower that I’d try it out. Well this was an ice bath coming from the faucet. It was not fun at all. Actually most women washed their hair in the sinks because that water was warm....but that’s not an option for this mop of hair!!!  Plus side to a cold shower....not sweating to death as you got dressed!

We’re going to head up to the main area so this may be all for tonight. Hopefully no rain and some sun Greer is tomorrow. More later!!!