Dip-Flip-Double Dip

The last morning at camp is always a little bittersweet as you realize tomorrow you won’t be able to chat with new friends while packing up the tent, but also realize that you’ll get to sleep in a bed tonight. 

We lucked out and didn’t have any major rain last night!  Actually it was by far the best night of sleeping for the week. The body is tired and cooler temps make it much easier to crash out once you hit the sleeping pad. I’m pretty sure I fell asleep writing the blog the past two nights!

Dad came to camp this morning to pick up my bags so they didn’t have to navigate the ending town and finding the truck. He also dropped off two riders to ride the last day. Family friends Kent and Sharon were going to ride from camp with me. I had told them that it wasn’t that crowded and they should do it. So we headed out of camp to get on the route. I had sold them on the fact that the last day was spread out and there weren’t that many bikers and they would be fine. Well of course this morning as we left it was pretty packed. I was hoping they weren’t regretting the decision before we even got out of town!   Then we got to a point where bikers were merging from both directions on to the route. It was a little hairy, but they navigated it like pros!  

The ride to Charlotte was a lot of fun. Some nice rolling hills and really good downhills!  My max speed for today was 33 mph. As Gary and I approached the hill, I looked and saw the long winding downhill and said “oh yeah, let’s go!”  I love descents!  It’s fun to go fast!!  When we got to Charlotte Gary and I got some lemonade from some kids. They would fight over who got to fill the cups, but they also made quite a few friends with the riders. 

The fire department was selling breakfast sandwiches and water for $5. Which is a good deal!  The line was forever long but they kept pumping out sandwich’s all morning. I look forward to dad getting the inside scoop on how many they sold because it had to be in the 1000s. I heard lots of comments about how good the sandwich was…I can attest it was amazing!  I guess the Charlotte locker knows a thing or two about sausage patties!!! I also had a piece of apple pie. Since I didn’t have pie yesterday it seemed only fitting to have some for breakfast!  

It was here where most of us who did the loop ended up reuniting. Everyone in our “bozo brigade” except Cos was there so we took a team picture since we didn’t get a good one on century day. It was good to see Paul and Emma again! As you can see by many pictures today…we look tired, but we’re still happy!!  
I was also able to meet up with Kent and Sharon and some of dad’s other biker friends Todd and Rick. It was good to see them and chat a bit. I need to get dad to ride a part of RAGBRAI next year!  
After Charlotte we headed to Goose Lake. I was able to support the Northeast Athletic Boosters and got some pie…yeah I had two pieces of pie less than an hour apart!  This time it was cherry!  I got to see friends and Wendy, Morgan, and Kayla, and got my pie from Deanna who I ran track against in high school!  

The fire department here had a “swim up bar” and even though it was a little overcast people were getting in. As we pulled up they kept trying to get people to belly flop in and if they did they’d get $100!  Seems like a easy way to earn $100 to me. But I didn’t do it!  Rumor has it that later in the day there were some ladies who stripped down and went in naked. Not sure if that’s true or not. 

As we rode past the turn north out of Goose Lake I told Gary, Chris and Emily that was my short cut home…but I didn’t take it. We had to dip!  And I had to get my T-shirt from the Iowa Craft Beer tent. I earned that sucker!  Lol 

We then rode on into Clinton. From 2 miles out people were lining the route and welcoming us into town. The last day always kind of feels like a parade because people are cheering for you and wishing you congratulations!  The look of aww on their face as you pass by reminds you of just how big of a feat this is. I think sometimes you can take for granted what you accomplished, but if you take a moment and think about the week in the same way these random people cheering for you did you’d realize that completing a whole RAGBRAI is a very big accomplishment!  I always try to soak in all of those cheers as a constant reminder that you can do hard things!!

One of the biggest cheers we got was from the Air Force team…yes they were cheering for us as we finished. They always meet up so they can ride into town in formation. So while they wait to ride in they line the route and create a tunnel for us to ride through with them cheering all the way. I feel like it should be the other way around…that we all should be cheering for them, but that’s not how the Air Force rolls. They are there for everyone else and not themselves. 

We got to the dip site and it was a fairly long line but it moved quickly. We saw the Dream Team ride in and they got lots of cheers. What those kids do this week is really inspiring. After we dipped the Air Force came riding in and they did get a lot of cheers!  

We got to the dip site and they had several lines for dipping and the volunteers were on point with the picture taking. They all know about the dip of the tire and the flip of the bike!  They took a lot of pictures today, and we were definitely thankful to have such an organized process. 

After we dipped we got a picture of the biking ballers and our new adoptive member Gary!  Gary rode with us today so it was only fitting he get in the picture!  

From the dip site we said our goodbyes as they all headed off to the buses and I went to go meet my parents who had come to watch the bikes come in. After I talked to them for a bit I hit the road for a bike ride home. Yes, I rode home to my parents after I dipped. It was a short day for RAGBRAI so what’s another 20 miles, right?  

Today’s RAGBRAI route was 32.37 miles and 1122 feet of climb. It was fun riding through areas that I knew well. My ride home added 20 more miles and 1015 feet of climb. The climbs on that route home seemed way bigger today that then ever have. I guess that’s what a week of riding will do to you!  Oh and for those readers around the Miles area, I can safely say the roads of Butler County are way worse than coming down Wilckes’s hill into Miles. That hill is rough but not the worst thing I rode all week!!  For the week, I rode a total of 504 miles. I’d consider that solid win!

When I made it home I thought it appropriate to do another dip in the dog pool. Gabby, Boomer, and Bria welcomed me home! Well I’m almost falling asleep again as a write this. Maybe a follow up blog of all the stories I couldn’t tell will happen later!