Day ? (lost track of how long the ride is, but know it's the last day) and we finally stayed in the town the ride departs from, so Jeff was up and out on his own & I got to sleep until 7AM-yea. Nice quiet morning for me and Jeff made his usual 9AM ish call before I had packed up our mess. His ride was going extremely well, partially due to a somewhat pleasant morning and yes indeed, it was the last day of RAGBRAI.
Jeff called at his usual 9AM check in and I hadn't even packed up the room. I've never know whether to settle in, or hit the road, but usually manage to be on time to watch the riders arrive at the day's final destination. Out of all the days of coordinating meeting points, boy did we ever miscommunicate this afternoon. I was waiting by the bridge over the Mississippi, north of the casino, on the bike path. Sounds reasonable, right? But we Coloradoans never considered that there might be more than one bridge over the mighty Mississip in Davenport, that the bike path along the river was miles long, and certainly never considered there would be more than one casino in town (Isle of Capri & Rhythm City, that we now know of). An hour later, many, many calls back and forth, and the GPS lady telling me she was re-calculating, I did in fact find Jeff, 4 miles from where I assumed we would meet.
On the road, I-80 west, heading home. I had a blast, never did get to weave, and oddly never had a chance to finish the "Adderall Diaries", and Lance never showed as advertised (that we know of). Another successful RAGBRAI for Jeff-445 miles this year. Jeff wore his Colorado bike shirt the first day of the ride and also the final day of the ride. I couldn't be more proud of Jeff and this incredible week!
...I know I'm missing a day of the blog, and it was certainly the funnest-I'll try to catch up in a few days so keep watching...
Oh, and Jimmy answered the last trivia question correctly, along with the bonus question, so his prize will be mailed in a manila envelope within 30 days upon our arrival in Colorado.
One more trivia question though-what kind of animal looks like a big rat, but has almost an armour, scaly looking body. The rat thing is about a foot long, kinda of brownish, grayish, and not in the least bit cute. I've only seen this animal squished on the side of the road. So, maybe not a trivia question, but just identifying road kill.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Friday, 7/29/22-Now we know what a heat index is.
We checked out of the luxury hotel at 5:15AM, to a somewhat pleasant and foggy morning. It was cooler outside than in the hallway of the hotel. Back to Grinnell to catch up to the riders and looking forward to the Amana Colonies. I found a nice little diner, had breakfast & lots of coffee, and on the highway by 7:30-way too early for me. All the rest stops advertise wifi access. I couldn't resist so made the pit stop just to check my email and FB. Crazy that it works and even crazier that I made the stop the highlight of my morning. The was a Seik at the rest stop in turban, no shirt & yoga pants chanting and walking around in a square very slowly. Wonder what the truckers thought about all of this?
I met Jeff in Marengo near the Amanas. My drive was hilly and just beautiful. Jeff said his ride was real flat and he finds that a hard ride just watching the straight road ahead for miles. While I was watching for Jeff to come in, some nutty woman started playing the trumpet, and playing very poorly. What a way to wreck a lovely morning in a lovely little town. Everyone sitting on the sidewalk around her got up & moved. She got the hint, but it took four "songs". No pie in Marengo but the shade was welcomed as the day was heating up.
My route and the RAGBRAI route criss crossed several times. I got to see the crowd on the open road and tried to take a few pictures. One of the riders said I should label his picture "one tired old man". The light was so bright, I could barely see what I was snapping, so not sure if I'll have any pics to post. I did take a few pictures as the riders were coming into Marengo, set up for a group of riders rounding the corner & by God, Jeff just happened to be in that group. MAYBE, I'll have a picture of him riding.
I made it to the Amana Colonies, found the broom & basket shop, but bummed the quilt shop was no longer there. The last time I was there, you could barely get into the place, so not sure what happened to the quilts. There were very few visitors in general, heat heading towards oppressive, so not as much fun as I expected. The riders went right through Homestead so no chance to stop at the shops there.
Decided to plug in the GPS to see what direction the lady would take me to Coralville. She must have not known about RAGBRAI because sent sent down the exact highway the riders were on. I chose an alternate route and found my spot that the riders would come into town. The heat was similar to a pizza oven by that time and I was dripping after 5 minutes, knowing that Jeff must be dying by now after 6-7 hours on the bike.
Looking forward to an uneventful evening.
I met Jeff in Marengo near the Amanas. My drive was hilly and just beautiful. Jeff said his ride was real flat and he finds that a hard ride just watching the straight road ahead for miles. While I was watching for Jeff to come in, some nutty woman started playing the trumpet, and playing very poorly. What a way to wreck a lovely morning in a lovely little town. Everyone sitting on the sidewalk around her got up & moved. She got the hint, but it took four "songs". No pie in Marengo but the shade was welcomed as the day was heating up.
My route and the RAGBRAI route criss crossed several times. I got to see the crowd on the open road and tried to take a few pictures. One of the riders said I should label his picture "one tired old man". The light was so bright, I could barely see what I was snapping, so not sure if I'll have any pics to post. I did take a few pictures as the riders were coming into Marengo, set up for a group of riders rounding the corner & by God, Jeff just happened to be in that group. MAYBE, I'll have a picture of him riding.
I made it to the Amana Colonies, found the broom & basket shop, but bummed the quilt shop was no longer there. The last time I was there, you could barely get into the place, so not sure what happened to the quilts. There were very few visitors in general, heat heading towards oppressive, so not as much fun as I expected. The riders went right through Homestead so no chance to stop at the shops there.
Decided to plug in the GPS to see what direction the lady would take me to Coralville. She must have not known about RAGBRAI because sent sent down the exact highway the riders were on. I chose an alternate route and found my spot that the riders would come into town. The heat was similar to a pizza oven by that time and I was dripping after 5 minutes, knowing that Jeff must be dying by now after 6-7 hours on the bike.
Looking forward to an uneventful evening.
Wednesday, 7/27/11-Queen Anne's Lace & Black Eyed Susans
Jeff riding Boone to Altoona. We stayed in Ames last night so I dropped Jeff off several miles east of Boone, picking up the crowd of riders still in the dark. I love watching the pack of riders setting out in the morning all nice and fresh. Watching them come in in the afternoon is another story-hot, exhausted, sweaty-much like myself. Again, I have nothing but praise for my air conditioned car.
Jeff rode into the meeting town and called way before I left the hotel. I did my treadmill miles in the proverbial "recreation center". The little tiny rec room was next to the pool and hot and humid, so I had worked up a sweat in five minutes. I was ready to give up, but then I remembered the 10,000 peddlers. My drive was short down to Altoona, so I took a nice detour, country roads lines with Queen Anne's Lace and Black Eyed Susans-nice Midwest wild flowers that are three feet tall here and maybe a foot tall in Colorado, and we need to purchase them.
After some of the dinky towns we've pulled into and overnighted in, Altoona (and our overnight in Alkeny) were urban sprawl. We complained in Denison of no restaurants, and now we find strip mall, after strip mall complete with nail salon, liquor store, & bank.
Nice Italian dinner in old town Alkeny, thought we might see a movie, back to the hotel, rearranged the furniture to watch the MLS Allstars/ManU soccer game in Spanish high def, and promptly fell asleep. Heat/humidity is killing us.
Trivia question of the day-name one of the first three American soldiers to die in WWI who is from Iowa. Bonus points-which city is this soldier now buried in?
Jeff rode into the meeting town and called way before I left the hotel. I did my treadmill miles in the proverbial "recreation center". The little tiny rec room was next to the pool and hot and humid, so I had worked up a sweat in five minutes. I was ready to give up, but then I remembered the 10,000 peddlers. My drive was short down to Altoona, so I took a nice detour, country roads lines with Queen Anne's Lace and Black Eyed Susans-nice Midwest wild flowers that are three feet tall here and maybe a foot tall in Colorado, and we need to purchase them.
After some of the dinky towns we've pulled into and overnighted in, Altoona (and our overnight in Alkeny) were urban sprawl. We complained in Denison of no restaurants, and now we find strip mall, after strip mall complete with nail salon, liquor store, & bank.
Nice Italian dinner in old town Alkeny, thought we might see a movie, back to the hotel, rearranged the furniture to watch the MLS Allstars/ManU soccer game in Spanish high def, and promptly fell asleep. Heat/humidity is killing us.
Trivia question of the day-name one of the first three American soldiers to die in WWI who is from Iowa. Bonus points-which city is this soldier now buried in?
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Tuesday, 7/26/11-corn anyone?
Watched the wind mills in the sunrise as we drove back into Carroll for today's start. Jeff off due east through the corn (which I'm sure is way taller than Jeff), Jill off to the Kmart parking lot to drink coffee & read. It's hard to believe such a nice little town did not have a diner. The past few days were rides through rolling corn fields. More & more corn today, mostly a flat, windless journey. Sounds nice, but made for an incredibly hot day in unorganized Boone.
I arrived town way too early and thought I'd pamper myself with an elegant pedicure at WalMart. Back down to the south end of town, I muster the courage for the pedi, and find the WalMart is not a super store with all the fancy amenities. It was almost too hot to sit outside to read and I was glad when Jeff called to say he was an hour out of Boone. I had driven around enough to know where to meet Jeff (out in the corn field) so he didn't need to ride the extra 5 miles through town. I waited about 2 miles out of town and the riders coming in looked wiped out. Way too hot of a day for these guys.
Mom won yesterday's trivia question. The answer was Donna Reed. Jim, you were close, but disqualified with an incorrect spelling of Miss "Reed's" last name. Today's trivia question-which former first lady was born in Boone and has a museum and street named in her honor (and I drove up & down that street this morning at least 10 times)?
Jeff desperately needs a compass. I'm glad he has 10,000 riders with him or he'd be in Michigan by now. I've tried to take some pictures but it's too dark when Jeff starts out & too humid when I pick him up.
Evening update-after straightening up the car, coming to the room drenched in sweat, Jeff is sitting around naked, having a (several) G & T. I'm just doing laundry.
I arrived town way too early and thought I'd pamper myself with an elegant pedicure at WalMart. Back down to the south end of town, I muster the courage for the pedi, and find the WalMart is not a super store with all the fancy amenities. It was almost too hot to sit outside to read and I was glad when Jeff called to say he was an hour out of Boone. I had driven around enough to know where to meet Jeff (out in the corn field) so he didn't need to ride the extra 5 miles through town. I waited about 2 miles out of town and the riders coming in looked wiped out. Way too hot of a day for these guys.
Mom won yesterday's trivia question. The answer was Donna Reed. Jim, you were close, but disqualified with an incorrect spelling of Miss "Reed's" last name. Today's trivia question-which former first lady was born in Boone and has a museum and street named in her honor (and I drove up & down that street this morning at least 10 times)?
Jeff desperately needs a compass. I'm glad he has 10,000 riders with him or he'd be in Michigan by now. I've tried to take some pictures but it's too dark when Jeff starts out & too humid when I pick him up.
Evening update-after straightening up the car, coming to the room drenched in sweat, Jeff is sitting around naked, having a (several) G & T. I'm just doing laundry.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Monday, 7/25/11 Pie, pie, me-oh-my
I dropped Jeff off, litterally, on the highway exit to pick up the bike ride, in front of a channel 13 camera man. Let's see if we can stay awake long enough tonight to see if he makes it on the Iowa news. Heavy fog and the State police held up the riders without head lamps until 6AM, and off they rode, up yet another hill. (Jana & girls, we drove past your favorite Walnut Super 8 several times and waved for you).
The RAGBRAI mid point meeting town today was Manning. I told Jeff I'd meet him there and even with all our precision calculations, Jeff arrived before me. The town really gave a warm welcome-folks everywhere to greet the riders and sell every kind of food imaginable. Our choice was blueberry peach pie made by the VFW ladies. The rhubarb pie looked great too, and the pecan, and the apple, and the cherry...There was a guy eating what I thought was a fudgecicle, but it was actually a fat pork chop on a stick-odd, but looked really good, if you like a big chunk of meat on a stick at 9:30 in the morning.
Off we all went to Carroll, the bikes in one direction, the support crew skirting around the bike route. I finally made it to a town before Jeff and sat on the edge of the park/cemetary in my folding chair and floppy hat for several very enjoyable hours with the Carrolleans cheering on the riders at they rode up the last big hill of the day into town. One of the little kids gave me an American flag and we waved and cheered in the guy on the elipticle bike, the recumbant bikes, the older (& I'm talking old) couple on their tandem, the beautifully tanned, fit, young couple with their 5 year old daughter all in matching bike clothes on their threesome bike, and all the other riders, big & small, young & old. Over the hill came Jeffrey, I caught his attention (sure he would ride right past me), and 30 minutes later we were off for lunch.
We're staying in Denison, way out of the way of RAGBRAI, but nice enough and thank God they also have a Pizza Ranch (odd, odd, set up with a pizza, fried chicken, mashed potato buffett-and you are be expected to eat at least 6 plates of food per visit). Here's your trivia question for the week-which Oscar award winning actress grew up in a farm near Denison, has a performing acts center in town named after her and her Oscar is at the McHendry Museum? Keep in mind that no one under 40 will ever guess the answer.
Jeff is tanned and having little difficulty with the hills. Lower altitude is kind to both of us, heat & humidity, not so much.
The RAGBRAI mid point meeting town today was Manning. I told Jeff I'd meet him there and even with all our precision calculations, Jeff arrived before me. The town really gave a warm welcome-folks everywhere to greet the riders and sell every kind of food imaginable. Our choice was blueberry peach pie made by the VFW ladies. The rhubarb pie looked great too, and the pecan, and the apple, and the cherry...There was a guy eating what I thought was a fudgecicle, but it was actually a fat pork chop on a stick-odd, but looked really good, if you like a big chunk of meat on a stick at 9:30 in the morning.
Off we all went to Carroll, the bikes in one direction, the support crew skirting around the bike route. I finally made it to a town before Jeff and sat on the edge of the park/cemetary in my folding chair and floppy hat for several very enjoyable hours with the Carrolleans cheering on the riders at they rode up the last big hill of the day into town. One of the little kids gave me an American flag and we waved and cheered in the guy on the elipticle bike, the recumbant bikes, the older (& I'm talking old) couple on their tandem, the beautifully tanned, fit, young couple with their 5 year old daughter all in matching bike clothes on their threesome bike, and all the other riders, big & small, young & old. Over the hill came Jeffrey, I caught his attention (sure he would ride right past me), and 30 minutes later we were off for lunch.
We're staying in Denison, way out of the way of RAGBRAI, but nice enough and thank God they also have a Pizza Ranch (odd, odd, set up with a pizza, fried chicken, mashed potato buffett-and you are be expected to eat at least 6 plates of food per visit). Here's your trivia question for the week-which Oscar award winning actress grew up in a farm near Denison, has a performing acts center in town named after her and her Oscar is at the McHendry Museum? Keep in mind that no one under 40 will ever guess the answer.
Jeff is tanned and having little difficulty with the hills. Lower altitude is kind to both of us, heat & humidity, not so much.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Sunday, 7/24/11 HOT, HOT, HOT (HUMID, HUMID, HUMID)
Up at 4:45AM, out the door at 5AM. I must sound fixated with the early hours, but Jeff did complement me on being chipper this morning. Chipper AND on time-a first for me. Over the bridge again and into Glenwood before sunrise with many bikers already on their way. The sky was filled with lightening a little off to south. The ride was headed north east and looked like heat lightening (at 5AM?). Jeff pumped up his bicycle tires in the dark, strapped on his ID's, and off he road in his new Colorado bike shirt (yes, he had shorts on , too). I drove back to the hotel, still dark, tried to sleeep but by then everyone else at the hotel was on the move and had to shower at the same time. I was on the treadmill when Jeff called to say he was already at the midway meeting town,
sounding perky as can be.
I got caught in traffic on the way to Atlantic and breezed into town a little later than planned. Made a pit stop in town, in line at Taco Bell for an iced tea when Jeff called. He was at a cross street I had just passed 5 minutes earlier. I told him where I was & he said he was not riding one block further. What are the chances that we actually knew where to find each other in a town in Iowa we've never been to? Jeff was at 6th & Olive, I had found a spot at 7th & Birch, a fitting meeting place I thought. While I was driving on the highway, my ride was windy & hilly-unfortunately, so was Jeff's. He looked a bit whacked and was glad for the cold beer and let me drive back to Avoca. Jeff said many of the riders had to walk their bikes on the hills, not quite the "pretty hills" we've always commented on as we drive on I-80. The pork chop guy was working the grill at 8:30AM and Jeff found the Pastafarians for a mid day snack.
Back in Avoca, our room was not ready, so we found, guess what, a tavern. After a couple of beers and a bag of chips, we asked the bar tender for a dinner recommendation. He suggested that we drive 11 miles north to Harlan where they have a bunch of "real nice restaurants"-Burger King, Wings, Pizza Ranch, or the deli at High Value".
Back again at the Motel 6, the owner/front desk guy has LOTS of RULES that we RAGBRAI participants MUST obey, like insisting we are quiet, no partying, no bikes in the rooms, etc. He's nice and the runs his hotel much the same Jeff & I would run a hotel-he must be German.
sounding perky as can be.
I got caught in traffic on the way to Atlantic and breezed into town a little later than planned. Made a pit stop in town, in line at Taco Bell for an iced tea when Jeff called. He was at a cross street I had just passed 5 minutes earlier. I told him where I was & he said he was not riding one block further. What are the chances that we actually knew where to find each other in a town in Iowa we've never been to? Jeff was at 6th & Olive, I had found a spot at 7th & Birch, a fitting meeting place I thought. While I was driving on the highway, my ride was windy & hilly-unfortunately, so was Jeff's. He looked a bit whacked and was glad for the cold beer and let me drive back to Avoca. Jeff said many of the riders had to walk their bikes on the hills, not quite the "pretty hills" we've always commented on as we drive on I-80. The pork chop guy was working the grill at 8:30AM and Jeff found the Pastafarians for a mid day snack.
Back in Avoca, our room was not ready, so we found, guess what, a tavern. After a couple of beers and a bag of chips, we asked the bar tender for a dinner recommendation. He suggested that we drive 11 miles north to Harlan where they have a bunch of "real nice restaurants"-Burger King, Wings, Pizza Ranch, or the deli at High Value".
Back again at the Motel 6, the owner/front desk guy has LOTS of RULES that we RAGBRAI participants MUST obey, like insisting we are quiet, no partying, no bikes in the rooms, etc. He's nice and the runs his hotel much the same Jeff & I would run a hotel-he must be German.
Sat, 7/23/11-ROAD TRIP!
Pulled out of the driveway at 6:59AM-my deadline was 7AM. Nothing too exciting on the drive. Forgot to bring along some music so listened to hours of NPR and played the state license plate game. We weren't going to admit that, but found 35 different states (maybe next trip we'll collect pretty stones and bird watch). Found our hotel and the start of RAGBRAI with the help of Lisa J's GPS, have a good wireless connection, and our cell phones to communicate. It's hard to believe that we made our first trip through Nebraska & Iowa almost 40 years ago with a Chevy Vega that we needed to carry a case of oil for, no a/c, driving 55 mph, and no cell phones.
We drove to Glenwood, the start of the bike ride, to get our berrings. So did 10, 000 others! People everywhere, bikes, tents, and lots of beer. Everyone was so fired up and festive-I'm sure they forgot that in a few hours they headed up the hills on two wheels.
We had to cross the toll bridge over the Missouri river to get into Iowa. The river is so flooded you could see just the tops of basketball hoops and goal posts, and only the roof of what is probably a shelter in a park on the river. The corns fields are also flooded around the river with sand bags along the river bank.
Jeff's gear is ready & he's off very early in the morning.
We drove to Glenwood, the start of the bike ride, to get our berrings. So did 10, 000 others! People everywhere, bikes, tents, and lots of beer. Everyone was so fired up and festive-I'm sure they forgot that in a few hours they headed up the hills on two wheels.
We had to cross the toll bridge over the Missouri river to get into Iowa. The river is so flooded you could see just the tops of basketball hoops and goal posts, and only the roof of what is probably a shelter in a park on the river. The corns fields are also flooded around the river with sand bags along the river bank.
Jeff's gear is ready & he's off very early in the morning.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Wed, 7/20/11-what's a heat index?!
While we're sweltering in Colorado with the temps in the 90's and elevated humidity (for us guys), our real weather focus is on the HEAT INDEX in Iowa. The high in Newton (one of our over night spots) was 126 yesterday, giving us cause for concern and a thought of axing the whole trip. I hate to be HOT, my knees detest the humidity, and we all know that I can become very crabby. But, this adventure is really Jeff's and we collectively agreeded we're a GO. Maps are in place, hotels are in place, bike has had an overhaul, Honda scheduled for road trip maintenance on Thursday, kids graciously worked out dog sitting the scardy cat dogs, and both of us looking forward to the road trip. Iowa is pretty-glad my perspective will be from a car with the air conditioning on full blast. Jeff has started the staging area-so far we have the gin ready to pack for the trip.
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