RAGBRAI recap

Finally, I have a blog entry for RAGBRAI! It was not as easy to do a blog entry on the route as I thought it would be. There was not as much free time as I thought there would be, not as much internet access as I thought there would be, and I did not have as much energy on the days I was doing support as I thought I would have. Being on the support team was actually harder than being a rider. So it took until we got home and had some down time before I was able to get this all written out and even longer to get the pictures organized so I could include some of those. I will put all of the pictures on Picasa, if I don't email you a link and you'd like to see more pictures let me know and I will email you the link. I hope it gives you a glimpse into what RAGBRAI is really like. If I left anything out that you are curious about please ask and I'd be happy to tell you more.

Saturday July 18

Day 0 – Council Bluffs

Dan, Amy, Jim, John, Susan, Julia, and Billy packed our cars to the brim, and left Ames a little bit later than planned, around 8:30.

We arrived in Council Bluffs, found a camping spot,

and unloaded the car quickly and sent Dan on his way to pick up Mike and Kavee and Elizabeth at the airport. We set up camp, browsed the bike expo, made dinner,

and listened to the Barenaked Ladies concert (even those who stayed in camp had no choice but to listen) Several bikers also went to dip their back tires in the Missouri River as is the tradition on RAGBRAI.

One of the interesting adventures we experience right away, is bathroom accommodations for 15,000+ people. Porta-pottys are everywhere, and not always a pleasant choice. This was especially in the mornings when a lot of people are getting ready to leave for the day at about the same time. That means long lines, and very full potties without a lot of toilet paper.

Sunday July 19

Day 1 (Council Bluffs to Red Oak - 52.6 miles)

Upon waking, we had to all help out as we learned what was to be our routine the rest of the week. Break down camp, send riders on their way, pack the rest of the car, and drive to the next town. Dan and Jim were ready to take off first, then I went, and finally Kavee and John. Susan and Mike drove the cars with the kids. I had a blast that first day. It was absolutely amazing to ride 56 miles with about 15,000 other people. As we entered the first town on the route, we all had to dismount our bikes and walk because there simply was not room to ride down the street with everyone there.

Each town we rode through had activities and/or food to partake of. So with all the riders that choose to stop, and those who are trying to go through these small towns, it was walking room only. It was a bit of a hilly route, but the energy of the whole pack made it easy. I stopped a few times, for Gatorade, lunch, and snack. While I wasn’t with anyone on our team, I was never alone. There are always riders around you, and plenty of people to strike up a conversation with if you want.

I arrived in Red Oak that afternoon, Kavee rode only part way, then she and Mike switched so she was already there, as was Dan and Jim who had finished the whole day. John and Mike were not far behind. We stayed that night in the yard of a mobile home with a nice family who made us dinner that night.

Monday July 20

Day 2 (Red Oak to Greenfield – 72.6)

Mike and I drove the vans, while Dan, Jim, Susan, John, and Kavee took off on the ride. Mike picked Kavee up somewhere along the route, but the rest rode all of the 72 miles that day. The kids and I, made it to the campsite after 3 hours of driving. Ugh! The support vehicles had to take an indirect route that day to avoid the bikes, then there was a detour on a dirt road where we couldn’t see 5 feet ahead of us at times, a couple of potty breaks, and a stop at WalMart for supplies. We found a nice campsite though in the general campground in Greenfield. By the end of the ride it was starting to rain and we all tried to stay dry under our sun shade.

The rain stopped in time to start making dinner, but started up again as we were cooking. Thanks to Susan for covering the food with an umbrella! It was probably about this time that we figured out that cooking our own meal after a day of biking and setting up camp was too much work. We were all so tired, and there wasn’t nearly as much free time at the end of each day as we thought there would be. Next time, we will use the vendors and church dinners more. The kids had a great time running around the big field we were in and watching the cows in the pasture behind us. It was in Greenfield, that I was helping to set up a tarp to stop the rain from coming in and cut my finger on a sharp knife. Ouch! It was deep enough that we decided I better go to the first aid station. They said it didn’t need stitches, but they did put some steri-strips on it and bandaged it up. Given that, and the weather, and the length of Day 3, I decided not to ride the next day.

Tuesday July 21

Day 3 (Greenfield to Indianola – 77.1 miles)

The bike ride to Indianola was the longest of the week and probably the worst weather. It was rainy and cold. Dan, Jim, John, and Susan decided to attempt it. Mike, Kavee, and I drove the cars towards Indianola. Shortly, we got the first phone call that a rider was not having any fun and wanted to be picked up. Mike and Kavee went to pick John up. While they were on there way, Susan called and was freezing cold, not having any fun, and decided to call it a day. So after picking John up, Mike and Kavee when to get Susan, and Kavee decided to bike the second half of the day. Dan and Jim suffered through the cold and rain and made it the whole way. By the second half of the day, the weather did improve.

When the kids and I arrived at the house we were to camp at in Indianola, they were watching a movie in the car, our host immediately invited them in to watch it on his home theater in the basement. Julia especially was very excited. That was the biggest screen she has ever seen a movie on. It took up a whole wall in the basement. He also invited us all to sleep in the house on couches or the floor. Eventually everyone decided to sleep indoors that night and it was a great break from the camping. We were able to do laundry and dry out all our stuff from the rain the night before. (Thanks Steve!) We went into the downtown to the vendors for dinner that night and had a nice dinner on the curb with lots of other people. While we were there, Indianola had at least 20 hot air balloons travel right over the top of us. The kids were very excited to see so many!

Wednesday July 22

Day 4 (Indianola to Chariton – 44.4 miles)

My turn to ride again! It was a beautiful day as Dan, Jim, John, and I set out - a perfect day for biking. It wasn’t a very long day, but one of the nicest. John and I rode the whole thing together. It was nice to have someone to talk to along the way. We stopped to buy a Pella Dutch Letter (very yummy pastry thing with almond flavored filling) from a local guy who bought them the day before in Pella and just set up a stand along the route, French toast at a place that sets up along the route every day (they said they have to get up at 2:30am every day to get things set up in time for the first riders, then they take down at the end of the day, and move to the next spot along the next day’s route), and we stopped a couple times just to rest. Dan and Jim had lots of yummy food.

We arrived in Chariton that afternoon at the Assisted Living Facility where we were camping that night. It was a nice little area to camp in and get some much needed rest. We played games, ate, and relaxed. Kavee and John made us a delicious spaghetti dinner that night.

Thursday July 23

Day 5 (Chariton to Ottumwa – 76.9 miles)

We woke early on Thursday morning to a severe thunderstorm passing through. It had rained on and off for most of the night, then by 4:30 or 5am, a severe thunderstorm came through – strong wind, heavy rain, lightning, and loud thunder. The adults didn’t get much sleep, but the kids seemed to sleep right through it. Julia woke up a couple of times frightened, but with a comforting snuggle and she went right back to sleep. Once the storm cleared, everyone was awake, so we got ready to go a little earlier than usual (but not much).

Susan, Dan, and Jim were the only ones to start the day this time. The rest of us were able to pack up without much trouble and head towards Ottumwa. We were to meet in the half way town so that Susan and I could switch riding/driving. John and I headed to Ottumwa with the kids to set up as much of our stuff that had gotten wet that morning as we could so it could start to dry. We were camping at a house that 3 acres of land. Plenty of room for us to set up. We set up what we could and headed back to the meeting town to find Susan. It took us a while to get there, but we finally managed it and we showed the kids the craziness of all the riders and had lunch before I took off on my bike and Susan, John, and the kids hung out in the meeting town, then went back to Ottumwa. Mike dropped Kavee off at the meeting town and she biked the last half of the day as well, although we were started at different times.

I had a nice ride and made sure to stop for pie again. I stopped in the basement of church for delicious homemade pie. They had just about every kind of pie you could think of! As I got closer to Ottumwa I noticed dark clouds and lightning and thunder in the distance. As I rode into Ottumwa the rain started – first a sprinkle, then an all out downpour. I thought I was only a couple miles from the house, so I kept going. I didn’t mind getting wet, it was kind of fun. Lots of people were taking shelter under trees or under the overhang at a gas station, but I kept going. I reached the general camping area and found out I was still about 5 miles from the house and there were some big hills to go up to get there. So, I decided to call Dan to come pick me up. If I’d been dry, I could have handled the extra five miles, but it didn’t sound like much fun while I was soaked to the bone.

The couple that hosted us was wonderful! They had lots of snacks for us, made us a delicious dinner, and had breakfast for us in the morning. There was also another family staying there that had three children and Julia made fast friends with their daughter.

Friday July 24

Day 6 (Ottumwa to Mount Pleasant – 75.5 miles)

Dan, Jim, John, and Kavee rode on Day 6. Mike drove one car, while Susan and I were in the other (kids included of course). It didn’t take us long to drive to Mt. Pleasant, however, when we arrived, there was a LONG line of cars waiting to get into the general campground where we planned to stay that night.

The line was not moving much at all, so we sent Susan out on her bike to figure out what was going on. She discovered that basically they weren’t organized well. They had had no traffic control until shortly before we got there, and no direction on where people should go once they got into the campground, so the first ones there didn’t leave much room for the rest of the crowd to get in. So Susan took some rope, and rode in to the campground and staked out a site for us. After 2 ½ hours in line, we finally made it into the campground, found Susan, and were able to get set up. The kids did amazingly well being stuck in the car for so long. It was a very hot day, and we were all very tired.

Jim and Dan rode the whole way but said it was a very tough day. It was hot and there was a strong head wind. Some people reported having to pedal down hill. Since the support vehicles had so much trouble getting into the campground, we did not want to leave again, so when Kavee was done for the day she took the SAG wagon (official RAGBRAI van that will pick you up along the route if you can’t finish the day) to get into Mt. Pleasant. John rode the whole day as well. Mt. Pleasant is only 45 minutes from Iowa City, so Cathy was able to come visit us. Once she found us in the crowded campground, we took a shuttle to a nearby church for dinner. It was a great dinner, but once we returned to the campsite, we were told there was a storm on the way that was producing 60-80 mph winds. They were not sure if it would hit Mt. Pleasant, but just in case we would be able to evacuate to a museum down the rode. Susan and others were still downtown, so we called them and agreed that we should leave the campground. Thankfully, Cathy was still in town, and she suggested we evacuate to her house in Iowa City instead. We all thought this was a great idea and started packing up. Since it was dark by now, it was a little challenging. But we all pitched in and made it safely to Iowa City. Since the storm had moved through Iowa City, Cathy’s house had no power when we arrived. So by candlelight, we all found places to sleep and made plans for the next day.

Satruday July 25

Day 7 (Mt. Pleasant to Burlington – 43.2 miles)

So after a short night’s sleep, Mike, Elizabeth, and Julia stayed at Cathy’s, while Billy and I drove the bikers back to Mt. Pleasant. We easily met up with the route and Dan, Jim, John, Susan, and Kavee got going on their bikes. Billy and I met them in the meeting town and played in the park for awhile. Then it was on to Burlington. We found a place to park right at the top of Snake Alley which is very similar to Lombard St in San Francisco. It is a very steep hill with switchbacks all the way up. They both claim to be the “crookedest street in the world.” It was an optional part of the route on this final day. Most of our bikers attempted it, but did not know at the time that I was parked at the top, so they went right on by. Once they were finished and had dipped their tires in the Mississippi river (RAGBRAI tradition)

they came back to Snake Alley and tried it again. This time Billy and I were there to watch and take pictures.

Then we all made our way back to Iowa City and had a relaxing time while packing up to head back home. (Thanks Cathy!)

It was an amazing incredible adventurous week, and we will do it all over again in two years! We will have an even bigger team then, let me know if you’d like to join us too!