Acai and Carbon disappointments

What my camp site had in views it lacked in silence last night. I was surrounded by snoring and my tent was right by a major sidewalk so that meant lots of traffic all night. But I’m happy to report that neither Chris or Emily were decapitated last night!

The morning started off a little rough for Ray. He was putting on “face sunscreen” only to realize it was actually his petroleum jelly….I have a lot of questions but decided not to ask a single one and instead just laughed. 

I rolled out with Chris and Emily this morning. Carlos, Ray and Vince were planning to roll later so we’ll see how that goes!  We’re getting a little better as today it only took us 26 minutes to go the first 5 miles. Today is the optional gravel route day so I think that helps clear up the roads a bit. We rode out along the lake the whole way and saw some amazing lake houses and lots of fun sports!  They had signs wishing us luck as we exited Storm Lake. The local people are what make this ride. They are all out cheering us and on!  I forgot to tell you about my favorite guy yesterday leaving town. He was easily 75+ years old out in his front yard in his jean bib overalls with his pasta pot and a wooden spoon yelling “more cowbell” as he banged the pot!

Getting into Early there was a lot of people. Hopefully this picture shows what the roads look like as we come into each town. As I got into town I realized I could get in the pancake line and wait for Chris and Emily at the same time!  Always good to be efficient!   While waiting I saw one of our friends from our very first RAGBRAI…Roger!  I didn’t get to really talk to him but we said hello. His wife was with him, but didn’t look like Larry was there. Not long after I got in line C&E came and hopped in line too. All you and eat pancakes and sausage is always a great way to start the day. 

We had been told that the acai bowl place we love was going to be with Mr. pork Chop all day. So we planned that would be our next stop unless we got to the next town first. Well Acai let us down and they weren’t with Mr. Pork Chop….complete devastation. But there was a bit redemption when the free Iowa corn tent was there. So I decided to get corn and then roll on to the next town. The give away 1500 ear of sweet corn each day on RAGBRAI. 

Once I got to Lake View I decided to get my pie for the day. I know I’ve complained about the Methodists before but they had a good system for pie today and all the money they raised goes to their backpack project. They provide backpacks and school supplies for all students pre-k through 8th grade in the school district. I’d say that’s a great reason to eat pie. I went with mixed Berry and it was good but it was just pie filling not actually homemade. As I was eating my pie a women came with her dog. Her dog Cricket has ridden 4 RAGBRAI. She rides in a trailer and loves it. Unfortunately I missed Chris doing a hay bale toss and then meeting the mayor…things you miss when you decide to get in the porta potty line!!

Outside of Lake View there was a roadside kid lemonade stand. And they were the best. They gave a huge 16 oz glass of lemonade full of ice. It hit the spot!  The two boys Bennett and Brock were doing a great job taking orders and thanking people. They had some cousins helping too. Maycie was in charge of the hose with filling bottles and hosing people down if she wanted to. I asked the boys what they were going to use the money for and they didn’t know. Their mom said they had been blown away by how much they had made. They said they expected to make maybe $20. I can attest that there was easily over $200 in their jar!  People can’t pass up cute kids and ice cold lemonade. I used the leftover ice for my bottle and it was an added treat for sure. 

It was starting to get hot and we were getting some more headwind so it was getting a little challenging. Thankfully there was a stretch where guys in Case T-shirts were handing out free water as we rode by. My triathlon training paid off in being able to grab the bottle and go. Then at the top of the next hill there 

was a women with a hose spraying people down. It was exactly what I needed to get me done with the next stretch. 

I stopped at the Craft Beer tent and decided to chill there for a while. I got a brat and enjoyed the shade. It was only noon and there was only 7 miles left so I had plenty of time. It was nice to just chill and take in the breeze in a cooler spot. 

I stopped for a picture with some angels in Mt. Carmel and then made the trek to Carroll which conveniently was all into a headwind. Most everyone was head down and just trying to finish. At one point one lady said…we’re all horses heading to the barn. Coming into Carroll the main route turned early but our camp site signs had us going straight. It would have been easy to miss if you weren’t looking for it. Thankfully I made it to camp with no issues. Unfortunately not everyone saw the sign and added about 5-6 miles on to their day. 

We have a huge camp and I was able to put my tent up in some shade…a huge luxury. There is nothing worse than riding all day and then having to put up your tent in the baking sun. 

Well maybe there is something worse…having you bike break on RAGBRAI and not being able to finish the ride. Unfortunately that is what happened to Ed today. He was having an issue with his brakes so he stopped at a mechanic and the guy cracked his carbon frame while working on it. Ed finished the ride, but when he went to another mechanic they told him it was unsafe to ride and he shouldn’t ride anymore. So that is a total bummer. He has found a ride to Ames tomorrow and then he got someone to take him to Bettendorf from there. Sounds like he’ll just hang out in the Quad Cities until the ride is over since he drove Carlos and Vince out here. 

Since our camp was far from the main town area we decided to have a Hy Vee dinner. Carlos, Vince and I bought rolls, lunch meat, pasta salad, chips and guac and had a camp picnic. It was actually quite nice to sit in the shade and chill. Later our charter made s’mores for everyone so we even got dessert!  Jimmy and Amber are camped right next to me again!  That must mean I’m a good camp neighbor. Or maybe t just means they liked the shade around my tent…you choose!!

Tomorrow is going to be a tough day. The route is 86 miles and it is century day so the goal is to do 100. BUT it also supposed to be very hot with highs in the upper 90s so it will be a slow roll for sure. Today was much better than yesterday. I did 56 miles and 1499 ft of climb so a big difference from yesterday. I leave you with a sunset view from my tent. 

If you’re not tired of reading yet you can read about the “morning routine” it takes to get this day going!

Morning Routine

I thought I’d go through the morning routine so you knew what it takes to get ready each day!  I usually wake up around 5. You can’t really sleep much past that because the sounds of zippers and tent poles is pretty prevalent. So after I get up I fold up my blanket and then head to stand in line for the porta potty. But don’t forget your flashlight…those are not great to do in the dark!! Once  get back to the tent I get my clothes out for the day, do a full legs, arms face application of SPF 50 sunscreen. Then it’s time for chamois cream…a must!!! Then I repack my sleeping clothes in their bag, get the phone charger packed away. Now it’s time for new contacts and getting the glasses secured so they don’t break in my bag. After that it’s time to brush your teeth…but you have to make sure that you have water in your bottle because brushing your teeth at a sink isn’t an option!  By then time you’re done with that you can roll up the mattress and get it strategically in the bag. It’s a game of Tetris repacking the bag every morning. Next you get all the bags out of the tent, making sure you have everything ready to take with you in your helmet and shoes. Once everything is out of the tent, you get the rain fly off and remember to put it back in tent!  We’ve seen rain flies lying on the ground with nobody in sight. Unstake the tent, get the poles out and then fold up the tent. Final step is to roll the tent stakes, poles in the tent as you roll  it up…then you can’t lose them!  Once I get the tent in the bad and Tetris complete we have to carry them to truck to load. Sometimes it is close….sometimes NOT. I’ve gotten really good at carrying two 30 lb bags at once! But wait…don’t forget to put your flip flops in the bag before you take it to the truck!!!! If you forget you hope a friend hasn’t taken their bags yet!  Not that I have any experience with that in past years!!  Next step…fill water bottles, get the helmet and shoes on and roll out. That whole process takes about 90 min but I can do it in a hour if I rush, but what’s the point in that?!? Repeat that process for 7 days. You get really efficient on days 4&5 and really not caring on days 6&7.