RAGBRAI wrap up... the good, the bad and the ugly ;)

IOWA and its people

A little information about the great state of Iowa... 

The population is a little over 3 million. The capitol is Des Moines. It covers 56,273 square miles and is referred to as the Hawkeye state. Their motto is, "Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain." and their state tree is the oak. They became a state in 1846 and have hosted RAGBRAI since 1973. The state is predominantly Republican with the exception being German Catholic communities. I noticed a lot of Catholic and Lutheran churches.

Original occupants as far back as 13,000 years ago, were Native American tribes, after whom the state is named.  The first settler appears to have been Julien Dubuque, a French-Canadian man who arrived at the lead mines near modern-day Dubuque in 1787. More European settlers began arriving in the 1830s. Railroads appeared in the 1850s, and steamships transported goods from Iowa along the Mississippi. Iowa supported the Union in the Civil War. 75,000 served, and 8,000 died. In 1920, Iowa women gained the right to vote. Over the years, Iowa became home to people from Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and later eastern Europeans looking to work in coal mines. Mexicans came in the 1900s to work in food processing. Corn, soy beans and pork are major industries. While agriculture continues to be the state's dominant industry, Iowans also produce a wide variety of products including refrigerators, washing machines, fountain pens, farm implements, and food products that are shipped around the world.

That being said, the Iowans I met during my week in the corn were friendly, welcoming and proud of their farms, tractors, homes and towns, as well as their ethnic heritages. My 4 hosts invited me into their homes and lives as a total stranger, feeding and housing me, making yard signs to welcome me, and in one case, leaving the door unlocked and a note telling me which bedroom was mine for the night! They did their communities proud, and the lengths the towns people went to to celebrate RAGBRAI was nothing short of amazing. They created town logos and t-shirts, spirit dances and all sorts of activities to make us enjoy our long rides. They built PVC pipe water dispensers in every town to accommodate many riders with free water too:

When I stopped for ice cream at a local farm, the owner pointed out his tractors and farm equipment and introduced me to his toddler grandson. John Deere is king here. Many farmers pulled their green tractors and other machines down to the foot of their long driveways, either to welcome us or maybe as a status thing... hey, my tractor is bigger than my neighbor's! ;) It was amazing to see trucks parked at intersections of lonely county roads during the ride, or at the end of long farm roads/driveways. The residents and their kids would be set up in lawn chairs to watch us all day long as we poured past. They had coolers for themselves and often sold or gave away water, Gatorade, pickles, watermelon and more. They wait all year for this! Church groups, non-profits and 4H clubs make pies and spaghetti suppers to sell to riders and raise money for town projects or to pay for students to go to DC or elsewhere on field or mission trips. I was happy to be a part of this and contribute in any way I could. They earned it! 

They rang bells, waived flags, handed out mementos and made signs asking us to "shout out your town" as we rode past. It was truly heart warming. The smallest of children got involved, setting up lemonade stands and munchkin PB&J sandwich stands with rhubarb preserves. There were also local Iowa honey stands along the road. I ate the freshest, longest ear of corn I've ever seen!

The communities were very patriotic and almost every town has a Veteran's park or memorial, even the smallest ones. Fire truck cranes hoisted huge American flags up over the street at the entrance to every town. Iowans love their country, and it was refreshing. No protests here!

Another interesting thing was the "rumbles"... strips of bumps on the road, in sets of 3, leading up to almost every desolate stop sign. They can be a nightmare for cyclists if you don't see them coming... which brings me to my next topic...

Cyclist lingo 101:

My cyclist friends know all this stuff, but as someone who has ridden a lot but never in a group, this was all new to me! Cyclists yell out things to the group while they ride. Obvious ones are "car up"  (oncoming car) and "car back" (approaching from behind). "Rider on" is yelled when you're about to re-enter the pack from the shoulder, ie: food stop on RAGBRAI. "Rider off", "slowing", "stopping" all signal that you're about to pull out of the crowd and onto the shoulder. Problems arise when you say it AS you're doing said action and not before. As riders pass you, they say, "On your left.". It's pretty taboo to pass someone on the right but I saw it happen, along with assholes weaving in and out.. very dangerous! Suffice it to say, I heard "on your left" a LOT during the week. With 10,000+ riders was it really necessary to say it so much? I KNOW... you're on my left. Pretty much everyone here is on my left and passing me, all day long. Hellooooo... and thanks for rubbing it in!

I heard the shout, "bottle" a few times when a rider's water bottle would fall from their bike and start to roll across the congested road... an accident waiting to happen. Usually someone would kick it to the curb like a soccer player, averting injury to someone behind them. When the rumble strips are coming up in the road, they shout "rumbles!" and waive their hand seat high, left or right side, like patting a dog on the head. I only had to hit those rough strips once to learn to pay attention! The crowds on this ride were crazy, especially early in the AM.

As the day progressed, it thinned out. The spandex crowd blew by and the costumed fun lovers replaced them. These were the people that glued things to their helmets, wore tutus, kilts, gold lame' skirts, tiaras. and carried stuffed animals, cocktail holders and boom boxes on their bikes. In some ways the music was great, but inevitably, I'd hear a great motivating song and the rider would speed past, leaving me wishing for more. Or worse, there would be a super loud boom box blaring AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" and I just wanted them to disappear but no, they'd peddle right next to me for a while. At one point, on one of the hills on Day 6, a cyclist rode by playing the theme song from Rocky. Talk about motivating. I wish he could have ridden with me all day on Day 7! 

RAGBRAI was literally a moving picture show. In the 6-10 hour days I spent peddling, so many riders passed me, and I heard and saw little vignettes of their lives. T-shirts and jerseys reflected the riders' colleges, past races, hometowns, interests, favorite causes and more. The snippets of conversations I heard for hours of every day involved their jobs, kids, and lives in general. 

The Riders
There was such a wide array of people on this ride.... old, young, thin, fat, healthy, out of shape... you name it. There were couples, children, families, father/child teams, soccer moms towing a child in a rolling thingy behind their bike, even a girl with her little dog in a backpack for the whole ride! I saw a 91 year old man with a bike plate that said "91 and still having fun." Wow! I saw an older man with TWO prosthetic legs that appeared to be specialized for cycling.. steel rods with what looked like hockey pucks for "feet." There were doctors and hippies and everything in between. There definitely seemed to be more men than women, maybe 2 to 1? The average age is said to be 47.

The bicycles:
I saw every type imaginable. There were recumbents, arm driven recumbents, enclosed recumbents like little go-carts...

unicycles and even penny farthing bikes!

By far the strangest bikes I saw were similar to this, hybrids that had the saddle way above the normal height. I just want to know how you get on and off in a hurry:

I also saw a few people roller blading the 410 miles... nuts! Tandem bikes were fairly common too. There were fat tire bikes that sounded like a swarm of bees coming up from behind..

I also saw elliptical bikes on wheels, like the one below... very cool, like skiing across Iowa!

There were hundreds of high end bikes that costs thousands of dollars and had all sorts of mini handlebar "computers" to track speed, wind, mileage, elevation and more.... Cervelo, Trek, Pinarello, and so many more. The bike repair guy said he had seen some in the $11,000 range. The funny thing is that at roadside food stands, these same bikes would be lying in the grass by the hundreds, unattended with no locks.

 That my friends, is RAGBRAI! For the record, I rode my 410 miles on a $149 Walmart Schwinn, with a straw basket and bell, while wearing flip flops and my cleat cycling shoes remained in my duffel bag. Why not? ;)

The Teams

Many riders came with a team and they had support vehicles, RVs and buses with their team logos. Here is just one, but you get the idea. Bikes were transported on top...

Teams wore matching jerseys, and some were hilarious. There was a large group of men in their 70s and 80s who have been riding for years. They call themselves "the Donner Party.. we only eat the slow ones". I asked one of them how many were on his team. He corrected me and said they were not a team but a PARTY! ha ha. There were female teams with names including the word "beaver", the Road Kill team that rode the route "decorating" animal carcasses with beads etc. Oddly, there was some roadkill... skunks, birds, moles and rodents, possums etc. I was never sure if a car had run them over the night before or a cyclist on the ride had done it! Other names included Mega-sore-ass, Iwanna (know whose idea this was), Cleats and cleavage... you get the picture!

I also saw teams from various military branches, wearing cool jerseys. Marines, Army and Air Force. The Air Force team, with their unmistakable winged logo, was very visible on the course and acted as sentries, helping people fix flats etc.

They seemed to appear out of nowhere anytime someone needed help, yelling, "Are you OK?" Apparently one of their riders went down and was sent home with broken ribs, patella and collarbone! They also scooped up a deaf white cat from the road and found its owner, saving it from certain demise! They did their country proud. At the end of the ride, approaching Lansing, they paired up in 2 lines of riders and finished the race in formation. I borrowed this shot from their Facebook page.

Monkey Butt
On my last night in camp I heard a guy say he had monkey butt. His friend asked him what that was, and he said it was basically like diaper rash. At the AAA tent in one of the towns, they were giving out all sorts of cycling swag, and I opted for this stuff. Probably too much information, but the idea is to use it all around seam and crease areas on your "under carriage". It was a godsend. No monkey butt for this girl. Chamois Butt'r... get it? Ha ha.

Crashes
They were a daily occurrence and inevitable in a crowd this size. I saw the aftermath of a few, and it wasn't pretty. Mid week, just outside the campground gate, a man had gone down and was being loaded onto a stretcher. Not a good start to his day! Another day, I was peddling and saw a log jam ahead. As I got closer, I saw a cyclist on the ground. As always, the Air Force team was front and center to help. They and other riders created a human and bike shield to protect the downed rider from the onslaught of riders. They shouted, "Go left or right. Heads up. Keep moving!" repeating it over and over to prevent another crash from rubber necking riders. Amazing to watch. There were 4 ambulances stationed along the course each day. More than once, I saw one pull onto the road and take off, sirens wailing. This was a ride, not a race, but every bit as dangerous as the Tour de France. With inexperienced riders, thick crowds and people drinking, anything could happen. I bought trip insurance just in case, but luckily made it back unscathed! ;)

Conditions
Past years rides have included 100 mile days, hail storms, lightening, tornadoes, deluges, 90+ degree heat and worse. This year's course was a northern route and the 3rd "easiest" in the 43 year history of RAGBRAI at only 411 miles. Some years top 500! The week before, Iowa temperatures soared into the 90s, and the Friday before the ride started, there were torrential rains and even flooding across some of the route. I had the most amazing conditions imaginable. Temperatures hovered around 80/60, and there was just one overcast day with light showers mid-week. Camping in the rain would have been a nightmare too. Aside from having headwinds some of the week instead of westerly tailwinds to push us, my ride was perfect! What a blessing ;)

Food 
As I've mentioned, I first read about RAGBRAI a decade or so ago in the food magazine Saveur. I think maybe I envisioned the food being more gourmet than it was, but I loved every minute of what I ate. Fresh, huge corn, cold watermelon, lemonade slushes, thick perfectly cooked pork chops, delicious cheese curds, pickles and pickle juice (great for muscle cramps), hand-churned ice cream, local honey, BBQ, ribs, pasta, fire department pancake breakfasts, Czech, Polish, Irish and Norwegian specialties, spaghetti and roast beef church suppers, Iowa craft beers and most of all homemade pies of every variety! It wasn't very fancy, but during the week-long, exhausting days, inevitably just the right food would appear at a farm stand or vendor truck when I needed it. I ate what I craved when my body asked for it and as often and as much as I wanted with no repercussions. I don't think I've ever enjoyed a hot, fresh corn dog so much!

Final thoughts... 
Last summer after I worked on a WY dude ranch, I was asked by lots of people if I was going back this summer. It was a definite maybe, but I hate to do things twice. I considered maybe going to a different ranch just for a fresh experience, but eventually chose not to. Last summer's experience was one of the best summers of my life by the way!

Regarding RAGBRAI, with all the pain, physical and mental exertion, long drive to get there and back, cost, etc., I would say the following. I have NO regrets about going whatsoever. I'm so glad I did it, and it was worth everything I invested to train and go. Would I ever do it again? HELL no! It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, especially at age 52. Once was enough. It was a bucket list item and now it's checked off.

During the week, I heard people already planning for next year and the teams they were putting together... I was amazed that people come back year after year for this. Don't get me wrong, it's fun but for me was sheer torture! I was so exhausted at day's end, I could barely set up my tent, let alone wait in line for a shuttle into town to drink and listen to bands. I don't think additional training would have made it any easier. I was solid in my 30 mile rides. At RAGBRAI, I was never winded or out of breath. My muscles and sitz bones weren't sore because I had ridden regularly leading up to the event, including hills. My issues were just "other" pain while riding....7-10 hours a day of it. My wrists screamed, my neck and back ached, and my tail bone and groin area were just screaming all day long. I would spend the hours just moving from one area to the next, focusing on changing position to stop the pain. After a minute, I would move on the the next area, reversing my wrist position, hanging my head, lifting my butt off the saddle in a never ending quest for relief. I was like a human calculator, ticking off the miles and towns, recalculating my arrival time in the overnight town based on wind, stops and more. I prayed to every deity I'd ever heard of, hoping that if one didn't get me through the day, maybe anther one would. About every 10 miles, I'd find a patch of trees in front of a farm, usually already clogged with weary cyclists, and just lie flat on my back in the shade, looking at the sky for 5 or 10 minutes. What a relief.. then I'd get back on and start peddling again.

The worst part was finishing the day (marathon) and instead of relief, there was no finish line, just dread that it would start all over again the next morning. Day 7 would have been a blissful ride across the actual finish, but I was anxious about the hills all day long until the last one was conquered, just 3 miles outside of Lansing. I feel like I attended Navy Seal boot camp as a civilian and somehow squeaked through it. ha ha. Any questions? I think I packed properly and brought the right things. I had cycling shoes with cleats but opted for flip flops and they felt great! My helmet was outdated, dorky and probably not safe. I saw some at cycling gear tents for well over $150. I had spandex shorts at one time for my spin classes but opted for nylon gym shorts and a gel bike saddle. I suppose I could have invested in a pair of gel seat spandex cycling shorts for about 60-$70 to look cooler ( or weird?) but I don't think it would have added to my comfort.

My chamois butt'r prevented the chafing other cyclists seemed to be complaining of. For convenience, I just used my straw bike basket to tote water, sunscreen etc. It wasn't a race after all and wind resistance and speed weren't a factor. I got a lot of comments from passing cyclists during the week... "Love your basket." "Where's Toto?" I think I only saw 2 other baskets the whole week. What can I say? I'm an original... ;)

So that my friends is my RAGBRAI wrap up. It was the experience of a lifetime. One final photo I'll call "things you'd never see at the Tour de France"... a plastic tarp slip 'n slide, held in place with a tractor tire! The farm family would spray it down with soap and hose it off as riders dove onto it and slid. It became a muddy mess.

I still hope to do the Bourbon Country Burn in late September. Base camp in Lexington, KY is only 4 hours from home. Camping is at the upscale KY Horse park with new, permanent shower and bath facilities. We can park near our tents and bring more stuff (air mattress, pillows etc). With only one tent setup on day 1, I could enjoy the tastings by distillers that come to camp each night. Breakfast, lunch/snack tents along the route and nightly food trucks and entertainment are included. Daily routes are varied going off in different directions with short, medium and long ride options. I plan to do the medium routes, around 35 miles a day round trip! Easy peezy ;) Check it out:
https://www.bourboncountryburn.com/about/

For my 2018 bucket list item, I want to go to the Kentucky Derby. I've never been. Planning is in the works! Thanks for following along on my RAGBRAI blog!

What an inspiration...

RAGBRAI keeps posting stories of the people who rode this year. This one was awesome, inspiring and also sad! It perfectly described the typical RAGBRAI challenge/journey/adventure, including mine, but with the author's personal story of grief added in. So many riders, so many stories and reasons for riding. Please read and enjoy...

http://www.bicycling.com/culture/after-my-husband-died-suddenly-i-rode-ragbrai-to-honor-my-lost-love

Day 7: Waukon to Lansing... the END!

Waukon to Waterville – 15.0 miles
Waterville to Yellow River State Forest – 8.8 miles
Yellow River State Forest to Harpers Ferry – 7.4 miles
Harpers Ferry to Lansing – 13.6 miles

Total Mileage:  44.8 miles
Total Feet of Climb: 3,200
Weather: 78/57, sunny, light winds...perfect!

I woke up with a sense of dread this morning. The 4 monster hills were ahead, and I was tired and sore after camping and a week of riding. Everyone had been talking about them, and some people chose not to ride at all on this day. The downhills the day before had been fast and a little scary with all the riders flying by. Newbies clung to their brakes, and seasoned riders tucked in and screamed by, enjoying the rush. I had been somewhere in between. More ambulances than usual rode the course. Something inside me said to just ride to Waterville and catch the sag wagon for the last 25 miles... or cut across to Lansing using the direct route on Hwy. 9, only 17 miles, to avoid the hills. I even contemplated asking a kid in town to drive me and my bike to Lansing for $20. Crazy things went through my head on this last day. Another part of me said suck it up and go, and so I did. This was my final day of RAGBRAI, and I had to make it count. I came here to finish, not to drop out. This was our route and elevation graph for the day...



I took down my tent for the last time and handed off my bags to the truck guys. There was a sense of excitement in camp as we dismantled our tents and anticipated the finish line. I took a sponge bath, ate an energy bar and hit the road at 7am.

The entire route today was new RAGBRAI territory and encompassed 44.8 miles with steep hills totaling 3,200 feet throughout Allamakee County. Actually, there were FOUR loooong, steep climbs today. On our way out of Waukon, friendly residents lined the streets ringing bells, wishing us a safe ride, thanking us for coming to their town, and handing out their town logo buttons and pints of chocolate milk from the local dairy!

Memorable hospitality... click this link to see a local ABC affiliate's clip about today's route... cool! Better than any photos I could have taken while riding the course...

http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Monster-hills-highlight-final-leg-of-RAGBRAI-2017-437438233.html

An hour in, I pulled over for one last pancake breakfast, $5 and sponsored by a fire department. Lines were long, and I sat on a bale of hay and savored the beautiful morning and views of rolling  hills. Not long after, I took a photo of one last family farm, as I knew we wouldn't be passing many more. They're so peaceful and charming to pass by in the mornings while riding. I savored the smells of hay and yes, manure... farm smells I wouldn't enjoy again after today.

I didn't think I was in Iowa as scenic landscapes and winding scenic byways showed off the splendor of the Driftless Area. 90 minutes after leaving camp in Waukon, the route took us through the town of Waterville, population 150, for the very first time. It was a steep decline riding into town. A little hamlet nestled at the base of a hill, Waterville is described as a sportsman's paradise, great for hunting, fishing and winter snowmobiling. In 1846, a treaty with the Winnebago Indians opened the Paint Creek Valley for settlers. In 1850, the first settlement was established that was known as Waterville. Original settlers came from Norway, Ireland, Germany and Scotland. Norwegian Lefse was offered by vendors here, a sort of flat bread made from potatoes, butter and flour. Yum! We hit our first "monster" hill, the smallest of the day, on the way out of town. It was long and steep, and I slowly peddled to the top without walking my bike. One down, three to go! My sense of dread was growing as even seasoned cyclists were discussing what was ahead..

9 miles down the rode, we entered the Yellow River State Forest, located in a physiographic region called the Paleozoic Plateau. This region includes northwestern Illinois, southwestern Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota. It covers most of Allamakee County (in which Yellow River State Forest is located) and parts of Clayton, Fayette, Winneshiek, Howard, Dubuque, and Jackson Counties.The terrain changed drastically and was beautiful! We turned and dipped down into valleys and past ponds and forests. There were curvy roads offering cool shade for a change. No more fields of corn!

The road down was long and I dreaded what was coming... the climb back up. Sure enough, after a few miles it began. It was so steep I only made it about half way up, the first mile, and with my legs screaming, had to get off and walk. The hills were over a mile long and plenty of riders joined me on the shoulder. Try and spot the bottom of this thing! I was disappointed to walk part of it, but then the sag wagon passed us, and it was FULL of bikes of riders who quit the course and the day altogether! I felt a little better ;)

In contrast to most of Iowa, which is covered by deep deposits of glacial drift, the dominant feature of the surface of the Paleozoic Plateau is limestone and sandstone bedrock. For many years, and even today, the term "driftless area" was used, reflecting the belief that this region had never been glaciated. Thin, isolated areas of glacial drift do occur in the area, however. This drift is probably pre-Illinoian in age and approximately half a million years old. The ruggedness and deep dissection of the landscape is due to the elements having been at work for that period of time. It also has a 6 mile stocked trout stream! Yellow River State Forest is located just north of the Effigy Mounds National Monument, which protects 200 prehistoric mounds built by Native Americans. Many of the mounds depict bears or birds.
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After 7.5 miles and another nasty climb, we finally arrived in Harpers Ferry, another first time RAGBRAI community. It's named for David Harper, an Irish immigrant and prominent river man who operated a ferry on the Mississippi and played a major role in making Harpers Ferry an important river landing. I finally got a fruit smoothie with a pineapple garnish, and it was delicious! I'd really been craving fruit after eating pulled pork, pie, corn and corn dogs all week... pure bliss!

At the edge of town, the mighty Mississippi, America's river, came into view. To avoid the upcoming congestion in the end town of Lansing, we were encouraged to dip our front bike tires in the Mississippi River here, at one of the many boat ramps. We had dipped our rear tires in the start town of Orange City, in water from the Missouri River. I dipped my wheel, and it felt great. Some cyclists lifted their bikes over their heads for the photo, but that wasn't an option for me... way too heavy!

In the spring, Harper's ferry is known for the best mushroom hunting in the state! "Cabin people" return here for the summer to open up their summer homes on the river and breathe some life into the town. The residents were excited to have us and cheered us on with signs and cowbells. The worst was yet to come with two more wretched hills but they egged us on!

The final 13 mile leg of RAGBRAI XLV traveled north along the Great River Road. Not far out of town, we hit the 3rd of our 4 hills. Again, it was brutal and over a mile long! I pushed my way to the top, sweating and just closing my eyes to get through it. My quads were burning. I was sweating bullets, and I was sure I tasted blood when I breathed in deeply. Signs along the way told us how far we had come and the current elevation... only half way?! Groans, cursing and words of encouragement were heard along the way. At the top, almost everyone stopped to rest and recharge before tackling the final hill. Residents sat at the end of their driveways watching us suffer, cheering us on and promising a 3 mile downhill if we made it. I pushed halfway up the 4th and final ascent and had to get off and push my bike again, about a half mile straight up! It was almost harder than riding. The shoulder was clogged with riders but at the top there were cheers and high fives. We had made it. Then, as promised, there was a steep, fast 3 mile downhill. This time I just let go my inhibitions and flew down, praying I wouldn't hit a rock or crack in the road or have a tire blowout. It was scary as hell, but also came with a reckless sense of elation, freedom and pure joy. RAGBRAI was my Mt. Everest, and I had conquered it.

After the rapid descent, there were 3 more miles of flat road that ran along the beautiful Mississippi river into  Lansing. What a relief when it came into view! Every house overlooking the river had a party going on and many team buses were loading their riders and bikes. It was a zoo, but I was done!

The historic river town boasts the ultra-steep Mt. Hosmer just blocks from downtown and the river. We also enjoyed a beautiful view of the Blackhawk Bridge as we entered town, built in 1931. Later, I would drive across it into Wisconsin on my way home later.

Approximately 3% of Americans live somewhere along the mighty Mississippi River. Settled in 1848, Lansing sprung to life in 1872 with the arrival of the railroad. Allegedly, in 1851, a Massachusetts sculptor named Harriett Hosmer was so taken by the river bend and bluffs that she raced a young river boat pilot to the top of the bluff and named it for herself. Today you can visit Mt. Hosmer. RAGBRAI riders were encouraged to ride to the top for a prize, as an added "bonus" challenge after finishing today. No thanks...

With many of its original historic building still intact, in 2014, the National Register of Historic Places designated the Lansing Downtown area as a National Historic District. Its Main Street looks much like it did over 100 years ago! Horsfall's Variety Store is a popular stop for tourists and locals alike. There are about 1,000 year round residents today. The Commercial Fishing Museum there has authentic wooden boats, commercial fishing displays and buttons made from clams fished from the Mississippi River. There are boat ramps and marinas, a sand bar for camping and "beach" lovers, and miles of trails for hiking. Wildlife is abundant, and Fish Farm Mounds pre-historic site is just 9 miles north.

Lansing had a beer tent, pontoon rides, a DJ and live music but most of us were there only briefly to retrieve our cars, clean up, meet up with friends and family at the finish line or depart on various shuttles to distant airports. It was a shame we didn't have more time in this quaint historic river town. I stopped at the baggage truck to claim my bags and parked my bike nearby.

I had a pleasant surprise at the finish line, as I seemed to be the only rider without anyone to meet, high five or congratulate me. Mid-week, after day two's 72 miles of peddling, I limped into the fairgrounds camp on my bike to claim my bags. I saw the sag wagon parked and approached the driver. I was delirious at this point from the long ride and frustrated that I hadn't been able to catch the sag wagon 50 miles into the day when I was so exhausted. I approached the driver and told him I might want a "day off", asking if I could just ride with him right out of the campground the next morning. He said that it's not allowed. He can only pick riders up along the route and I'd at least have to make an attempt. He suggested I wait for him just outside of the first town, about ten miles out from camp. I was a little envious of the teams with buses and support vehicles, allowing riders to take turns taking a rest day and hauling their bikes on top. The next morning, I was rested and my mind and attitude were right again so I rode the full day, as planned. I didn't give it another thought. On Saturday, as I rode into Lansing and dismounted at the baggage truck, there was the sag wagon driver. He smiled and said, "You made it! Congratulations!" and gave me a big hug. I can't believe with over 10,000 riders, he remembered me from one brief conversation, and was the only person to welcome me across the finish line. ;)

I then took a shuttle the 2 miles to retrieve my waiting dusty car west of town. Then I made my way back through the throng to load my stuff. The whole process took about an hour. I was sweaty and fatigued but drove three hours south to grab dinner at Five Guys and get a hot bath and good night's sleep at the Hampton Inn in Clinton, Iowa. It would make the next day's drive home shorter, only 11 hours. I had completed RAGBRAI, biking 410 miles across Iowa in 7 days!

I can't believe I made it. What an adventure and accomplishment. I had my doubts but feel stronger than ever. Here's a great photo to wrap up today's post...SO true!

Stay tuned in a day or two for ONE more post... I'm going to close this blog with my RAGBRAI insights and some photos that didn't make it into the blog yet plus things I witnessed, thought, felt and learned along this once in a lifetime 410 mile, life changing journey.... ;)

Day 6: Cresco to Waukon (and Lance Armstrong!)

Cresco to Decorah (Meeting) – 19.5 miles
Decorah to Ossian – 14. 7 miles
Ossian to Castelia – 5.1 miles
Castalia to Postville – 6.1 miles
Postville to Waukon – 14.7 miles
Total Mileage: 60.1 miles
Total Feet of Climb: 2,483
Weather: 80 / 57, winds NNE 6mph

After camping last night at the Fairground, I departed at 7AM. I was still shell shocked from the previous night's cold swine shower. Our first town was 20 miles out, so I stopped along the way at a roadside tent and ate a slice of watermelon and one of the "famous" lemonade slushees, made with real lemons and grated pulp. Delicious and refreshing! Today's ride was 60 mile,s and we got  to practice on a few big hills prior to Saturday's 3,200 foot climb!

I made good time into Decorah by zipping down the hills. The weather was great too! We visited the town during their Nordic Fest, and the theme was evident everywhere with flags, Viking combat demos, Nordic dancers, crafts, food and costumes. Scandinavian food offerings included Lefse that you top with butter or white/brown sugar, Kringla (soft buttermilk cookies), Krumkake (“curve cake” based on a special iron and rolled into a cone shape while still hot), Norwegian meatballs, and Rommergrot (warm cream pudding), Varme Polse (sausage wrapped in lefse). The quaint town was beautiful with some impressive historic homes. Decorah has won many "Best small town..."awards.

Riders arrived in town and walked bikes up a hill. The city was named for Winnebago leader, Waukon Decorah, who was a U.S. ally during the Black Hawk War of 1832. Waukon, immediately east, seat of Allamakee County, is also named after him. Decorah serves as the county seat for Winneshiek County. The town is also well known for their eagles that nest near the Decorah Trout Hatchery. Hatching usually begins in late March to early April, and the eaglets fledge in mid-to-late June. While young usually disperse between August and October, the adults remain on territory year round. Recent airborne geophysical surveys near Decorah indicate a meteorite crashed into the area nearly half a billion years ago.

Next stop, 15 miles away, was Ossian. It was their first time as a pass through town. The terrain along the way was starting to change as we entered eastern Iowa with its rolling hills. We rode them all day, gentle climbs followed by nice downhill coasting. The photo below pretty well sums up the day's ride, not easy but not horrible either. Total elevation was 2,483 feet of climb for the day!

On the way to Castalia, population 179, I passed another roadside beer garden, this one with twelve Iowa craft beers, tapped from an old school bus. The lines were long. I dared not drink and bike with 15 miles to go to Waukon after we passed through Postville, another small town..

Postville's famous citizen is John R. Mott – 1946 Nobel Peace Prize, founder of YMCA. The town is home to AgriStar, a kosher packing plant. Postville is known as the “hometown to the World” because of its diverse cultural community. It is a welcoming community with diverse cultures and an industrial community.  Residents include immigrants from Guatemala, Somalia, Russia, Philippines, along with a large Hispanic and Jewish population.

Big news today... Lance Armstrong joined the ride on day 5 and rode today too, with his entourage! He posed for pictures with riders, signed autographs, ate at the Mr. Porkchop bus and just blended right in!

He brought with him NASCAR champions Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth, as well as retired motocross champion Ryan Dungey and adventure racing cyclist Mike Kloser. Johnson, a seven-time NASCAR champion, joined Armstrong on RAGBRAI last year. Armstrong has won the Tour de France seven consecutive times, but the victories were stripped because of doping. He has since become an annual fixture at RAGBRAI, attracting fans as he eats and drinks along the route. (I "borrowed" these photos of Lance from the RAGBRAI page!)

Our overnight town was Waukon, home to a Dairy boasting homemade ice cream and cheese curds and a local winery with a wide selection and beautiful tasting room. After another long day, I rode right into camp at the high school, set up my tent and grabbed some nachos from the only vendor onsite. Not very tasty or healthy, but I just didn't have the energy to take the shuttle into town to explore and hear the featured band, Hairball.  This is the crowd photo from Waukon's Facebook page. I could actually hear the band from the campground ;) A pretty uneventful day, but I was resting up for the big finish and dreaded hills.

Day 5: Charles City to Cresco

THURSDAY – JULY 27, 2017
Charles City to Ionia – 13.0 miles
Ionia to New Hampton (Meeting) – 8.5 miles
New Hampton to Lawler – 8.3 miles
Lawler to Protivin – 12.7 miles
Protivin to Cresco – 12.1 miles
Total Mileage: 54.6 miles
Total Feet of Climb: 2,257 
Weather: 80/ 59, clear, wind NNE 10 mph

Well, the flat roads were behind us, and the rolling hills ahead. Today's ride was a series of long gentle climbs with what seemed like NO downhills in between. I would crest a hill and see two more in the distance. This went on for hours...

I slept well the night before, and my host had fruit and eggs for us! How thoughtful.

I biked the 1.5 miles along the river back to the campground to load my bags before an 8am departure. Weather was a little humid but beautiful! After 13 miles this morning, we arrived in Ionia. It's RAGBRAI jersey day, so I broke down and bought one to wear. What the hell. It's a bucket list adventure right? The town had plenty of bike parking for us, enabling us to get off and spend some time in the town rather than just walk our bikes through Main Street. Their goal is to raise $350k today for town projects! Let's hope they make it. The array of breakfast food and other vendors was great! I opted for a slice of cherry pie from the Amish stand.. $2!

It was a 9 mile jaunt to New Hampton, a RAGBRAI overnight town 40 years ago in 1977! Cattlemen served up ribeye sandwiches and there were 5 blocks of vendors. Karaoke and a steel drum band from the University of Iowa were memorable diversions. The town's Grand Marshall was Paul Hassman, 103, a former RAGBRAI rider until the late 1980s. Wow. The town had a huge aerial bike sculpture we passed under on arrival, along with bikes mounted on lamp posts. Pretty cool.

Eight miles up the road was Lawler, a first time RAGBRAI town. They host a summer Irishfest, and their theme for today is "Get lucky in Lawler, with t-shirts available. Hmm...  BBQ chicken,sweet corn, pork chops on a stick, pulled pork, and the Hole in the Wall's three kinds of pasta and "top 10 salad bars in the state" were some of the food offerings.There were also “nacho mamas” tacos, sub sandwiches, pie a la mode, bloody Marys, vodka lemonades, and bands. The Starlite Ballroom used to be called Chips and was a peer of the Surf Ballroom.

They drew all the best bands of the day including rock, country, polka, disco and more, tripling the town’s population each weekend. The Irish Fest had Irish music all day and there was once again a petting zoo sponsored by the local 4H. As always, the patriotic Iowa town had a Veterans memorial. Talk about Americana...

A few miles down the road, drawn in by their sign,  I stopped at a family farm for an ice cream sundae...

Thirteen miles ahead was the quaint town of Protivin that hosts Czech Days every August. Norman Borlaug was an American biologist and humanitarian who led initiatives worldwide that contributed to the extensive increases in agricultural production, termed the Green Revolution. He received the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal. He grew up on a 106-acre family farm, just west of town.

Visitors can tour his one-room schoolhouse, house, barn, chicken coop, and corn crib/grainery. A noteworthy quote of his: "I realize how fortunate I was to have been born, to have grown to manhood, and to have received my early education in rural Iowa. That heritage provided me with a set of values that has been an invaluable guide to me in my work around the world. These values have been of great strength in times of despair in my struggle to assist in improving the standards of living of rural people everywhere." There's definitely something about Iowa....

Protivin offered bike shops for repairs, Polka music, Bratwurst, kolaches (central European pastry seen below) and ribeye sandwiches. They also have a cattle processing plant right in town ;(
Early Czech settlers came to Protivin in the mid 1800s, and the Holy Trinity Catholic Church is a focal point in town. The cemetery has tombstones dating back to the mid 1800s. There is also a Czech heritage center here that documents immigration and settlement of  many Iowa communities.

Polashek’s Locker Service is a family owned locker and meat processing business whose family name has been in the business for generations. Andrew Zimmern from Bizarre Foods even visited! Polasheks are famous for their neon green t-shirts with the slogan “Got Jaternice? We Do!” Jaternice (pronounced Eeee-thur-neeet-suh). Jaternice is a bohemian style sausage that is typically made from pork parts. The town's RAGBRAI theme is Welcome to Protivin… Czech Us Out!

From here, it was another 12 miles to our overnight town of Cresco. I arrived around 4pm.  On the way into town, we were greeted by costumed ghouls, zombies, witches and vampires. Apparently, Cresco is known for some paranormal activity, especially in their 1915 Opera House where disembodied voices, feelings of being watched, footsteps, apparitions and object manipulations have been observed. A team of paranormal investigators even set up camp there in 2016 to document it! The town's theme for our visit is Pedal to the Paranormal.

The Chamber office Hall of Fame includes FIVE Navy Admirals from Cresco. Here's a great link to "meet them", all deceased now: http://www.howard-county.com/uploads/PDF_File_24427269.pdf

Also in the Hall of Fame is Ellen Church, the first Flight Attendant. Her story is noteworthy: In 1930, an American nurse and aviation graduate Ellen Church (born in 1904) came to Boeing Air Transport hoping to get a job as a pilot. The company refused to hire Ellen as a pilot, but offered her a position to work as an on-board nurse. 

Ellen was later asked to find 8 more stewardesses for her team, and they were referred to as sky girls and earned an impressive $125 a month. In the 1930s, a girl had to be between 100-118 pounds and 5’ and 5’ 4” tall, and 20-26 years old and to be a registered nurse. In addition to attending to the passengers, they were expected to, when necessary, help with hauling luggage, fueling and assisting pilots to push the aircraft into hangars. According to TIME’s 1938 analysis, the flight attendant jobs were highly competitive, and the hiring process was steeped in sexism. Other airlines followed Boeing's example over the next few years. When WWll began, all of the nurses were enlisted to help out in the war. My mother was an Eastern Airlines Stewardess in the late 1950s.

Enough about Cresco. I didn't have a host tonight, so it was back to camping. We were put up at the County Fairgrounds and it was interesting. Plenty of grass to camp, but our iptions for showering included swine showers with curtains, along with shower trucks.I opted for a $5 COLD swine shower... normally used to wash the pigs off before the fair I assume? 4H groups actually had animals on the premises! Kind of crazy...

I set up my tent close to the baggage trucks and fell asleep early. The ground was hard and the campground noisy, but once again, I was exhausted. Another long day was done!