Miles: 52
Feet of Climb: Who Cares? We can do it!
High Temperature: 82
Sky Conditions: Sunny and beautiful, with TAILWIND!!
This was a biking day that could go down in the annals of RAGBRAI history! Wags was on a mission, as was Donna. In fact, almost the entire group of 15,000 riders seemed to be on a mission! Everyone seemed to be pushing harder and faster than on any of the six prior days. I'm sure it helped that it was the last day, the miles were short, and the weather was perfect for biking.
I believe we were all done with the ride, and dipping our front tires in the Mississippi River by 11:00. After arriving and regrouping, Donna was able to reach our additional rider, Tim. She met Tim earlier on the ride and we agreed to give him a ride back to Missouri Valley.
All-in-all the week was good. One rainy day out of seven is great. The days of climb got easier as the week went on. Having the last day be such a great riding day works out well, as the last memory of RAGBRAI XXXVI will always be a good one, and leave us all looking forward to our next chance to ride RAGBRAI again.
Our group was diverse, our personalities vastly different, but our goal was the same, and I think everyone on the ride this year would do it again. I know I would do it in a heart beat, and in fact I will do it again. Unfortunately, I won't be able to ride again until RAGBRAI XXXVIII in 2010 as every 3 years I am involved with the National Lutheran Youth Gathering, which happens the same time as RAGBRAI.
Until then, I'm sure you'll be able to catch me casually biking the Turner County roads near Centerville, taking in the sights, sounds and smells that can only be truly enjoyed from the saddle of a noiseless human powered vehicle.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Day 6: North Liberty to Tipton
Miles: 64
Feet of Climb: [look for edit later]
High Temperature: 82
Sky Conditions: Cloudy and windy all day (headwind again!)
I could not ride this morning. I have no idea what my problem was, but I just could not find my 'wheels'. This is the closest that I've come to sagging in a long, long time. After a horribly slow morning, the bratwurst with sauerkraut at Lisbon managed to pick me up, then a long rest at Mt. Vernon (great town!!) helped to renew my spirit. The afternoon was much better. In fact, I managed to raise my average speed for the day to almost what it had been the other days.
Enough about me though! The group seemed to have a pretty good day. Chad rode in the morning, and Trish and Marilyn drove in the afternoon. We passed through 3 Amana Colonies, where some of our group took in the culture, while others of us kept on cycling.
The weather was dreary, but not too chilly, and not rainy. We did have another cornering headwind most of the day. Upon arrival at Tipton, we settled in to our host house. Our accommodations for the evening were a vacant rental property which we shared with a couple other groups. Lucky for them, and not for us, the solitary window a/c unit was on the first floor, so our digs were very hot and very sticky.
The group split up for dinner. Marilyn and Chad went to 'vendor row' and picked up vittles from vendors they hadn't hit yet, and returned to some of the favorites, since this would be our last night with vendors. The rest of us went to our favorite childhood restaurant, Happy Joe's, and had a wonderful buffet of pizza. Wags mentioned that even the smell as he entered the doorway brought back memories of us 'hanging out' at our local Happy Joe's, many years ago.
After our bellies were full, we again parted ways. Wags and Scott had very good massages, while Trisha accompanied me to a great little coffee house where I proceeded to actually work for a couple hours. In this age of the Internet, it seems one can rarely dodge work for too long, or blogging for that matter!
Wags, Scott and myself then reconnected and went to the beer garden just sure that one of us would win the Miller Lite Party Bus that we registered for earlier in the week. After waiting with great anticipation and having a couple beers the time was at hand to find out which one of us would be driving this great RAGBRAI bus home! Of course, none of us won the thing, some jerk from California did. We all hoped that it would cost him more to drive it home than it was worth!
We returned to our host house empty handed, and dreading a long hot and humid night of barely sleeping, but knowing that the last day's ride would be short and we would on our way home after a great accomplishment!
Kyle.
Feet of Climb: [look for edit later]
High Temperature: 82
Sky Conditions: Cloudy and windy all day (headwind again!)
I could not ride this morning. I have no idea what my problem was, but I just could not find my 'wheels'. This is the closest that I've come to sagging in a long, long time. After a horribly slow morning, the bratwurst with sauerkraut at Lisbon managed to pick me up, then a long rest at Mt. Vernon (great town!!) helped to renew my spirit. The afternoon was much better. In fact, I managed to raise my average speed for the day to almost what it had been the other days.
Enough about me though! The group seemed to have a pretty good day. Chad rode in the morning, and Trish and Marilyn drove in the afternoon. We passed through 3 Amana Colonies, where some of our group took in the culture, while others of us kept on cycling.
The weather was dreary, but not too chilly, and not rainy. We did have another cornering headwind most of the day. Upon arrival at Tipton, we settled in to our host house. Our accommodations for the evening were a vacant rental property which we shared with a couple other groups. Lucky for them, and not for us, the solitary window a/c unit was on the first floor, so our digs were very hot and very sticky.
The group split up for dinner. Marilyn and Chad went to 'vendor row' and picked up vittles from vendors they hadn't hit yet, and returned to some of the favorites, since this would be our last night with vendors. The rest of us went to our favorite childhood restaurant, Happy Joe's, and had a wonderful buffet of pizza. Wags mentioned that even the smell as he entered the doorway brought back memories of us 'hanging out' at our local Happy Joe's, many years ago.
After our bellies were full, we again parted ways. Wags and Scott had very good massages, while Trisha accompanied me to a great little coffee house where I proceeded to actually work for a couple hours. In this age of the Internet, it seems one can rarely dodge work for too long, or blogging for that matter!
Wags, Scott and myself then reconnected and went to the beer garden just sure that one of us would win the Miller Lite Party Bus that we registered for earlier in the week. After waiting with great anticipation and having a couple beers the time was at hand to find out which one of us would be driving this great RAGBRAI bus home! Of course, none of us won the thing, some jerk from California did. We all hoped that it would cost him more to drive it home than it was worth!
We returned to our host house empty handed, and dreading a long hot and humid night of barely sleeping, but knowing that the last day's ride would be short and we would on our way home after a great accomplishment!
Kyle.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Day 5: Tama/Toledo to North Liberty
Miles: 76
Feet of Climb: 3,123
High Temperature: 68 Degrees
Sky Conditions: Raining in the morning, cloudy and windy all day (headwind again!)
Rainy days are never welcomed when you're on a multi-day bike tour, but I have learned something about these damp, dreary days - believe it or not, they are pretty good biking days. Aside from the winds today, the ride was good.
We started off with a great breakfast provided by our host family, which was a great surprise! After eating, we trailered the bikes in to Tama, and started riding at the main campground. Unfortunately, we wouldn't get under way until 7:00AM, but that didn't affect us too much. The rain started almost immediately, and lasted until about 11:00. Because of the rain the temperature was cool, almost chilly, especially with the stronger than usual easterly headwind, again.
Scott Colwill had another mishap with a tire. Coasting down a nice hill, he had a blow out, and had to walk his bike 2 miles into Vining, and then wait in line for bike repair for almost 2 hours! Of course this series of events set him back for the entire day.
The day's route took us through the Amana Colonies, which are great to ride through. Some of our group went through a couple art galleries and gift shops in West Amana. The first real evidence of the horrible Iowa flooding was also noticeable on the route today.
Once our group reached the destination of North Liberty, we threw the bikes in the trailer and then headed to our hotel in Coralville, about 5 miles down the road. After a nice soak in the hot tub, we found a good Chinese restaurant and had a wonderful meal.
As I write this, we're hearing that we'll have a mostly cloudy day with South winds, and possible rain in the afternoon. Hopefully the weathermen around here get the forecast wrong as often as that goofy Trobek does back in Sioux Falls.
As a post script to yesterday's ride, there was a stretch of the route early in the morning where a surprising number of people were pulled over fixing flat tires. We found out later in the day that someone had dumped thumb tacks all over the highway the night before. The newspaper reported that well over 100 people had flat tires, but luckily no one was injured as a result of any of the blow outs. The county rushed a street sweeper to the affected stretch of highway to clean up the mess as soon as the prank was discovered. High school kids must have way too much time on their hands in Iowa.
Kyle.
Feet of Climb: 3,123
High Temperature: 68 Degrees
Sky Conditions: Raining in the morning, cloudy and windy all day (headwind again!)
Rainy days are never welcomed when you're on a multi-day bike tour, but I have learned something about these damp, dreary days - believe it or not, they are pretty good biking days. Aside from the winds today, the ride was good.
We started off with a great breakfast provided by our host family, which was a great surprise! After eating, we trailered the bikes in to Tama, and started riding at the main campground. Unfortunately, we wouldn't get under way until 7:00AM, but that didn't affect us too much. The rain started almost immediately, and lasted until about 11:00. Because of the rain the temperature was cool, almost chilly, especially with the stronger than usual easterly headwind, again.
Scott Colwill had another mishap with a tire. Coasting down a nice hill, he had a blow out, and had to walk his bike 2 miles into Vining, and then wait in line for bike repair for almost 2 hours! Of course this series of events set him back for the entire day.
The day's route took us through the Amana Colonies, which are great to ride through. Some of our group went through a couple art galleries and gift shops in West Amana. The first real evidence of the horrible Iowa flooding was also noticeable on the route today.
Once our group reached the destination of North Liberty, we threw the bikes in the trailer and then headed to our hotel in Coralville, about 5 miles down the road. After a nice soak in the hot tub, we found a good Chinese restaurant and had a wonderful meal.
As I write this, we're hearing that we'll have a mostly cloudy day with South winds, and possible rain in the afternoon. Hopefully the weathermen around here get the forecast wrong as often as that goofy Trobek does back in Sioux Falls.
As a post script to yesterday's ride, there was a stretch of the route early in the morning where a surprising number of people were pulled over fixing flat tires. We found out later in the day that someone had dumped thumb tacks all over the highway the night before. The newspaper reported that well over 100 people had flat tires, but luckily no one was injured as a result of any of the blow outs. The county rushed a street sweeper to the affected stretch of highway to clean up the mess as soon as the prank was discovered. High school kids must have way too much time on their hands in Iowa.
Kyle.
Day 4: Ames to Tama/Toledo
Miles: 78
Feet of Climb: 2,869
High Temperature: 80 Degrees
Sky Conditions: Sunny most of the day, headwind of 10 - 15 :-(
Well, it never seems to fail. This part of the country very rarely has wind out of the east during this time of the year, but it happened today. I can't help but feel that I am jinxing the weather!! Tour de Kota was awful for headwinds this year, and now RAGBRAI is getting spoiled!
The ride today (other than the wind) was pretty good. It was a day that took an awful long time for everyone to finish. This was our first day with a host family, and I think everyone was worried about finding the house, so we all waited for each other, which caused the quicker riders of the day to do a lot of waiting.
I think for the most part, we all rode separately, which was nice for a change. Again, the pass through towns were great, the food was plentiful, as were the hills. When we finally made it to our host house, we were delighted to find that our hosts were real people! Marian and Frank Duhacheck (sp?) were wonderful hosts! There was plenty of room for all of us to sleep (including the camper in the backyard), and Marian went way out of her way to make sure we were fed with cookies, coffee, and just about anything else we wanted.
We unhitched the trailer and took the van to town, where we all found some good food to eat, and some even witnessed a good old fashioned bar fight! Once back to the Duhacheck's, we were quick to bed down for the night, hoping that tomorrow's leg to North Liberty would be less windy, but most of all, that the forecast for rain would not come true!
Kyle.
Feet of Climb: 2,869
High Temperature: 80 Degrees
Sky Conditions: Sunny most of the day, headwind of 10 - 15 :-(
Well, it never seems to fail. This part of the country very rarely has wind out of the east during this time of the year, but it happened today. I can't help but feel that I am jinxing the weather!! Tour de Kota was awful for headwinds this year, and now RAGBRAI is getting spoiled!
The ride today (other than the wind) was pretty good. It was a day that took an awful long time for everyone to finish. This was our first day with a host family, and I think everyone was worried about finding the house, so we all waited for each other, which caused the quicker riders of the day to do a lot of waiting.
I think for the most part, we all rode separately, which was nice for a change. Again, the pass through towns were great, the food was plentiful, as were the hills. When we finally made it to our host house, we were delighted to find that our hosts were real people! Marian and Frank Duhacheck (sp?) were wonderful hosts! There was plenty of room for all of us to sleep (including the camper in the backyard), and Marian went way out of her way to make sure we were fed with cookies, coffee, and just about anything else we wanted.
We unhitched the trailer and took the van to town, where we all found some good food to eat, and some even witnessed a good old fashioned bar fight! Once back to the Duhacheck's, we were quick to bed down for the night, hoping that tomorrow's leg to North Liberty would be less windy, but most of all, that the forecast for rain would not come true!
Kyle.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
accomplishments
It's hard to say what is a real accomplishment on this trip... is it surviving sleeping in a tent with no air mattress? Is it working with 7 other people to get to our destination, set up "camp", and figure out what we're doing? Or is it simply moving outside our regular life routine and doing something a little counter-cultural? I'm not sure. But I do know that zipping down a fairly steep hill in the Des Moines River Valley and then climbing back up the next mile counts as accomplishment for me this year.
Coming on a trip like this is considered crazy by most. After all, who would find solace and respite in working up a sweat, climbing up and descending hills, and trusting in the good graces of communities when we are most tired - and yet here we are. I think the real accomplishment rests in the heart of these Iowa communities. They have all tried to put their best foot forward when issuing hospitality - and most have succeeded. There are plenty of food vendors, lots of churches with home made pie, and some kind of entertainment for potentially crabby RAGBRAI riders. And then there are the sheer logistics of hosting people who all need showers, mass transportation, maps, meals, and bathrooms. What a chore! But each of these "through towns" and each overnight community bids for the chance to have RAGBRAI come through their town - to display their community pride, raise a little money, but mostly to welcome strangers into their town.
I guess the real accomplishment is that people still offer and accept pie as a true matter of hospitality and welcome...
Coming on a trip like this is considered crazy by most. After all, who would find solace and respite in working up a sweat, climbing up and descending hills, and trusting in the good graces of communities when we are most tired - and yet here we are. I think the real accomplishment rests in the heart of these Iowa communities. They have all tried to put their best foot forward when issuing hospitality - and most have succeeded. There are plenty of food vendors, lots of churches with home made pie, and some kind of entertainment for potentially crabby RAGBRAI riders. And then there are the sheer logistics of hosting people who all need showers, mass transportation, maps, meals, and bathrooms. What a chore! But each of these "through towns" and each overnight community bids for the chance to have RAGBRAI come through their town - to display their community pride, raise a little money, but mostly to welcome strangers into their town.
I guess the real accomplishment is that people still offer and accept pie as a true matter of hospitality and welcome...
Day 3: Jefferson to Ames
Miles: 57
Feet of Climb: 1,377
High Temperature: 85 Degrees
Sky Conditions: Sunny all day!
Ahh... this is what biking is all about. Once we had camp torn down (yuck!!), we were ready to roll out of Jefferson. This morning's ride was one of those moments; the sun was bright, the air was just a touch chilly and the crops were seemingly giving off a mist giving the appearance of a light, wispy fog.
This was a great day of biking. Knowing the mileage was short and the climb was small, we took our time. We stopped more frequently, and for longer periods of time, than we normally would have. We enjoyed a wonderful pork chop breakfast provided by Mr. Pork Chop, and were surprised to actually find Mr. Pork Chop giving his famous "PORK CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!" call, since he retired last year! Another great stop was at Peanut Butter Jam. Some of the alternative additions to a standard peanut butter and jelly sandwich enjoyed by our group were: marshmallow fluff, banana slices, chocolate chips and pretzels! It sounds weird, but it was a wonderful carb-o-licious treat when we needed it most.
We were in Ames by 1:30 and after some hunting, we finally found our hotel. We've enjoyed a fairly lackadaisical afternoon. Some enjoyed the pool while others napped. We all enjoyed a great Mexican dinner at a restaurant across the street. We're just now winding down and it won't be long now until we're renewing our muscles through much needed sleep in preparation for tomorrow's leg from Ames to Tama.
Kyle.
Feet of Climb: 1,377
High Temperature: 85 Degrees
Sky Conditions: Sunny all day!
Ahh... this is what biking is all about. Once we had camp torn down (yuck!!), we were ready to roll out of Jefferson. This morning's ride was one of those moments; the sun was bright, the air was just a touch chilly and the crops were seemingly giving off a mist giving the appearance of a light, wispy fog.
This was a great day of biking. Knowing the mileage was short and the climb was small, we took our time. We stopped more frequently, and for longer periods of time, than we normally would have. We enjoyed a wonderful pork chop breakfast provided by Mr. Pork Chop, and were surprised to actually find Mr. Pork Chop giving his famous "PORK CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!" call, since he retired last year! Another great stop was at Peanut Butter Jam. Some of the alternative additions to a standard peanut butter and jelly sandwich enjoyed by our group were: marshmallow fluff, banana slices, chocolate chips and pretzels! It sounds weird, but it was a wonderful carb-o-licious treat when we needed it most.
We were in Ames by 1:30 and after some hunting, we finally found our hotel. We've enjoyed a fairly lackadaisical afternoon. Some enjoyed the pool while others napped. We all enjoyed a great Mexican dinner at a restaurant across the street. We're just now winding down and it won't be long now until we're renewing our muscles through much needed sleep in preparation for tomorrow's leg from Ames to Tama.
Kyle.
Day 2: Harlan to Jefferson
Miles: 83 (longest day this year)
Feet of Climb: 5,239 (most this year)
High Temperature: 84 Degrees
Sky Conditions: Cloudy early and late with sun in between
We knew day 2 was going to be tough. The route profile was warning us that this day had the most climb on this year's route. It was right. The profile also indicated that this was the longest day on this year's route. Check. What could make this day any worse? Knowing that when you get to the overnight town you have to stay in a tent. That's right, this day was also the only day that we had to camp. Luckily the temperature and weather cooperated, for the most part anyway.
The food along the route is one of my favorite things. When you spend all day biking, you feel like you can pretty much eat anything you want and not worry too much about how bad it is for you. The food vendors along the way help a great deal in accomplishing the task. There is Mr. Pork Chop, Tender Tom's Turkey, Peanut Butter Jam, Tropical Sno, The Smoothie Guys, The Farm Boys, Pastafari, Mrs. Raphael's and on, and on, and on.
Upon arrival at Jefferson the authorities were warning everyone about some impending weather. A storm did roll through, but we were lucky to be on the very edge. They were preparing us for 3/4 inch hail and 60+ mph winds, but we only got a brief downpour and then everything was all clear.
Some of us found a great meal at the 1st United Methodist Church. $7.00 bought a plate absolutely piled high with mashed potatoes, green beans, and the best chicken and noodle dinner, with home-made noodles, that I've ever had! All that was topped off with a great slice of rhubarb pie. Did I mention that RAGBRAI food is great?
After that big meal, and the long day of biking, I was pretty tuckered out. I went down early so I could have plenty of time to dream about the next day's route, which is one of the flattest and shortest days.....
Kyle.
Feet of Climb: 5,239 (most this year)
High Temperature: 84 Degrees
Sky Conditions: Cloudy early and late with sun in between
We knew day 2 was going to be tough. The route profile was warning us that this day had the most climb on this year's route. It was right. The profile also indicated that this was the longest day on this year's route. Check. What could make this day any worse? Knowing that when you get to the overnight town you have to stay in a tent. That's right, this day was also the only day that we had to camp. Luckily the temperature and weather cooperated, for the most part anyway.
The food along the route is one of my favorite things. When you spend all day biking, you feel like you can pretty much eat anything you want and not worry too much about how bad it is for you. The food vendors along the way help a great deal in accomplishing the task. There is Mr. Pork Chop, Tender Tom's Turkey, Peanut Butter Jam, Tropical Sno, The Smoothie Guys, The Farm Boys, Pastafari, Mrs. Raphael's and on, and on, and on.
Upon arrival at Jefferson the authorities were warning everyone about some impending weather. A storm did roll through, but we were lucky to be on the very edge. They were preparing us for 3/4 inch hail and 60+ mph winds, but we only got a brief downpour and then everything was all clear.
Some of us found a great meal at the 1st United Methodist Church. $7.00 bought a plate absolutely piled high with mashed potatoes, green beans, and the best chicken and noodle dinner, with home-made noodles, that I've ever had! All that was topped off with a great slice of rhubarb pie. Did I mention that RAGBRAI food is great?
After that big meal, and the long day of biking, I was pretty tuckered out. I went down early so I could have plenty of time to dream about the next day's route, which is one of the flattest and shortest days.....
Kyle.
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