S’More Sibling Fun

It was a cool night in the tent but thankfully no wind or rain. I had to go full sweatshirt and pants though to stay warm. We woke up to a beautiful sunrise this morning over camp. Unfortunately the cool night meant everything was soaked with dew. Packing up a wet tent is never fun. But what is fun is college jersey day!  Ray and I took our ceremonial jersey day photo before we headed out. I was hoping I’d be able to watch the siblings take down their massive tent, but we would have had to wait quite a bit so hopefully we’ll be able to see them again at our campsite tonight. 

The towns and stops were much more frequent today. The breakfast options in the first town were a bit limited so I opted for a blueberry muffin before we hit up the next town. Before the first town I saw 3 Central jerseys. I met Micah and her dad Mike who were both wearing Central jerseys. Micah is going to be a freshman at Central this fall and is studying vocal education. She’ll be living in Graham Hall which is where I lived my sophomore year. We rode together for quite a while. This was her first RAGBRAI but she said she was loving it. Shortly after the first town I saw another Central jersey. I’m up to 4 so that’s already more than last year. 

When I got the Schaller I opted for a tasty breakfast burrito from the youth football league. One of the boys really was trying to sell me a football T-shirt from 2016….but I took a pass. Especially since he didn’t know what position he played when I asked him. Sorry kid, you need to at least have your position down pat. Schaller is also the popcorn capital of Iowa…or something like that so they were giving out free popcorn. I think that’s a first on RAGBRAI, but it was good. 

As we went on the Nemaha they kept advertising a donkey show. Their advertising was on point, so much so that the line was super long and in a barn that I decided to skip the show. I’ll never know what the donkeys did. Maybe they performed a song or something. 

As soon as we rolled into Newell the Newell Fonda athletic boosters were doing a free will donation pie and ice cream. It was awesome!  So pie #2 for the week was cherry!  They had a watermelon theme here and even though I didn’t eat any watermelon I appreciated the effort to have some fun things to do around the theme. 

As I got my watermelon picture I noticed an older woman sitting by herself. I figured she was a local person just taking in the sights. I went over to talk to her and come to find out she use to do RAGBRAI but was just waiting to meet her son who was doing the ride. I asked her where she was from and she said she grew up in Iowa but now lives in Indiana. Fishers, Indiana to be exact! Her property backs right up to Connor Prairie, so maybe I need to go see Jill next time I go to Symphony on the Prairie. She was a teacher at Carmel HS and her husband worked at Eli Lilly for 40 years, and her son graduated from Ball State. Small world!  I tried to help her get a message to her son, but she wasn’t having luck. I hope she was able to find him eventually. 

While riding I talked to a guy whose wife went to Central. He was riding with his grand daughter. She was wearing an Iowa State jersey and he was repping the Hawkeyes! I bet those family Thanksgivings are interesting. Anyway he is from Iowa but moved to Phoenix several years ago for work. Then he tells me he retired at 74 and this may be his last RAGBRAI. Now I don’t know how old he was, but he didn’t look even close to 70, so he’s kicking really well!  He was enjoying the cooler temps of the day compared to Phoenix. 

The ride was overcast and “cool” most of the day. I guess it was in the low 80s most of the day but it never felt that way because of the cloud cover. 

I saw another Central jersey later in the day so we’re up to 5 which may be a record. I talked to a few others who went to Central but didn’t have a jersey. It was a great day to be Dutch and an even better day when I didn’t see ANY Simpson jerseys. Not a single one!  I think those people finally came to their senses that they shouldn’t advertise that they went to school there!  Lol. I saw jerseys from all the BIG10 schools…including the soon to be added UCL and USC. 

In Fonda I opted for a pickle sandwich and then headed to the Backpocket beer stop. I forgot I stopped earlier in the day…not for a beer but for the Brewer breakfast brat. It is soooo good!  We ended up staying at the beer stop for quite a while just relaxing and chatting with people. As we got up to leave it started sprinkling so that was probably a sign I needed to get going. 

There was a decent tailwind and some smooth pavement so I time trialed the next 6 miles at a pretty good clip. When we turned to head north for the last 10 miles the sky in the west looked pretty dark. It wasn’t raining that hard but it looked like it could. I really did not want to be setting up my tent in the rain. Which meant I had to make a decision that I now somewhat regret. There was church on the way into town selling pie. They had been advertising a lot and even though I had pie today, I could have gone for another piece. Since it was raining and somewhat ominous looking I passed the pie. If it had been dry I would have stopped for sure. Turns out it never really rained and I should have gotten pie. Oh well!  

When I was about 4 miles from the last town I here a woman behind me say, “hey Central I’m trying to keep up with you. I need some motivation so I’m challenging my self to stay with you”. Jen is from New Jersey and this is her first RAGBRAI. She came out with someone she knew but they aren’t riding together so she needed a little pick me up. We talked about her riding, NJ, and other things. She said her favorite part so far was all the people and how Iowa was so welcoming and nice. She kept right up and before she knew it she was making the turn for her camp. Congrats on your furthest ride ever today Jen. And for my friends, Stacey, from Jersey…she is from North Jersey in a town I thought she said was Goda….but I doubt that is it. Near Teaneck. Her Jersey accent was thick, so who knows what she said. 

Our campsite is kind of far from the main part of town so we just stayed at camp tonight. Now here is a fun fact. The town we are staying at tonight is a town of 1900 people…we are 18,000+ riders plus all the support drivers, etc. What these towns do to pull off an event like this is absolutely unreal. Our campsite is a conservation park that has a huge fire pit and lots of trees. It’s a really nice site even if it is far away. 

When I got into camp I saw the siblings getting their bags, so of course I had to get a spot next to them just to keep up with the entertainment they provided last night. Gary was already in camp and he wasn’t too far either. When Ray got to camp he pulled up a front row seat too!  We were all joking around about this. They are taking this all in good stride for sure. 

Well as they were setting up their tent, Ray snuck over and stole one of their tent poles. It was pretty funny to watch him go all stealth mode. Well as they continued to set up the tent they were ready for the pole for their rain fly. That’s when the panic and sibling arguments started in…”I left the pole right here”….”no I handed it to you I don’t have it”….etc etc. imagine sibling bickering at its best…with a little bit of panic that a key tent piece was missing. Ray let it go on for 5 minutes or so and then revealed the pole to them. It’s probably good he stepped in when he did because it was starting to get heated!  The sister, who I now know is named Kate didn’t seem all that amused but Steve and Phil thought it was great!  We were all laughing and cracking up. They were good sports about it…but Ray may want to watch his back this week.  I’m going to guess that they try to camp as far away from him as possible tomorrow!

Yesterday when I put my name on the shower list I was 94 and I thought that was pretty good. Well today I was 154…yikes. That’s a long time to wait for a shower. Guess you can tell I stopped a few more times today. Don’t worry…I did shower even if I waited a while for it. 

Since we all had quite a bit of time to wait for the showers we started making friends with the siblings. it was then that I found out Steve went to Ball State. Phil teaches and coaches volleyball. Kate also teaches in California. We sat around and talked to them for a long time tonight and it was a fun time. So fun that I didn’t even start writing this blog until 9:30 pm. Usually I write throughout the day. Oh well…these are the fun nights of RAGBRAI.  Honestly last night I think they were kind of weirded out by us watching them, but it was just the way we needed to face to not have the sun in our eyes. Tonight I think they may be less creeped out and maybe even think we’re cool. We’ll see tomorrow!!

As we were sitting there we saw that this group of guys sitting next to us was grilling on a Coleman camp stove. They had burgers, salad, green beans. We were all so confused on how they brought all this stuff to cook. Well when they tried to take the picnic table by the sibling tent we said we’d bargain for it and they could have it if we were invited to the cook out. No dice…we kept the picnic table. But we did ask the guy how they planned this. Turns out of of them was supposed to be riding this week, but he had a heart attack a few weeks ago on a ride so he decided to come out anyway and just drive support. So he got all the food and gear. This group is funny. There are 4 guys who all graduated in 1973 from Syracuse and they played lacrosse together. It’s their first RAGBRAI as well. I’m not sure they have fully bought into the RAGBRAI experience yet. BUT later they came over and said hey we do have extra burgers if you want any so I got a nice cheeseburger from the lacrosse guys!  

At camp tonight the charter bought stuff to do s’mores since we had a fire pit. They had peanut butter and Reese’s and all the traditional s’mores items. The charter staff took your order and then roasted the marshmallow for you. It was awesome. It was a fun night all around. 

The only potential downside to our camp is that we are right next to the hospital and the medical helicopter has already landed there twice. You want to talk about wind…when that goes over your tent it is quite breezy. Hopefully there aren’t any during the middle of the night because it is also loud!  It’s going to be a cold chilly night tonight, but my C26 tights are coming handy. Alright I must sleep. 

For the day 71.7 miles and 1900 feet of climb. Most of the climb was in the first 20 miles then it was fairly flat. Until tomorrow!!

Newbies Everywhere

Well that was the craziest wind we have ever had at night. It didn’t storm but I wasn’t sure I would make it without my tent collapsing or tearing. Every time I got close to falling asleep I would get hit with my tent collapsing in on me. I thought about moving more to the center but figured me holding down the tent was better. Thankfully the wind got better around 2 am and I slept hard until 5!  

I really hope the wind doesn’t become a standing theme for the week. I had to laugh at this semi as we were leaving today. Normally in Iowa we say it’s not the heat it’s the humidity, but this trailer may some up the week even better. 

This was the most crowded start to a RAGBRAI I have ever experienced. The train going through town right as we got started didn’t help but I’m fairly certain all 18,000 riders left at once. For the first 4-5 miles it was a real easy soft pedal at a speedy 7-10 mph. I thought when we got to the first town it might get a bit better but the town was small and it just got even more crowded. 

Today was a weird day in terms of food and route. The route only had 3 stops on it and they were about 20 miles a part. Typically they are more like 10 miles between towns. To complicate things we were going through a county that does not allow any roadside vendors. So no craft beer stops, no roadside breakfast vendors, etc. which made everyone stop at the first town because we all knew we wouldn’t get another opportunity for 20 miles. I got all you can eat pancakes and sausage!!  The breakfast burrito looked amazing but the line was forever long and there was no line for pancakes so they won out!

You always see some good stuff on the ride and today was no different. I saw and heard my first dog on the route. This little guy was barking up a storm. There was also a guy pulling a cross.  Don’t know how heavy it was but I would hate to have to pull that with a strong cross wind. 

The route was rolling hills most of the way, but nothing unmanageable. We got to the midway point at 9:30 so that was really early. Decided I couldn’t pass up the Iowa corn tent today, so I had my first corn of the week. I was searching for pie and didn’t find any so I decided to roll on out of town. As we left town there was a HUGE freedom rock that was pretty cool. And then I saw it…St Mark’s Lutheran church had PIE!  I opted for the rhubarb peach because that isn’t a combination you see often. It was good but it won’t replace strawberry rhubarb on my pie list. 

There was supposed to be 19 miles to the next town and we had the biggest climb of the day in that stretch. I kept seeing signs for “High Point” but I wasn’t sure what that was except I figured it was at the top of the hill. Well when we got there it was labeled as the highest point we would reach on the ride all week. There were several vendors set up at this farm that were doing everything by donation since that county ordinance wouldn’t let them sell. There was a nice view, shade, breeze and a good vibe. I wasn’t planning to eat anything but then decided why not start the week off right with Mr. Pork Chop. The FFA kids were doing a pedal pull competition so I needed to do the Eastern Iowa Pedal Pullers proud and compete. Well let’s just say I maybe should practice with the tractors a bit more because I was embarrassing. It was fun though. This High Point was a great little stop that we didn’t know was  needed. 

When we got to Battle Creek I realized I had made a rookie mistake. They had been advertising BLTs for the last 20 miles and that sounded really good. But the moment of Mr. Pork Chop weakness meant I really didn’t need more pork just a few miles later. 

We had some really nice tailwind the last part of the day so that made some fast easy riding. We are staying in Ida Grove tonight and there are some “castles” and medieval like architecture throughout the town. I’m not sure why but it is there. We are camping on the outfield of the HS baseball fields tonight so the ground is soft and not rocky. Always a bonus. It sounds like I lucked out on my tent as the talk this afternoon  is that several people suffered ripped or broken tents last night from the wind. Thankfully minus it being annoying my tent held up just fine!  It was pretty breezy when we set up camp but we lucked out with it not being too hot. 

After setting up our tents we were just hanging out and this newbie group of two brothers and a sister were setting up their huge tent. It was comical to watch and listen to them. Now I’ve never dealt with siblings, but it is exactly what you would have expected to watch 3 siblings “work together” to get this done!  They realized we are watching them and started making conversation. The originally grew up around the Cincinnati area but now live in Michigan, California, and Ohio. The sister has ridden her bike across the country and according to her brothers…”she could kick anyone’s ass here”. They have 2 other siblings but said they were not invited on this trip because it would have ended very poorly. They said the “36 hr rule” is a real thing…meaning that you can only spend 36 hours with family before it all goes bad. I can’t wait to see them tomorrow because today they seemed to still be on speaking terms despite all sharing a tent. Steve is the oldest brother at 50 and Phil is the youngest at 42. We didn’t get the sister’s name, but she is in the middle in terms of age. 

After we got showers Ray, Gary, and I headed into town for dinner and to see what was happening. When we were looking for food I spotted Ryan Van Duzer and his girlfriend Amelia Boone. Ryan is a You tuber and has vlogged about RAGBRAI before. Amelia is an obstacle course racer and ultra marathoner and a total badass. I talked to them for awhile and got my picture with both of them. Unfortunately Ray has the pic with Ryan but it did happen!!

I got an acai bowl for dinner and a pork jerky stick. As we waited for the shuttle a guy asked if I had done the Chattanooga Ironman race (I had my race bag with me)…Christopher was from Chatt and had volunteered for the race. He and his partner Jason were with QCBC and newbies too. It was fun talking to them and hearing about their first day experience. 

As we sat at camp we ran into Jim who was walking  around camp with an actual camera. We ended up taking to him about how much cameras and photography has changed from film to digital. Jim is from the Quad Cities and is on his 18th RAGBRAI. He was an interesting guy who ended up taking a picture of us at camp. Who knows where that pic will end up!!

We talked to Phil and Steve some more. They are cool guys and hopefully we will hang out more with them this week. I also ended up talking to Ron and Janine who are from Seattle. It is their first RAGBRAI too. So many newbies I have met today. Ron is originally from NJ and went to Keane University. Stacey would have been so proud. Janine grew up in the Quad Cities and went to Wash U in St. Louis. They were a fun couple to talk to. Janine rides an e-Bike so we talked about that and charging them so you can get through the route. 

The wind calmed down and tonight should be a much better night in the tent!!  The concert is rocking and I can hear it perfectly from my tent!!  I think it might get pretty cool tonight. 

For the day I rode, 55 miles and 2600 ft of climb. Despite what people were saying it wasn’t bad at all. Tomorrow is a much longer day but not the climb so it should be fun.  Here’s hoping for more tailwind!!

Money Well Spent - Wet & Windy

It’s RAGBRAI time!  I’m on the bus and even though I have my bus snacks I am anxiously looking forward to our stop so I can get out and stretch my legs. I’m ready to not be crammed in this seat!

Loading the bus stop was pretty uneventful. Ended up on bus three and we are stuffed to the brim!  Ray and Gary from Philly are back this year. They drove out together and are ready to take on the hills of Iowa again. Murray came to see me off and he got to meet some new people which he loves. Unfortunately there was lots of goose droppings all over so eventually he got relegated to being carried around. He’s going to have a great week at farm camp. He tries to keep up with the big dogs but sometimes he just can’t hang!! 

The weather this week looks like it is going to be pretty nice so I hope that’s true. Better than the excessive heat last year!!  

Finally…the stop!  I made it quickly into McD and got to the bathroom way before there was a line. Which was great…but then that meant all the lines were for food. I opted for some gas station yogurt parfait instead of the 30 min wait in the McD or subway lines. 

There appears to be a lot of newbies and first timers here this year. Which means that experience will be in my favor for getting campsites, showers, etc. We even outsmarted them loading the bus as everyone were lemmings following each other to load their stuff on the bus. Well we just walked around the bus and loaded from the other side. Easy peasy while the majority were waiting in line. Yesterday I met Todd from Purdue who works in performing arts/student life. Then I met another couple who lives in Indy. So maybe Indiana has taken over the QCBC charter!

After our stop we started hearing rumblings of strong storms, wind, rain, hail for later today in Sergeant Bluff. Here’s hoping we can at least get our tents set up before that happens. I upgraded my tent this year so I have some more room…I just hope it handles rain well. I’d be real upset if I got flooded out on day one. 

We made it to Sergeant Bluff our home for the night. We are camping at the local high school around the football field. Unfortunately that meant the dropped us off in the parking lot and we had to lug our bags at least a half mile. As we set our bags down there was lightning in the distance. The race was on to get the tent up before the rain. It was actually overcast with a slight breeze so it wasn’t unbearably hot. I managed to set up the new tent relatively easily. It’s much bigger than my old one and I think that’s going to prove to be beneficial as the week goes on. 

After I got my tent up I walked to find my bike. Right as I picked up my bike the rain drops started. I made it back to the tent before it cut loose. New tent….CLUTCH. I was able to get myself and my bike in the tent while it was raining. I got it all put back together while standing in my tent. It’s already proven to be a great investment and it’s only been up 30 minutes!

Fortunately the rain and yes lightning/thunder didn’t last very long. Unfortunately that meant the sun came out and it got hot!!  There was a very strong breeze….downside of new tent…it catches a lot more wind. I’ve had to re-stake my tent 3 times in 3 hours. Hopefully wind will die down tonight.

We decided to head up the expo area and check it out. After waiting in the shuttle line forever without a shuttle in sight we decided to walk. It wasn’t that far. I feel like there were less vendors than normal, but it was still packed. Did some obligatory pictures and then I needed food…real food. I got some very delicious nachos from a taco food truck. A sat down to eat them across from a lady who was eating taco salad from the same truck. They must have looked good because many people came up to ask what they were. One lady came up 3 different times to ask more questions. But my favorite was…which one is better the taco salad or the nachos?  Well….I hate to tell you lady but it’s really hard to answer that question when you’re only eating one of the items and I’m not about to ask a stranger to eat off her plate just to help you make a decision. She must have missed class the day they talked scientific method and basic research design. I was talking with a lady while eating who is returning to RAGBRAI after her knee replacement surgery. She said she kept looking at my shirt which said “practice not quitting” and would remind herself of that several times this week. I think it is something we all need to remember. Forward progress is progress just keep moving forward. 

We saw a guy riding a very tall unicycle that was a “unicorn”. Well then he started juggling a sword, a flame, and a selfie stick with his iPhone on it. He pedaled around and juggled. He didn’t last long but I he didn’t fall or drop anything. 

As my faithful readers know, I appreciate a good sprinkler or hose. Well Sergeant Bluff fire department didn’t disappoint with one of their fire hoses set up for us to walk through. It hit the spot on this feels like 97 degree humid day. 

We headed back to camp fairly early because I needed to get my tent more organized and find everything I need for tomorrow. I grabbed a couple waters when we got to camp and I saw Paul who I ended up camping by a lot last year. I’m told him he was my inspiration for me putting contact info in my wallet in case I lost it. Then a little kid asked if I wanted to have a water gun fight. Normally I’d be all about that, but my hands were full so I turned him down. Maybe tomorrow kid!

I have also discovered another downside of my new tent…there are at least 4 others exactly like it in our camp site. Here’s hoping I don’t lose my tent or go in the wrong one later in the week.   I’m a LONG way from the bathrooms tonight and I sure hope I don’t have to navigate through the tent mind field in the dark. It could be treacherous. 

Clouds have finally rolled in and it has gotten a bit cooler. There still may be storms tonight so we’ll see. Tomorrow will be a harder day. Lots of hills and lots of heat, so it will be a challenge even though it’s a fairly short day. Less than 60 miles. We don’t do these things because it is easy, so bring on the challenge. 

I did a RAGBRAI first tonight and took a quick shower once I got my tent organized. I’ve never gotten a shower on day 0 before and it felt nice to rinse off for a brief bit. Of course as I walked back to the tent it started raining. So I’m sitting in my tent with it pouring outside and the wind is whipping my tent. But I’m dry…it’s just steamy in here. Hopefully this passes soon. I don’t know what I need to do to get my tent stakes to stay better but it’s safe to say they are no longer holding my tent down. My stuff and I am holding it down. My little tent never had this issue. 

Murray seems to be having fun at farm camp. It was really hot today so he had to test out the air conditioning vent.

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!  

Wasted Slip and Slides

It was a perfect night of sleeping. Not to hot and not to cold!  We decided to sleep in a bit today and it looked like many others did too. 

Last night we met Paul in camp. I’d say he is about 70 years old. Maybe older. Well yesterday he lost his wallet. I’m not sure he even knew he lost his wallet at the time but he found out when his daughter called him saying “dad you lost your wallet”. Someone had found his wallet and luckily he had some phone numbers in it. The person who found the wallet gave it to a state trooper. The state trooper called his daughter and then she got ahold of Paul. When Paul got to the next town his wallet was delivered to him by a state trooper. They found him…he didn’t even have to go get it. Now this may not seem like a big deal but when there are 10000 people on this ride delivering a lost wallet to the person the same day is quite the feat!  The lesson I learned here from Paul is to make sure there are some phone numbers in my wallet so someone can call if I lose it!!

Last night sleeping at perfect. Had to break out the long pants and long sleeve shirt. What a difference a night makes!  The high today was supposed to be 75 degrees. That’s 6 degrees less than the overnight low two nights ago!! 

Today was college jersey day so we had a competition to see who could find the most of their school. I knew Emily would have an advantage but I thought maybe Central College could give Purdue a run for their money. Who would win?  Unfortunately Ray wasn’t here for our annual jersey picture. I didn’t see any Villanova jerseys without Ray or Joe in camp. 

We went back by the penitentiary on our way out of town today and got some good photos. Nicest looking prison I have ever seen!  It really is a castle!! After the prison we saw the American Gothic statue. We recreated the pose with me acting as the suitcase. I think nailed it!  What do you think?!? 

As we left Anamosa we had some really good climbs and some challenging hills. It seemed like it took forever to get to Hale!  I supported the Midland post prom fun with a muffin and banana. As I was talking  to the ladies working the stand I found out they were cousins to my 4H friends Marca and Carla Wosoba!  Never know who are going to see on RAGBRAI!  Coming out of Hale there is a very steep hill!  Cobalt Hill was no joke!  I ran out of gears very early, but just kept pedaling on. 

The meeting town was Oxford Junction and this is when the great Kolache hunt began. Coming into town they had signs for Kolaches and we couldn’t find any in town. What the heck?  Yesterday we were let down by a pickle theme with no pickles and today false Kolache advertising. This is completely unacceptable!  We walked back and forth in town twice and never did we see the tasty Czech treat. 

But because of this great hunt we got to see this 15 year olds doing a chalk mural. It was pretty cool. Here is a pic of her while doing it and the finished product!

Riding today was a bit tough. While it was cool and overcast there was also a bit of a headwind…all day long. It just made it hard riding because you had to work for every mile and that is something we took for granted on some of those warmer days!  Oh well I would take that over the heat of earlier in the week any day. My legs definitely appreciated the reprieve of being blasted by the sun all day after yesterday. 

As I was riding I found the Iowa Cops team and I found Matt who is also on my C26 triathlon team. We rode together for awhile and then stopped at Mr. Pork chop to get a picture together. We had to let Coach Robbie know that we were doing all the riding!!

One downside of the cooler temps was that there was less enthusiasm for getting wet. Some people had sprinklers set up but nobody really went through them. But the biggest tragedy of all was that there were two great slip and slides set up along the route and nobody was using them. We haven’t had a good slip and slide all week and today their were two wasted ones. It was a sad day. We’re also camped by a pool today and of course this is not good in the pool after a long day of riding weather. 

We picked up Gary in our crew about 27 miles from the end and he hung with us most of the afternoon. We had some good beet stops and I got a burger. People really underestimate the Brewer brat!!  

Coming into DeWitt was fun because it has changed a lot!  So many new houses!  The people living along the route were all super welcoming and fun. It’s always nice when you feel like the town really embraces the experience. 

I got my tent set up and then headed out of town to see some family. Elaina was nice and let me use her shower!!!  And she made cookies and brownies to share I’m with people at camp!  I’d call that a good stop. It has rained off and on since we got camp set up. Hopefully it doesn’t rain too much tonight!!  No pie today but I did get a Thelma’s cookie!! 

Today’s ride totaled. 64.57 miles and 2011 feet of climb. With the exception of the headwind it was good day. Emily won the college jersey competition today. Purdue totally destroyed Central and Gonzaga. Tomorrow is a short one, but it will be fun to roll through some towns close to home

Better Together

This may be a short blog tonight because I am TIRED!  I didn’t sleep well last night because it was so hot. It is the first time in my ragbrai history that I used my tent fan all night. It rained a little with a few sprinkles and a few flashes of lightning. When we woke up this morning we found out that the low overnight temp was 81 degrees. No wonder we didn’t sleep well. 

I have to start off by saying Happy Birthday to Chris!  He celebrated by eating Mr. Pork Chop and having a Tailwind!  

He also had his first Beekman’s ice cream. I’d say it was a good day for him!  

We started out pretty early again because today was century loop day. I had planned to do it but would decide for sure when I had to make the turn. 

Unfortunately the first few towns we went through weren’t really towns so breakfast didn’t happen until mile 17. I was hungry and had sweated out a ton already. Much of our ride was on a 4 lane highway and they let us have one whole side. It was so nice and we had a little tailwind. When we got to Jessup I couldn’t pass up the giant homemade cinnamon roll!  It was as big as my head!  I knew I’d probably have a major sugar crash, but it was worth it!  For perspective that is a large take out container!! I also knew I needed some protein so I had a steak and egg bowl. It was ok, but not my favorite. 

After Jessup I left Chris and Emily because I knew if I did the century it would be a very long day. When I got to Rowley I had a piece of peach pie and a mango smoothie.I just needed something cold and refreshing. Those over cast skies we had yesterday had disappeared. Today was going to be a full on sun day!  

As I was going into Walker I was thinking “man I could use a pickle” and then as I rounded the corner I saw that pickles were the theme!  This was going to be great!  But before I got to town there three girls were shooting people with high powered super soakers. Each one of them and a direct hit on me and I was soaked. I went back and got a picture with them because they had the best aim and best shot all week!  

Here comes the disappointing news of the day!  Walker had no PICKLES even though they had a pickle theme?!? How is that even possible. I feel like if your theme is centered around pickles you need to have pickles. And pickle juice and all the things pickles!  They did have some fried pickles but who wants that when you really want a cold pickle?

Center point was the meeting town and their theme was Go Pig or Go Home!  Everything was pig theme. I even got a fun little squeaky pig toy. They had a slip and slide with a pool but I was already soaked from the Walker girls. I got my pickle here, but it wasn’t that great. Thankfully even if it wasn’t that crisp, they still work the same. 

I really wanted Thelma’s today but the timing just wasn’t right. It was getting close to when I needed to decide about doing the century loop. The loop this year added on 27 miles and over 1000 ft of gain. You turned for the loop when you were 3 miles from the end, so it would have been real easy to bail. I saw my girl Shari right before the turn off and her exact words were “oh hell no” when I asked her about doing the loop!!

Thankfully I had met up with Mark, Dan, Coz, and Noah from our charter and they had connected with Emma and Paul. We all decided to do the loop and stick together. Mark, Dan, Emma, and Noah had ever done a century, so it was cool to ride with them. When we made to turn to start the loop it started down a screamer of a hill!! It was a ton of fun but you had to make a right turn at the end, so you had to brake a bit. My top speed was 41 mph!  But we all know what happens after a big downhill…a HUGE uphill. I think they said it was a 9% grade for over a mile. It was very challenging, but thankfully it was in the shade. That’s probably the only silver lining of that climb. We all stuck together and made it up the hill. 

When we got to Waubeek we got out patch!! That’s the main reason you do the loop!  The woman giving us the patch has worked or ridden 45 RAGBRAI…she only missed the first 3. She told us stories of the worst days and memorable moments. It was cool to hear her love for the event. Where we got the patch was near the river with this cool stone building!  The century loop was very scenic. I didn’t have too many pictures, but it was gorgeous. 

I’m thankful to have this group to ride with. They all brought their own strengths and we worked together well. Definitely proud of the first timers because it wasn’t easy. I felt like the heat wasn’t as bad as past days, but the sun was strong. That makes a huge different even if it isn’t that hot. We got a picture of everyone except Emma and Paul when we got back to camp. I can’t share it right now as I can’t get it loaded, but trust me. 

As we made our way into Anamosa we went past the old prison. It looked like a castle!  Unfortunately our camps site was at the stop of some steep hills, but when we got there it was totally worth it. It was a nice Arboretum with several opportunities for shade!  Emily and Chris had gotten my bags and started putting up my tent!  What a score!  Also as we were coming into town the thought of leaving camp to get food was daunting. I really just wanted to order a pizza to be delivered to camp. That became even more daunting once I saw where we were camping.  GUESS WHAT?!?  When we got to camp it was Pizza  night. The charter had about 30 pizzas there and my prayers were answered!  I didn’t need to leave camp!!  

It was a pretty low key night. Tonight is supposed to get “cold” so I’m breaking out the long sleeves for the first time this week. 

For the day I rode 111.5 miles and 3635 feet of gain. It was a tough day but honestly I felt very strong all day. I just wanted to be out of the sun!  Having the group to ride with made a huge difference. A good reminder that you’re almost always better together!  I hadn’t ridden with any of these guys for more than a few miles this week, but we had a really great group and it made 111 miles very enjoyable.  Invite others to join you on your next adventure and don’t be afraid to ask to join. Life is too short to go it alone!! I’m going to sleep well tonight!