Cattlemen Redemption

It was a chilly night last night. I think the temps were in the lows 50s when we got up. It made for a wet tent takedown and a cool ride out of town. It was one of those mornings where you are hoping for sun and not enjoying the shade of the morning. Which is drastically different than how I’ve spent many RAGBRAIs constantly seeking out shade. 

When I got to New Hampton I was really hoping for a breakfast sandwich or breakfast burrito. Luckily the parks and rec department was selling breakfast burritos to raise money for a new inclusive and accessible playground. The burrito was good but not the best, so I had to get pie to make up for it. Todays choice was apple. Now I don’t normally go for Apple unless I know it is homemade apple and not pie filling. This piece looked like it would hit the mark because it also had a streusel crumb topping. It probably is in the running for the best pie of the week so far. It sort of made up for the burrito disappointment. And to top it off it was a free will donation for a local kid who had a rare brain disease. 

From New Hampton we moved on to Lawler. We were in Lawler in 2017 and they had a Looney Tunes theme. They have a big wall in town where they have everyone sign. I couldn’t find where I signed last time, but I know now that I signed by the G of RAGBRAI. I had a Thelma’s monster cookie ice cream sandwich in honor of celebrating Chris’ birthday. Hopefully he and Emily will be back next year. Oh and shout out to Thelma’s…I think she is the only regular vendor who did not raise prices. Obviously inflation is happening and RAGBRAI is no different. I didn’t find it over the top, but Thelma held true to $5 so thanks Thelma!!

After leaving Lawler I saw these very energetic girls dancing and waving American flags on the side of the road. They also had microphones and were expending lots of energy to get customers for their lemonade stand. Nobody was stopping and I couldn’t let their energy go to waste. When I stopped I learned that they had just gotten set up and I was their first customer!  Skyler is 7.5 yrs old, Leah is 4.5 yrs, and Aria is 2.5 yrs. Halves are very important to these three apparently!  Skylar and Leah were both singing their “lemonade” song. It was full on American Idol with dancing. I’m not sure how people could ride by without stopping but they did get lots of laughs and cheers. Leah definitely ran the show and I could tell from the 5 min I spent with them that she is a handful!  But she has the cute factor going for her. 

While riding I met Bob and his niece Laura. Bob is from Florida and Laura is a NP in oncology at a VA hospital in North Carolina. This is their first RAGBRAI and I’m not sure they have done it right. Bob said he was hoping to try some corn but hadn’t seen any all week. Apparently Bob needs glasses because I’ve had corn every day. I told him what to look for today, but who knows. He also never had a pork chop….come in Bob!  He kept asking me questions about what power I ride in a race, my VO2 max and other ridiculousness. I told him a do RAGBRAI to escape from all the numbers and data. It was very odd. Laura seemed pretty cool but said she never rides with people so I think RAGBRAI is a bit out of her comfort zone. She travels a lot and has 3 international trips planned this year. She said her job has taught her that you never wait to do something you’re hoping to do. Do it now!  I think that’s something for us all to remember. There’s never going to be a perfect time, so do what you want now!  Life is short!

We rolled into Hawkeye and they had painted the road which was cool. I was needing some lunch but didn’t see much that sounded good. RAGBRAI is interesting because there is so much food and at any given moment something sounds amazing and then 8 miles down the road you wouldn’t dream of it!  I had really planned to have a grilled cheese. They are really well liked vendors on the route, but I have never had one. I was determined to break that streak today, but when I came up on them it just didn’t sound good. I opted for a slider burger and it was over cooked so not that great. So what did I do…drown my sorrows in pie!  Yep today is a double pie day!!! The Lutherans had raspberry pie and I hadn’t that all week. Unfortunately it was straight up raspberry pie filling. Boooooooo come on Lutherans I was counting on you!

From Hawkeye it was just 12 miles until West Union our home for the night. Unfortunately the Fayette county roads left something to be desired. They may be worse than the fossil road of Floyd county. It was not enjoyable to ride them at all. As we entered West Union we climbed more hills and longer grades than we had all day. It was a bit ridiculous. We are camping at the local high school tonight, and it’s a nicely spread out site. I don’t even have to worry about tripping over a tent as soon as I get out because there is so much space. 

Ray got to camp first and got my name on the shower list at 86….winning!  After I got my tent set up I put Gary and the siblings on the list. The siblings basically arrived in camp and showered within 15 minutes!  Tonight we actually have all the people we’ve connected with right near our tents. Christopher and Jason, the siblings, and the east coast lacrosse guys are all right here. RAGBRAI is all about the people you meet and this week has been no different. All people I would be happy to see again!  Much of this afternoon and tonight was spent chatting it up with new friends and recapping the week. It’s always bittersweet to think that tomorrow night we’ll all be headed in a million different directions. 

I headed into town for a somewhat early dinner. I’m pretty tired and want to get some good sleep and get organized for the morning. There is a mad dash on the final morning to get things broken down and get on the road. A lot of these  people have to catch the bus back to the Quad Cities so they ride fast through on the last day. Thankfully I can take my time and do my thing since my parents pick me up. It’s pretty nice that way. 

I didn’t get any church dinners this week but tonight I did go to the Fayette County Cattlemen’s stand and get a ribeye sandwich, 2 sides, cookie and drink. We can say that even though the roads suck here the Cattleman know how to cook a steak!  Beef it is what’s for dinner!!

It’s going to be cold again tonight. If you don’t hear from me tomorrow it’s because I froze in my tent and never made it out of the high school ball fields. My only hope is that the Cattleman come to the rescue again!  I may need to revisit adding the sleeping bag to the RAGBRAI packing list. 

Today’s ride was 64 miles and around 2600 feet of climb. I actually forgot to look at the data for the blog and I’m currently wrapped up like I’m in a cocoon trying to stay warm so I’m not getting up to look at my bike computer!!