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!