Almost Home....Yay!!
Not that I'm not having a good time, but about 7 days of this is good enough for me. I'm looking forward to my own shower and bed and air conditioning again.
Today was a pretty good day. I started out feeling like it was going to be pretty rough since it was a hilly 75 miles. Shortly after I stopped for breakfast....and about the time we were heading down into the river valley where Marengo and the Amana Colonies are...I started to feel a lot better. We had some light head winds today and I finally did what I should have done yesterday. I found some stronger riders and tucked in behind them and drafted for a while.
One thing I've learned this year...500 training miles is not enough when you're 40. If I do this again I need to at least double that. Either that or just keep biking regularly all year long. That's difficult to do in Illinois though...not real interested in being an "ice biker". I get passed all day long. It feels so much better when I'm the one doing the passing. :) Being in better shape would also help with recovery times. My legs are just not snapping back quickly enough.
I was excited about today because I got to stop in Marengo, Iowa. I grew up in a Marengo, Illinois for those of you that aren't aware. I caught a couple pictures of me there. It was a nice town and had a real nice central square. Today was also the day that we passed through the Amana Colonies. Stephanie and I went there for an anniversary trip several years ago and it was nice. I stopped in Homestead for lunch and had some of their homemade bratwurst and some cold root beer brewed there at the Millstream Brewery. Yummy.
Stopped at Beekman's today too, before lunch actually. It was in the perfect spot. I was starting to get hungry and my legs needed a short rest. As I come around a curve there were the signs. BEEKMAN'S!!! I had some chocolate and vanilla. They also had raspberry and peach I think. They mix their ice cream with old gas engines like you'd see out at Lake Argyle during Labor Day. I think it makes the ice cream taste even better.
Had some great watermelon too. Which reminds me, there's this boy named Casey (KC?) in our group. He's eleven and rides a hybrid. As far as I know he has ridden and finished every day. Pretty neat kid, very outgoing...reminds me a little of Ethan with his quick wit and sense of humor. The reason I'm mentioning him is he was at the watermelon stand I was at. And I remarked to him and his dad that I've seen him everywhere it seems. At least once a day I seem to bump into him out on the route somewhere. Which is unusual since there's at least 10,000 other people rolling down the road and we all stop at different times and places. Funny how stuff like that happens.
Last night camping. It was a beautiful day for riding today, but the evening got hot and muggy again. I think it's going to cool off enough for it to be comfortable.
Well....going to go. Steph just called to make arrangements to pick me up tomorrow. Need to get to bed so I can get up early again and get on the road.
New pics are up.
https://picasaweb.google.com/105817156041666253077/RAGBRAI39
Here's the day's ride.
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/43701618
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
RAGBRAI 39 - Day 5 (Altoona to Grinnell)
Well...I woke up to the smell of fried electronics this morning. The camp fan that I borrowed from Rick....burned out it's motor sometime in the night. Sorry Rick. :( I tried to replace it today but there are no camping supply stores in Grinnell. It's going to be much cooler tonight though so I think I'll survive. Tomorrow we'll be in Coralville and I know there are some camping/outdoor stores there. If it looks to be hot again tomorrow night I might go pick one up.
Today was a shorter day, but the weather and terrain conspired against me once again. It was very hilly again today, and to top that off, it seemed every time we turned a corner the wind shifted so we were heading into it almost all morning. After noon it finally slacked off a bit so it wasn't so bad, but there were times in the morning where I was coasting down big hills at 17mph instead of the 30mph it would have been without the wind, and climbing at 5mph because I was wore out from fighting it on the uphill. It just saps my energy like crazy. I'd rather it be hot than windy.
We did get a break from the heat today though so that was good. It was cloudy most of the day and we even had some brief spurts of rain. Nothing major though. But it was enough to keep the temperatures down and the heat index to a bearable level.
I feel like I'm rushing through the ride....which I guess I am. With it being so hot about the only thing you want to do is get to the next overnight town as quickly as possible so you can get cooled off and get some sleep. On other RAGBRAIs when the weather is cooler is much easier to take a more leisurely pace.
There's a new food vendor on the ride this year that I don't remember from last time. They call themselves "The Peanut Butter Jam". Basically it's fancy PB&J with a tent off to the side with a couple amps and some instruments. Usually when I roll by someone will be out there playing the blues, or some old rock and roll stuff. I decided that today was the day to give them a try, the sandwich not the jam session. I had wheat bread, crunchy peanut butter, strawberry jam, honey, banana slices, and chocolate chips. It was actually really good. Other topping options include pretzels, potato chips, Captain Crunch, raisins, and today's special....jalapeno slices (yuck?). I took a picture of my sandwich so you can see it. A little messy. :)
Beekman's was also at the same farm, and I would have liked to get some homemade ice cream, but the line must have been 100 people long. I'll have to catch him tomorrow or Saturday. Really jonesen some ice cream today.
The shower situation this week has been great. Usually it's the "Shower Semi" which is just a semi trailer built up with a bunch of shower stalls in it. Had to use it once this week and it was fine, but it can be really hot during the day time because the sun is beating down on you. Every other night though we've had great showers. Rec centers, school locker rooms, and tonight over at the Grinnell College Athletic Center. Air conditioned, no lines, wonderful... It's like....if you'd been out mowing the lawn for four or five hours in 90+ degree temperatures. You're dirty, about 6 layers of sweat and sunscreen, and hot hot hot. That cool shower is heaven.
This evening I grabbed the shuttle, which is efficient here in Grinnell unlike what it was in Boone two nights ago, and headed downtown for supper. I hit up a Lasagna meal at a local church and then wandered around a bit and picked up some t-shirts for me and the kids. Then I grabbed the shuttle to come back to the campground. Not very exciting is it? :)
I wake up around 5-5:30am. Am riding by 6am. Stop before 7am for breakfast. Ride maybe 20 miles and grab a snack. Ride a little farther and get lunch (usually between 10:30am and 11am). Ride a little further and grab another snack. Then ride the rest of the way into the next overnight town. Find the campsite, get my gear, and setup my tent. Then relax and cool off in the group tent for an hour or so...read the RAGBRAI news...find out where the places to eat are and if anything else exciting is going on. Go grab a shower. Eat supper between 4PM and 6PM...because the churches run out of food quick. Find a place where I can plug in and charge my gear and do some writing. Once that's done get my stuff ready for the next morning and go to sleep. Crazy excitement let me tell you!
There are usually other interesting things to do. The last three towns have had water parks available. There are always concerts and things going on. There's always a "Colchester Labor Day" like thing going on somewhere with fair food, games, and such. The RAGBRAI expo is setup every night where all the vendors show off the latest bike gear and clothing. Stuff like that. If I was here with a group of family or friends I'm sure things would be different. I wouldn't use up a bunch of time writing every night. But I really enjoy not having anything pressing I have to do when I'm by myself. Not that I wouldn't love to have some family/friends along to do stuff with. ;)
There's lots of parent/child groups, and husband/wife groups. Some on tandems, but most not. I think there's probably a good reason why some husband/wife pairs don't ride a tandem bike. I have yet to decide whether it would work for Stephanie and me. :) Lots of pre-teen and teenagers. Lots of over 50 people. I think RAGBRAI is great for people who have free time (aka retirees) and vacation time (aka teachers, govt. employees). I met a husband and wife and their two boys (ages maybe 11 and 14ish?) last night. They drive from Sacramento California in three days, ride RAGBRAI, and then drive back to California in two days. They've done this like last 4 years or something. That's either crazy....or dedicated. They are hardcore riders and are all in excellent condition. Their kids have been doing 40-50 mile rides on their own road bikes for quite a while.
Well....almost 9PM so time to close up and get ready to go to sleep.
Here's the map for today. I had trouble with the phone first thing so didn't get it started until the first passthrough town.
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/43559806/
And some more pictures are up.
https://picasaweb.google.com/105817156041666253077/RAGBRAI39
Two more days. Be home soon!
Matt
Today was a shorter day, but the weather and terrain conspired against me once again. It was very hilly again today, and to top that off, it seemed every time we turned a corner the wind shifted so we were heading into it almost all morning. After noon it finally slacked off a bit so it wasn't so bad, but there were times in the morning where I was coasting down big hills at 17mph instead of the 30mph it would have been without the wind, and climbing at 5mph because I was wore out from fighting it on the uphill. It just saps my energy like crazy. I'd rather it be hot than windy.
We did get a break from the heat today though so that was good. It was cloudy most of the day and we even had some brief spurts of rain. Nothing major though. But it was enough to keep the temperatures down and the heat index to a bearable level.
I feel like I'm rushing through the ride....which I guess I am. With it being so hot about the only thing you want to do is get to the next overnight town as quickly as possible so you can get cooled off and get some sleep. On other RAGBRAIs when the weather is cooler is much easier to take a more leisurely pace.
There's a new food vendor on the ride this year that I don't remember from last time. They call themselves "The Peanut Butter Jam". Basically it's fancy PB&J with a tent off to the side with a couple amps and some instruments. Usually when I roll by someone will be out there playing the blues, or some old rock and roll stuff. I decided that today was the day to give them a try, the sandwich not the jam session. I had wheat bread, crunchy peanut butter, strawberry jam, honey, banana slices, and chocolate chips. It was actually really good. Other topping options include pretzels, potato chips, Captain Crunch, raisins, and today's special....jalapeno slices (yuck?). I took a picture of my sandwich so you can see it. A little messy. :)
Beekman's was also at the same farm, and I would have liked to get some homemade ice cream, but the line must have been 100 people long. I'll have to catch him tomorrow or Saturday. Really jonesen some ice cream today.
The shower situation this week has been great. Usually it's the "Shower Semi" which is just a semi trailer built up with a bunch of shower stalls in it. Had to use it once this week and it was fine, but it can be really hot during the day time because the sun is beating down on you. Every other night though we've had great showers. Rec centers, school locker rooms, and tonight over at the Grinnell College Athletic Center. Air conditioned, no lines, wonderful... It's like....if you'd been out mowing the lawn for four or five hours in 90+ degree temperatures. You're dirty, about 6 layers of sweat and sunscreen, and hot hot hot. That cool shower is heaven.
This evening I grabbed the shuttle, which is efficient here in Grinnell unlike what it was in Boone two nights ago, and headed downtown for supper. I hit up a Lasagna meal at a local church and then wandered around a bit and picked up some t-shirts for me and the kids. Then I grabbed the shuttle to come back to the campground. Not very exciting is it? :)
I wake up around 5-5:30am. Am riding by 6am. Stop before 7am for breakfast. Ride maybe 20 miles and grab a snack. Ride a little farther and get lunch (usually between 10:30am and 11am). Ride a little further and grab another snack. Then ride the rest of the way into the next overnight town. Find the campsite, get my gear, and setup my tent. Then relax and cool off in the group tent for an hour or so...read the RAGBRAI news...find out where the places to eat are and if anything else exciting is going on. Go grab a shower. Eat supper between 4PM and 6PM...because the churches run out of food quick. Find a place where I can plug in and charge my gear and do some writing. Once that's done get my stuff ready for the next morning and go to sleep. Crazy excitement let me tell you!
There are usually other interesting things to do. The last three towns have had water parks available. There are always concerts and things going on. There's always a "Colchester Labor Day" like thing going on somewhere with fair food, games, and such. The RAGBRAI expo is setup every night where all the vendors show off the latest bike gear and clothing. Stuff like that. If I was here with a group of family or friends I'm sure things would be different. I wouldn't use up a bunch of time writing every night. But I really enjoy not having anything pressing I have to do when I'm by myself. Not that I wouldn't love to have some family/friends along to do stuff with. ;)
There's lots of parent/child groups, and husband/wife groups. Some on tandems, but most not. I think there's probably a good reason why some husband/wife pairs don't ride a tandem bike. I have yet to decide whether it would work for Stephanie and me. :) Lots of pre-teen and teenagers. Lots of over 50 people. I think RAGBRAI is great for people who have free time (aka retirees) and vacation time (aka teachers, govt. employees). I met a husband and wife and their two boys (ages maybe 11 and 14ish?) last night. They drive from Sacramento California in three days, ride RAGBRAI, and then drive back to California in two days. They've done this like last 4 years or something. That's either crazy....or dedicated. They are hardcore riders and are all in excellent condition. Their kids have been doing 40-50 mile rides on their own road bikes for quite a while.
Well....almost 9PM so time to close up and get ready to go to sleep.
Here's the map for today. I had trouble with the phone first thing so didn't get it started until the first passthrough town.
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/43559806/
And some more pictures are up.
https://picasaweb.google.com/105817156041666253077/RAGBRAI39
Two more days. Be home soon!
Matt
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
RAGBRAI 39 - Day 4 (Boone to Altoona)
Hump Day! ...and what a day it was...
I got to bed late last night and the night before because of phone charging issues. Not going to do that again because I think the lack of rest caught up with me today. A combination of little rest, a bit of dehydration, and no food in my system immediately this morning, really kicked my can today.
I started out ok, and about 10 miles in someone from my group rode by and I hung with him at a pretty good pace for the next 10 miles or so....but I think the extra effort wore me out worse and after that my tank was empty. The last 30 miles were agonizingly slow. I couldn't climb well because my legs weren't cooperating. I couldn't drink enough water to re-hydrate, or eat enough food to energize my body. I was just done.
So I won't be making that mistake again...lots of rest, and plenty of food and water in my system before I start riding tomorrow. It's terribly hot here at the moment with a heat index around 100 probably. I'm hoping an evening storm blows through to cool things off a bit so I can sleep well. The fan helps a lot (THANKS RICK!!)...but when night time temps don't get below 80....it makes it really uncomfortable.
Luckily today was a shorter day at only 55 miles. We had a bit of a head wind which made it tougher than it should have been. Tomorrow is also shorter...pray for no head winds for us tomorrow.
I got in early because I left a little earlier to beat the heat. I was putting my tent up by 12:30 today. It's just so hot in the afternoon it's hard to get cooled down, even if we're just sitting in the shade of the group tent.
Not all was a loss though. I stopped in the last passthrough town to eat and rest and had a fabulous Iowa Beef hamburger (but a little fancier than the standard hamburger. They also had a veggie bar of items to put on the burger. It was nice to get some good veggies as you don't see many of those out on the road. There was also a solo act singing there in the town and he was fantastic. A lot of times the talent they bring in to the towns is just so-so to ok, but this guy was a great guitar player with a great voice. He could do a stint on American Idol if he wanted. I took a short video sample and am trying to get it posted up...it should be here on YouTube and I'm hoping the recording turned out ok. Can't really seem him because I was standing outside the tent he was in, but the audio should be ok. I think his name was Brad Morgan.
Speaking of food, here are some of the things I've sampled this week. A GIANT biscuits and gravy breakfast bowl which was enough to feed a family of four, I ate half. A huge turkey leg from the Tom's Turkey place and I couldn't eat half. Fabulous french toast and sausage. A great breakfast sandwich of eggs with veggies, monterey jack cheese, and pork sausage. Farmer Boys breakfast burrito with bacon and sausage and egg and potato and salsa and cheese. Church meals like spaghetti, turkey and noodles on mashed potatoes with stuffing and cranberry fluff and pie, chicken and noodles on mashed potatoes with corn and salad and chocolate cake and ice cream. On the road it's watermelon, smoothies, corn on the cob, apple/raspberry-peach/strawberry-rhubarb pie, apple crisp at an orchard/bee farm, cookies, bananas, water water water. I still have yet to hit some of the staples like Mr. Pork Chop, Pastafari, and Beekman's Ice Cream. Got a couple days yet. :)
I don't think I'm gaining any weight, but it's possible. It's happened to many a RAGBRAI rider. I'm burning something like an extra 3000 calories a day so I think I'm ok. I'll check the scale when I get home and let you know.
You meet a lot of interesting people on RAGBRAI from all over. It's a lot of fun to hear about where people are from, how they heard about RAGBRAI, how many they've done if it's not their first. If they've done it in the past they usually have great stories to tell. A group of us were at supper the other evening talking about why RAGBRAI is so popular and why people punish themselves every year to do it. One guy said he thought that RAGBRAI was so popular because it's so much about Americana (hotdogs, baseball, apple pie). The down to earth American-ness of it all. The culture of friendly Iowans who go out of their way to support and feed so many people from all over the world. There isn't another ride like this in the world. Someone else said that if you could get everyone in the world to ride RAGBRAI....there'd be world peace for a week. There's just something really "nice" about the whole thing. Mostly everyone, even the riders, are courteous, patient, friendly, willing to lend a hand, etc.... It's just a great adventure in a pretty normal part of America with some really great people.
People say it every year. They'll never come back...it was so hot/rainy/cold/dry/whatever. Then December rolls around and all the aches and pains are forgotten. They long for warmer weather, giant pork chops on a stick, chocolate covered cheesecake, and all the other great things on RAGBRAI. It's not for everyone....people quit every day. If someone WANTS to do it though....it just takes some training ahead of time...and having the mental toughness to not quit when it gets miserable, or your legs ache, or your tent leaks, or what have you. You don't have to be tall, short, fat, skinny, fast, slow, or crazy (but that sometimes helps). You just have to want to do it. I see people riding every day...and can't imagine how they finish...but tomorrow there they are again plugging away. It's really amazing.
Well I guess enough of that sappy RAGBRAI stuff. :) Here are the riding stats...
One more photo, of me sitting exhausted in one of the towns today. It's here.
See you in Grinnell tomorrow night!
Matt
I got to bed late last night and the night before because of phone charging issues. Not going to do that again because I think the lack of rest caught up with me today. A combination of little rest, a bit of dehydration, and no food in my system immediately this morning, really kicked my can today.
I started out ok, and about 10 miles in someone from my group rode by and I hung with him at a pretty good pace for the next 10 miles or so....but I think the extra effort wore me out worse and after that my tank was empty. The last 30 miles were agonizingly slow. I couldn't climb well because my legs weren't cooperating. I couldn't drink enough water to re-hydrate, or eat enough food to energize my body. I was just done.
So I won't be making that mistake again...lots of rest, and plenty of food and water in my system before I start riding tomorrow. It's terribly hot here at the moment with a heat index around 100 probably. I'm hoping an evening storm blows through to cool things off a bit so I can sleep well. The fan helps a lot (THANKS RICK!!)...but when night time temps don't get below 80....it makes it really uncomfortable.
Luckily today was a shorter day at only 55 miles. We had a bit of a head wind which made it tougher than it should have been. Tomorrow is also shorter...pray for no head winds for us tomorrow.
I got in early because I left a little earlier to beat the heat. I was putting my tent up by 12:30 today. It's just so hot in the afternoon it's hard to get cooled down, even if we're just sitting in the shade of the group tent.
Not all was a loss though. I stopped in the last passthrough town to eat and rest and had a fabulous Iowa Beef hamburger (but a little fancier than the standard hamburger. They also had a veggie bar of items to put on the burger. It was nice to get some good veggies as you don't see many of those out on the road. There was also a solo act singing there in the town and he was fantastic. A lot of times the talent they bring in to the towns is just so-so to ok, but this guy was a great guitar player with a great voice. He could do a stint on American Idol if he wanted. I took a short video sample and am trying to get it posted up...it should be here on YouTube and I'm hoping the recording turned out ok. Can't really seem him because I was standing outside the tent he was in, but the audio should be ok. I think his name was Brad Morgan.
Speaking of food, here are some of the things I've sampled this week. A GIANT biscuits and gravy breakfast bowl which was enough to feed a family of four, I ate half. A huge turkey leg from the Tom's Turkey place and I couldn't eat half. Fabulous french toast and sausage. A great breakfast sandwich of eggs with veggies, monterey jack cheese, and pork sausage. Farmer Boys breakfast burrito with bacon and sausage and egg and potato and salsa and cheese. Church meals like spaghetti, turkey and noodles on mashed potatoes with stuffing and cranberry fluff and pie, chicken and noodles on mashed potatoes with corn and salad and chocolate cake and ice cream. On the road it's watermelon, smoothies, corn on the cob, apple/raspberry-peach/strawberry-rhubarb pie, apple crisp at an orchard/bee farm, cookies, bananas, water water water. I still have yet to hit some of the staples like Mr. Pork Chop, Pastafari, and Beekman's Ice Cream. Got a couple days yet. :)
I don't think I'm gaining any weight, but it's possible. It's happened to many a RAGBRAI rider. I'm burning something like an extra 3000 calories a day so I think I'm ok. I'll check the scale when I get home and let you know.
You meet a lot of interesting people on RAGBRAI from all over. It's a lot of fun to hear about where people are from, how they heard about RAGBRAI, how many they've done if it's not their first. If they've done it in the past they usually have great stories to tell. A group of us were at supper the other evening talking about why RAGBRAI is so popular and why people punish themselves every year to do it. One guy said he thought that RAGBRAI was so popular because it's so much about Americana (hotdogs, baseball, apple pie). The down to earth American-ness of it all. The culture of friendly Iowans who go out of their way to support and feed so many people from all over the world. There isn't another ride like this in the world. Someone else said that if you could get everyone in the world to ride RAGBRAI....there'd be world peace for a week. There's just something really "nice" about the whole thing. Mostly everyone, even the riders, are courteous, patient, friendly, willing to lend a hand, etc.... It's just a great adventure in a pretty normal part of America with some really great people.
People say it every year. They'll never come back...it was so hot/rainy/cold/dry/whatever. Then December rolls around and all the aches and pains are forgotten. They long for warmer weather, giant pork chops on a stick, chocolate covered cheesecake, and all the other great things on RAGBRAI. It's not for everyone....people quit every day. If someone WANTS to do it though....it just takes some training ahead of time...and having the mental toughness to not quit when it gets miserable, or your legs ache, or your tent leaks, or what have you. You don't have to be tall, short, fat, skinny, fast, slow, or crazy (but that sometimes helps). You just have to want to do it. I see people riding every day...and can't imagine how they finish...but tomorrow there they are again plugging away. It's really amazing.
Well I guess enough of that sappy RAGBRAI stuff. :) Here are the riding stats...
One more photo, of me sitting exhausted in one of the towns today. It's here.
See you in Grinnell tomorrow night!
Matt
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
RAGBRAI 39 - Day 3 (Carroll to Boone)
LOTS OF PEOPLE!!! I don't remember the roads and towns being so packed like they have been the last two days. I heard they counted (don't ask me how they count them) 35,000 riders on Monday. Considering there are only 10,000 or so "registered" riders....that's a TON of extra people. If two riders go by every second, that's something like 5 hours of constant riders....and it's not constant. It's a lot at once in the morning, but by mid to late afternoon there are fewer. They were still straggling in last night after 10PM....and I still see them coming in tonight at 9PM. Many of them start by 4AM too....so that's 17 hours with riders regularly going by.
It was a longer ride today, about 70 miles. The morning was decent weather wise, not too hot until later in the morning.
The problem I had with today was there was not much to see. All the towns we passed through on the route, though nice, didn't have much going on except for food, beer tents, and maybe a band or something. It was like riding a bike for 70 miles, and every 10-13 miles passing through Tennessee, Illinois. Not much to see or do. I only took two pictures, and those are just early morning sunrise pictures. That was the most interesting thing to see.
It was flat almost all day (YAY!!). Right after the last town though, we had to go through the Des Moines river valley and the route had us going down this really long and really steep hill into the valley and then climbing back out again. It was like a mile to get to the bottom and over a mile back up to the top. I was going to stop and do a little video diary there with the camera, but the road curved around at the bottom so the "drama" of seeing riders flying down one side and crawling back up the other wasn't going to work...so I skipped it. They called it "Twister Hill", I think because they filmed a lot of the movie "Twister" there at Pilot Mound and on that road with the hill. On the way down I went faster then I think I've ever been on a bicycle. (Stephanie....close your eyes and plug your ears and say na-na-na-na-na if you don't want to know). 43.5 miles per hour I think was clocked on the bike computer, and I definitely was not pushing to go faster. If I'd started from the top faster....and tucked all the way down I have no doubt I would have hit 50.....and 43 was plenty fast for me. A little scary. One woman in our group said she hit 53 mph. No thanks...
The speed didn't last long however. Soon after reaching the bottom and crossing the bridge the climb started, and I'll bet I clocked a whole 3mph on the way up. I think it was the steepest hill of the week. At least half the people walked it, but I'm proud to say that I did not. Yay for me. :)
After the climb I took a long break at a farmhouse near the top where there was a stand serving smoothies. Then about 10 more miles and I made it into Boone. Once again our campsite was nearly at the farthest point from where we entered....and definitely uphill to get there too.
Oh...Lance Armstrong is here. He rode today, though I never saw him. The rumor is he's camping over at the same site my group is. Maybe I should go say hi? :) He's riding again tomorrow. If I can, I'll get a picture...but he cruises at 27-30 mph...so unless I catch him in town I might just get a blur as he goes by.
So that's it for today. I'm at a coffee shop/bakery. Most of my gear should be charged for tomorrow. Surprisingly my phone made it through the day today even though I was sure it was going to die. Short day tomorrow so there should be no problems there.
I put up my Day 2 and 3 pictures. I need to bring my son Will back to Elk Horn to see all those tanks...I think he'd love it.
Here is the map for the day from the phone.
Getting up early to beat the heat tomorrow so I'm going to go.
Matt
Monday, July 25, 2011
RAGBRAI 39 - Day 2 (Atlantic to Carroll)
Short update. It was very hilly again today, but I have some good pictures to share. I'm having trouble finding convenient locations to get Internet access and/or keep my gear charged.
I'm sitting at a coffee shop at the moment...hoping my devices get charged some before they close up.
Just real briefly...
Elkhorn... very cool. Had an old dutch windmill, and there's a guy there who collects older military vehicles. He had several in the downtown area to take a look at including a 1945 M5A1 Stuart tank(Will might recognize it), and the tracked snow vehicle I drove when I was on an exercise in Norway when I was in the Marines.
Manning.... had an old German Hausbarn that someone brought over from Germany in 1917ish....and rebuilt here. Cool again.
Templeton...big bootlegger town. They made rye whiskey there in the prohibition days and apparently it was very good and got smuggled all over the Midwest. I wonder if you could have found it in Kely Wagle's house in Colchester back then.
Well the shop is closing so I have to go.
Matt
I'm sitting at a coffee shop at the moment...hoping my devices get charged some before they close up.
Just real briefly...
Elkhorn... very cool. Had an old dutch windmill, and there's a guy there who collects older military vehicles. He had several in the downtown area to take a look at including a 1945 M5A1 Stuart tank(Will might recognize it), and the tracked snow vehicle I drove when I was on an exercise in Norway when I was in the Marines.
Manning.... had an old German Hausbarn that someone brought over from Germany in 1917ish....and rebuilt here. Cool again.
Templeton...big bootlegger town. They made rye whiskey there in the prohibition days and apparently it was very good and got smuggled all over the Midwest. I wonder if you could have found it in Kely Wagle's house in Colchester back then.
Well the shop is closing so I have to go.
Matt
Sunday, July 24, 2011
RAGBRAI 39 - Day 1 (Glenwood to Atlantic)
Slept great last night....except that I woke up at 3:45AM because somebody next to me was packing up their tent already. Most "normal" people wait until at least 5AM. :)
I was reminded this morning about one of the reasons why I like RAGBRAI....there's something really beautiful about Iowa...strange though that may seem. No majestic mountains, or a great ocean view, but it has a beauty all it's own. Could be the occasional whiff of manure reminds me of home in Illinois too. :)
Seemed to me today that people were starting out in a hurry. Or maybe I'm just slower than I used to be. It wasn't a very long day today....I clocked 60 miles on the odometer...but it was hilly. We had almost 4300 feet of climb today, so it was one long hill after another. Up one side real slow, down the other side real fast, and repeat about 60 times.
When we got to Atlantic and thought it was finally over....the OOS campsite was up the at the top of the steepest hill in town. The OOS workers put signs up that lead the riders in to the campsite at each town, and at every turn I'm thinking....must be close, must be close...and then I look up and there's this huge hill coming up and now I'm thinking...please be before the hill, please be before the hill. Every rider in my group who talked about it said the same thing. It was like the proverbial straw...the ultimate irony...OF COURSE our campsite has to be up at the top of that hill. Where else would it be.
I got in to Atlantic about 2ish and was surprised to see that I was earlier than most. In fact, there were still people straggling in at 8PM. I think the humidity got to a lot of people. There are quite a few in the group from places that really don't have to deal with it like we mid-westerners do. California, New Mexico and Arizona. There were a lot of complaints about the heat. It was definitely hot, but I didn't think it was terrible. Not as bad as last week when I was riding in Missouri. Could be because it's been so stinkin' hot in Illinois this summer that I'm accustomed to it.
I forgot my camera again....duh. But I did have the phone and took some photos with that. Some of them turned out pretty decent. I'll post the link to them at the bottom and promise to have the real camera with me tomorrow.
Here's a few photos...
https://picasaweb.google.com/techminer/RAGBRAI39
Here's the route info...
http://www.mapmyfitness.com/routes/view/42946928
Well....short post because I want to get some sleep. My legs are wore out from today, and tomorrow is supposed to be more hilly. After Carroll (tomorrow) we get to the pancake part of Iowa....and I'll probably miss having a couple hills to break the monotony.
Matt
I was reminded this morning about one of the reasons why I like RAGBRAI....there's something really beautiful about Iowa...strange though that may seem. No majestic mountains, or a great ocean view, but it has a beauty all it's own. Could be the occasional whiff of manure reminds me of home in Illinois too. :)
Seemed to me today that people were starting out in a hurry. Or maybe I'm just slower than I used to be. It wasn't a very long day today....I clocked 60 miles on the odometer...but it was hilly. We had almost 4300 feet of climb today, so it was one long hill after another. Up one side real slow, down the other side real fast, and repeat about 60 times.
When we got to Atlantic and thought it was finally over....the OOS campsite was up the at the top of the steepest hill in town. The OOS workers put signs up that lead the riders in to the campsite at each town, and at every turn I'm thinking....must be close, must be close...and then I look up and there's this huge hill coming up and now I'm thinking...please be before the hill, please be before the hill. Every rider in my group who talked about it said the same thing. It was like the proverbial straw...the ultimate irony...OF COURSE our campsite has to be up at the top of that hill. Where else would it be.
I got in to Atlantic about 2ish and was surprised to see that I was earlier than most. In fact, there were still people straggling in at 8PM. I think the humidity got to a lot of people. There are quite a few in the group from places that really don't have to deal with it like we mid-westerners do. California, New Mexico and Arizona. There were a lot of complaints about the heat. It was definitely hot, but I didn't think it was terrible. Not as bad as last week when I was riding in Missouri. Could be because it's been so stinkin' hot in Illinois this summer that I'm accustomed to it.
I forgot my camera again....duh. But I did have the phone and took some photos with that. Some of them turned out pretty decent. I'll post the link to them at the bottom and promise to have the real camera with me tomorrow.
Here's a few photos...
https://picasaweb.google.com/techminer/RAGBRAI39
Here's the route info...
http://www.mapmyfitness.com/routes/view/42946928
Well....short post because I want to get some sleep. My legs are wore out from today, and tomorrow is supposed to be more hilly. After Carroll (tomorrow) we get to the pancake part of Iowa....and I'll probably miss having a couple hills to break the monotony.
Matt
Saturday, July 23, 2011
RAGBRAI 39 - Day 0 (Davenport to Glenwood)
Yowza! Was it hot last night when Stephanie dropped me off in Davenport. The real temperature was in the 90s, but the heat index even at 9 or 10 PM was still in the 100s. Luckily, or maybe not, a storm blew through and cooled things off by at least 20 degrees. Not before I spent a miserable couple of hours dripping sweat in my personal oven, I mean tent. To top off that misery though, the campground was on Credit Island and we sat about 3 feet above the river level. So it was super humid....and very still (aka no breeze)...and the mosquitos were thick. They ate me alive while I was setting up my personal oven...I mean tent.
It was a bit of a frustrating evening. Stephanie missed a turn on the way out of the Quad Cities and we spent a few frustrated minutes on the phone trying to figure out where she was and how to get back to 67. She finally got there ok and made it home safe, if later than planned.
The drop off point for the bike was up at St. Ambrose University....then we couldn't find Credit Island....which is at least 5 miles from St. Ambrose where I was to meet the bus in the morning. So I had to take the shuttle back up the hill with all my gear. Usually you just load your bike, throw the tent up in a nearby grassy area, wake up in the morning and load the gear on the truck, and hop on the bus. It was a little more difficult this year.
The police did a good job of warning everyone about the approaching storm. Most everybody at the campground packed up their gear and drove to some indoor soccer stadium over by Centennial Bridge. The rest of us schmoes without transportation had to hang out at a club house there at the island, which wasn't so bad since it was air conditioned. I thought long and hard about just riding it out in the tent, but me and another guy were reminiscing about the "Storm of '05" and that kind of clinched it. We headed for the shelter shortly before the storm hit.
Apparantly that storm that we rode out in our tents back in 2005....is legendary on RAGBRAI now. I wore my T-Shirt from that year today and had lots of comments from people who said stuff like...."remember that storm we had in Sheldon that year?".
Anyway....got up this morning after only about 4 hours of fitful sleep, packed up, got a breakfast pizza and free cinnamon roll... they thought my pizza slice looked too small....and I think they had lots extra since so many had packed up to go to the other shelter location during the storm...thanks QC RAGBRAI staff!! Got to the bus pickup location and got loaded fine. Around 8AM we headed out and immediately our bus died. Driver started it back up....climbed up to the stoplight...and it died again. Started it again....turned right and....died again....and again....and again... Ended up they had to call up a new bus from Burlington because ours had at least one bad fuel injector. So after a 2.5 hour delay we FINALLY got underway headed for Glenwood.
Pretty uneventful trip over....but I wasn't looking forward to the predicted 100 REAL degree temperatures here in Glenwood. Thank the Lord however, it stayed mostly overcast all day, all the way to Glenwood. It was still hot and humid, but not what it would have been had the sun been out all day long beating down on us. Of course soon after we arrived the storm sirens went off and you could see a big ominous cloud heading our direction. I don't think there were any tornados, just a severe thunderstorm warning. Towns must have learned a lesson from the 2005 storm in Sheldon and are reluctant to take any chances....so they blew the sirens and had everybody head into the nearby high school. Didn't amount to much but definately got much cooler after the storm. It actually might be comfortable sleeping tonight which would be AWESOME!!! :)
I got all my riding gear put together and should be all set. RAGBRAI officially starts in the morning!!
Should have some pictures starting tomorrow too.
Matt
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