RAGBRAI XLVII: Day 4, Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Day 4 from Indianola and Centerville was the longest day of the ride, officially mapping out at eighty four miles. The beginning of the day had a little bit of a different feel since Lindsay and I were the only ones doing the entire ride that day.  Dad and Dick did the second half of the day.  Unfortunately, Lindsay had to battle a slow leak in her tire all day so between that and the distance, for most of the day’s ride we focused on grinding out the miles.  So there’s not a lot of pictures or commentary for this day.  

There was one random highlight of the day, however.  Until 2018, I had one bicycling jersey, a brown and yellow Deschutes Brewery jersey that my cousin Pam in Seattle had bought at a Goodwill for $5 four or five years ago.  Since it was my only jersey, I wore it a lot and for whatever reason, Mom isn’t a huge fan of this jersey so that made me like it more.  Lindsay, however, liked it because since there aren’t too many jerseys with its color scheme, it made me easier to find in the crowds of RAGBRAI.

Lindsay can spot me in this jersey!

I first discovered Lindsay’s leak when I filled up her tires and the front one was completely flat.  So I filled it up and it seemed to hold air so we departed.  As we progressed, it was apparent that it was very slowly leaking air.  When we got to Liberty Center, the bicycle repair line was very long, so I clumsily tried to fill it with it up with a CO2 cannister and mostly failed.  So we proceeded to Lacona, where Lindsay got in line for the bicycle repair while I went to get us some food.  After 20 minutes, she hadn’t moved, but we fortunately found someone with a pump and refilled it before continuing to Chariton.  And she was able to make it all the way to Centerville.

Since I have the picture below with Mom while wearing her “favorite” jersey of mine while we’re in a parking lot in Chariton, this is a great opportunity to discuss her role as our support crew. Everyday while we were pedaling away, Mom was driving the green Chevy pickup from overnight town to meeting town to overnight town navigating amongst thousands of other vehicles. In the morning, her typical routine would be to leave the overnight town and drive to the meeting town where she would find a place to park on a side street or parking lot. Then she would stand along the bicycle route flagging us down and directing us to spot for all of us to meet or letting us know the location of the truck.  Then when we departed the meeting town, she would drive to the next overnight town and flag us down again.  Most significantly, she gave up a week of vacation to do support for Lindsay and I.  A week off in the summer for Lindsay and I isn’t a big deal because we have ten or eleven weeks off.  But for her (and Dad) to give up a week to help us do all of RAGBRAI was very much appreciated.  And she even said that it was more fun than she thought it would be!  Thanks, Mom! Love you!

Look, Mom! My favorite jersey!

Pie of the Day

Dutch Apple 

Beer of the Day

Backpocket Brewery, Golden Coin

RAGBRAI XLVII: Day 3, Tuesday, July 23, 2019

After a relaxing nine hours of sleep in my own bed, Tuesday was scheduled to be 39 miles from Winterset to Indianola with the route skirting the southern exurbs/suburbs of the Des Moines area. Most RAGBRAI days have between 15,000-20,000 riders. Because of the short ride and proximity to Des Moines, estimates were for somewhere between 30,000-50,000 riders. I have no idea how many there were except that for the twenty-two miles from Winterset to Cumming were as full of riders as I can remember.  For the ride today, we were joined by Christina, Lindsay's friend and colleague.

Me, Dad, Dick, Christina, and Lindsay.

The most common ride I do in the Des Moines area is from the house to the town of Cumming (population 411). It's home to one of the more well-known bars in the area, the Cumming Tap.  Even though Cumming is very near Des Moines, the Tap is still very much a small town bar, but during the summer it's filled with bicyclists from Des Moines.  Sometimes the service at the Cumming Tap moves with a small town pace, which left Garv and I wondering whether or not they would be prepared.  The Cumming Tap was prepared.  I didn't get a picture or video of it, but they had a beer tent set up and were selling dozens or scores of cans every minute.  I probably spent two hours in Cumming and had a great time!

I'm very proud of the photo below, taken from the patio of the Cumming Tap,  because it captures four of the major aspects of RAGBRAI.

1. Lines.  There are lots of lines on RAGBRAI.  For the bathroom, food, beer, even showers.
2. A gator.  An observation original to me is that one of the reasons that RAGBRAI is so popular is not only the spectacle that it brings to small towns, but also that it provides an opportunity for people to drive their gators, four wheelers, and golf carts all over town because normal ordinances are not in effect when RAGBRAI rolls through.
3. Spot-a-pots.  Corn fields are far superior and never have a line.
4. Beer.  That semi trailer behind the spot-a-pots was refrigerated and full of beer (mostly Busch Light) and whatever those White Claw things are.

I ran into Mr. Brad Poock, a fellow Social Studies Teacher at Centennial in Cumming.

Lindsay and Christina in Cumming.

Dad and I wearing old and new iterations of the University of Okoboji jersey in Cumming.

Beer of the Day
The beer of the day could be nothing other than Busch Light.  I hadn't wanted to have the same beer of the day during the week, but they had a truckload of it. Plus, this is Iowa and or whatever reason, Iowans love Busch Light.  It's not my beer of choice, but when in Rome...

Pie of the Day
Since I had the same kind of beer as I had on Sunday, I figured I'd double up on Apple Pie, though this one was from the Amish Pie Stand.

I wish I had more to report, but from Cumming to Indianola actually thinned out a little and since it was only 17 miles, there isn't anything else left to report.

Enjoying our Amish pie and ice cream

RAGBRAI XLVII: Day 2, Monday, July 22, 2019

Day 2: Monday, July 22, 2019
As you can see from the pictures, the weather on Monday was a huge improvement from Sunday. 

Dick, Kelsi, Lindsay, Jean, Me, Dad, and Mom in Atlantic before departing for the day's ride

Doris Krogman, our host in Atlantic, and Dad before departing for the day

One of my favorite parts of RAGBRAI is on the first day and coming to the crest of the first hill and looking ahead to a county road filled with bicycles.  The temperature is comfortable and there's an enthusiasm that can heard and felt since everyone is excited and energized.  I had to save that moment for Monday since I wasn't going to mess with my phone in the rain. 

I wish I was a more skilled photographer so I could capture how incredible this actually looks.

Pass-through Towns

RAGBRAI is the "longest, largest, and oldest recreational bicycle touring event in the world."  One of the reasons it's so successful is that it turns otherwise sleepy small towns into hives of activity swarming with bicyclists.  In these small towns, RAGBRAI passing through provides something to prepare for, something to talk about, and most importantly, an infusion of cash. The small town we spent the most time in during the ride was Anita, which is also where Westel Systems, the company for which Dad has worked for 38 years, has an exchange.  On RABGRAI, towns like Anita, population 926, have 15,000 riders roll through and it's a spectacle that can't be replicated. 

We spent quite a bit of time in Anita and eventually ate at the American Legion, which I don't have pictures of.  One of the things we discovered is that American Legions, Elks Clubs, etc usually don't have lines because they're tucked into a storefront or building that doesn't have a lot of windows or look like a business.  So to avoid the lines for food and the restroom, we began to seek out the storefronts for civic organizations rather than the vendors and spot-a-pots on the streets.

Bacon on a stick.  A photos can't capture the energy of this scene.

Dad and Rich Barnholdt, one of dad's Westel co-workers

Family pic in front of Westel's Anita exchange, sporting the former name of West Iowa Telephone Co

The Ride

The wind on Monday was out of the north so we face headwind and crosswind for most of the ride.  The last third of the ride, however, was a straight tailwind and we were able to fly from Earlham to Winterset.

Beer of the Day

On the day that I wore my West O jersey, I was lucky enough to find West O Coco Stout.  A stout is not necessarily a great summer beer, but Coco Stout is so good that it doesn't matter.  

In my 15 minutes of social media fame, I tagged West O in this picture, which they then put on their Instagram feed!

Me, Dad, Jean

Pie of the Day

I found pie at the Amish pie and ice cream stand that was located about halfway through the route.  Jean had alerted Lindsay and I to this stand last year, so I wanted to visit it everyday.  The Amish don't work Sunday, but they did on Monday and created this delicious blueberry pie, my favorite.

Overnight Towns

One of my regrets of RAGBRAI week is that I was so focused on the ride (and the pie and beer) that, other than Atlantic, I didn't take the time to enjoy what the overnight towns have to offer.  Monday's overnight town was Winterset, which has all kinds of touristy things to do, including John Wayne's birthplace and museum and the Bridges of Madison County, which I've never been to.  But I was tired and we were staying in Des Moines that night. Since Winterset is only half an hour away, I figured that I could visit some other time.  Besides, a shower in my own bathroom and sleeping in my own bed sounded much better than being a tourist.

Mary, Kelsi, and Traci (my cousin) at John Wayne's Birthplace and Museum

RAGBRAI XLVII: Day 1, Sunday, July 21, 2019

Day 1: Sunday, July 21, 2019 

When we woke up Sunday morning at 7 am, it was raining, thundering, and lightning and the radar looked like it would last a few more hours so we went back bed.  By 8 am, however, the thunder and lightning was gone and it had even stopped raining.  By the time Lindsay, Dad, Dick, and I got on our bikes at 9 am, it was raining again.  So we rode the first forty miles in the rain, which wasn’t a great way to start the event.  When it rains, it’s also a bummer for the towns because the residents have spent so much time preparing and the rain definitely dampens (pun intended) spirits.  There is also likely an economic hit, because instead of stopping every other town or so, we only stopped to make purchases in the meeting town of Avoca which was about forty miles into the ride.

Lindsay, Kelsi, Dick, Dad, and I before departing for our first ride.

Kelsi (Mary and Dick's granddaughter) pouring Missouri River Water on the Dick's back tire.

With Dad and Jean in Avoca.  It rained from Council Bluffs to Avoca.

The bright spot of the morning which was in Underwood, we parked our bikes along a building on the outskirts of town and who should come around the corner but Aunt Jean (Dad’s sister). Jean is a bicycling machine, logging over 2000 training miles this year, and this year marked her 19th complete RAGBRAI.  We always manage to run into her and often ride with her, but it was especially serendipitous for the first person out of thousands we run into to be her.  We then rode together the rest of the day.  

As for the ride, the first forty miles were rainy and flat and the last twenty miles were dry and hilly...though we were still wet for the rest of the day. 

Pie of the Day

The pie of the day was a slice of apple at the Catholic Church in Atlantic.  I overheard one of the church volunteers say that it was not homemade. But it tasted just fine because I hadn't had any all day and wanted to have a piece everyday.

Beer of the Day

As you can tell from my shirt, I really wanted a Miller Lite on the first day. I didn't look for one on the route since I was more concerned with getting the ride finished and getting out of wet clothes. I looked a little bit for one in Atlantic, but I didn't find one because the beer tent didn't sell it. So I had to settle for a Busch Light, which maybe suiting since it is the most popular beer in Iowa and RAGBRAI is an iconic Iowa event. One of the highlights of Day 1 was a very mini IKM (where I taught and coached from 2003-2008) sports reunion.  While walking around downtown Atlantic, I unexpectedly ran into Coach Tom Casey (recently inducted into the Iowa Football Coaches Hall of Fame) and his wife Diane in Atlantic who were there for the festivities.  In every overnight town, RAGBRAI organizes a concert for riders, but it also ends up being for people in the surrounding area since RAGBRAI is quite the spectacle.  The band that night was an 80s rock tribute band called Hairball, who are one of the better known local acts across the upper Midwest and the Casey's were in town to see them. I coached football with Coach Casey for five years and he taught me a lot about what to do (and occasionally what not to do!) as a coach. Also joining us was Zack Bandow who played quarterback on the 2006 state championship team and is now a dentist in Atlantic.  Besides playing quarterback, he also played for the state qualifying basketball team I coached and pitched and played first base on some really good baseball teams. We had a great time reminiscing about the good ole days before I had to depart so I could get a good night's sleep. I'm sure some RAGBRAI'ers stayed for the whole show and partied into the night. But in my experience, those who want to do the whole ride don't do that because there's only so much the body can take. And I didn't want to test that after the first day!

With Zack and Coach Casey in downtown Atlantic

And finally, a big thank you to Doris Krogman, a retired former co-worker of dad at Westel Systems, who graciously hosted us in Atlantic! 

RAGBRAI XLVII: 2019: Introduction and Day 0, Saturday, July 20, 2019

Introduction

I did a part of RAGBRAI for the first time in 2008 and have done parts of it several times since, usually when it was geographically convenient.  I have never done an entire RAGBRAI because although I enjoyed the experience of RAGBRAI--the towns, the people, the sights and sounds--I didn’t enjoy bicycling that much.  And ultimately, if you want to do RAGBRAI, you have to pound out ten or fifteen mile stretches that aren’t always so fun.  Those stretches are even less fun when your bike is shitty.  That changed, however, when I bought a new bike in February of 2018, updating from a hybrid to road bike.  Last year, when I did two days of RAGBRAI, I enjoyed the bicycling so much more which enabled me to enjoy RAGBRAI even more. 

When the RAGBRAI route is announced in late January, we always start sketching out what days we’ll do based on where the route is and what kind of accommodations we could have.  We refuse to sleep in tents after a bad experience with storms in 2008 and heat in 2012 so access to indoors is paramount.   This year, as we went through the route, it became apparent that we could have indoor accommodations in or near every overnight town. Lindsay, my sister, had always wanted to do an entire RAGBRAI, but I had never wanted to do all of RAGBRAI because of how poor my bicycle was.  So Lindsay's bucket list item, my extremely positive experience last year, and the convenience of this year’s route, made it obvious to us that we should do the whole thing. Over the course of the entire week we were joined by dad and my Uncle Dick, who rode parts of each day and Mom and Aunt Mary (mom's sister), who drove the support vehicles the entire week. We were also joined by others throughout the week who I will introduce as we go along.

Finally, I haven't done a good job of keeping up with this blog (my last post was three years ago!) even though I've traveled quite a bit. So I figured that RAGBRAI was a perfect opportunity to remove the mothballs and I will provide recaps of each day of RAGBRAI over the next few weeks.

Day 0: Saturday, July 20, 2019 

The tradition on RAGBRAI is to start the ride by dipping your back tire in the Missouri River (or one of the tributaries if the route starts in northwest Iowa).  Because of massive flooding earlier this year, however, the official dip site was not the actual river.  Instead it was a couple wading pools in the parking lot with Missouri River water in it.  I wasn’t really pleased with this arrangement because for my first full RAGBRAI I wanted my tire in the actual river, but we had arrived in Council Bluffs in the evening and I wasn’t in a position to go exploring on my bicycle to find a spot to put my back tire in the Missouri. So we dipped our tires in wading pool in a parking lot.

Can you see the Mighty Mo in the background?

Beer of the Day

For everyday of RAGBRAI I’m going to highlight a “beer of the day.”  I’ll also highlight a “pie of the day” starting on Day 1. 

Since the tire dip didn’t take place in the traditional RAGBRAI manner, it's fitting that our pre-ride meal wasn’t very traditional either.  Instead of a meal at a church, community organization, or a vendor at the bicycle expo, we ate at….Olive Garden! I’m not usually a fan of chain restaurants, but I do like Olive Garden and all the bread and pasta was a good meal the night before RAGBRAI.  Since I always order Peroni at Olive Garden, it was the “beer of the day" and my only beer of the day. I certainly didn’t think Peroni would be one of my “beers of the day,” but sometimes on RAGBRAI things don’t go as planned.

A Peroni at Olive Garden--Very RAGBRAI-esque...

I wish I had more to report or more pictures, but this is all I got for Day 0...After our meal, we returned to the hotel and prepared our bicycles for the first of seven days of riding!