RAGBRAI 2007

July 12, 2007
Dear Friends,

As you may know, I am preparing to embark upon my RAGBRAI cycling trip, which starts on Saturday, July 21st.

I hope to be able to send emails during the trip and I have placed you in my mailing list. If you rather not receive these emails, please let me know and I’ll remove you from the list.

If I haven’t yet told you about RAGBRAI, it is a 477-mile bicycle ride across the state of Iowa taking place over 7 days.

You can check out their website at http://www.ragbrai.org/

You can also view a cool interactive route map at
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070304/NEWS/70301103/1001/NEWS

Love to all,
Laura

Date: Saturday, July 21, 2007 5:36 AM
Subject: RAGBRAI Adventure - Day: -1

Hello Loved Ones! It is 7:18 a.m. and I am in Omaha, Nebraska. We flew in yesterday without a hitch. Flights were on time, luggage was safely arrived. Southwest did a good job yesterday. Some of our comrades arrived on Jet Express. I didn't get the full story, but they spent 2 hours standing around while Jet Express employees hand-wrote their boarding passes! (He showed them to us!!!) Very scary. Wonder how their mechanics work?? Anyhow, there are only 6 of us in our group: Brent (my brother-in-law) Emilee (his 20-year old daughter - a sorority sister from CSUSB) Mike (aka Painfreak for his love of torturous endurance cycling) John (owner of an auto-body shop in Montclair - he's fixed my car twice) David (his 14-year-old competitive mountain biker - he's got the wildest brown long surfer boy hair. I am dying to run my fingers through it, but I don't know him well enough to suggest it!) Later today we will join a charter group of 150 people. Tomorrow we will join a group of 10,000 cyclists! Right now we are at the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Omaha. Very nice. Very quiet. Very small (big) town. We hit the downtown marketplace last night and had a very good meal at the Upstream Brewery. I guess I was supposed to eat Omaha beef here, but the raspberry-glazed chicken with crumbled feta and pine nuts appealed more. We wondered around downtown for a bit. Interesting that you always seem to see the same components of old downtown: the yuppie wine bars, the punk/goth/hippy (alternative?) record stores, the meditation/yoga center, antiques, and gift shops. I see similar shops in Claremont and Sacramento. We have seen a few prototypical Midwestern cowboys, replete with pressed dark blue jeans, boots, massive belt buckle, and cowboy hat (seems these guys were all on the short side - just a coincidence?). We have seen some goths, some skateboarders (not many surfers here, but they seem to have the same look), and lots of ordinary folks. Well, I must get downstairs to breakfast. We are being picked up by a certain Ron Orman (evidently he's a character) at 8:15 to be bused to the start of the RABGRAI ride, which I believe is in Rock Rapids or Rapid Rock or some such town. I really have no idea of what the plan is. Which is what I love about cycling. I just follow my leader (usually Brent). In my normal life, I tend to be a bit controlling and a contingency planner (stop laughing to those of you who think this is a major understatement!). In my cycling life, I haven't a care in the world. I am able to live in the moment, which is wonderful. Current weather report for Omaha was a high of the mid-80s with a chance of t-storms before 11:00 a.m. I wonder what we shall have tomorrow! Tonight will be my first of 7 nights of tent camping! Love to all and I'll write tonight if I can find a computer!


Date: Saturday, July 21, 2007 5:43 PM
Subject: We are at RAGBRAI!

Hello loved ones! We are officially at the start of the RAGBRAI route - Rock Rapids, Iowa. We took a charter bus from Omaha to this location (about a 3-hour drive), pitched our tents in the county fair grounds - it is very windy! It is Day -1 and so far I realize I have forgotten: (1) rain fly for my tent (we remedied this with a tarp and bungee cords from the local Ace Hardware); (2) tent stakes; (3) bike chain lubricant, and (4) the biggest bummer of all - I brought my difficult-to-walk-in carbon road cycling shoes instead of my comfortable sneaker-like mountain bike shoes. No one told me about this tip. We ate dinner at the local Lutheran church. All you can eat spaghetti, salad, and so many homemade desserts, it hurt your stomach to look at them all! Brent ate 3 helpings of spaghetti. Next we headed to the RAGBRAI vendor exhibits. I bought 2 t-shirts, a jersey, some chain lube, and a nifty rear-view mirror that attaches to your sunglasses. Now I'm broke, but at least no one can sneak up behind me! The weather is warm, but not as humid as I expected. Perhaps because of the wind. We won't mind a tail wind, but fighting this strong of a head wind may be a challenge. We have seen lots of corn, a good number of cows, and I think some soybeans. We will be up and riding no later than 7 AM tomorrow. We are all ready to ride! No Lance sightings yet. :( I hope to write again tomorrow night. Love to all.


Date: Sunday, July 22, 2007 4:54 PM
Subject: I RODE WITH LANCE !

I am not kidding! Today is the 1st day of the RABGRAI ride and I freakin rode with Lance Armstrong. It was at mile 59 (out of a total 78 miles today), at 2:30 p.m. We were going very slowly (more on that later) and Brent had heard rumors that Lance was seen, so he started keeping a sharp eye on the riders. Now there are a ton of people wearing Lance's "Livestrong" yellow and black jerseys, so I did not take notice when a group of 4 guys rode past us on the left. But Brent said, "That's Lance!" I said, "No way!" He said, "It's him!" and we took off and chased the group down. I rode up along the first guy in yellow/black and took a look - nope, not Lance. Did the same with yellow/black guy # 2 (we think they are bodyguards), nope, not Lance. I pulled up along the left of guy # 3 and honest to goodness it is Lance Armstrong!!!!!! I could not believe I would see him on Day # 1, let alone ride with him! I have been pondering for a full year what I would say to him if I ever met him. Ever since Brent said he rode with Lance last year and I decided to do RAGBRAI this year. I have even asked some of you to help me figure out what to say (not that anyone came up with anything!!!) So here I am, here's my chance. And here's what came out of my mouth (I was probably shouting at the poor man, I was so excited!)

Laura: How're you doing, Lance?

Lance: It's windy.

Laura: Not for you!

Laura (It finally dawns on me what is happening and my excitement grows and I realize I am actually riding and talking with Lance and I shout): Lance! YOU ARE OUR CYCLING GOD! (He smiles patiently.)

Laura (babbling now): And all I gotta say is HAMMER LANCE HAMMER! (He smiles patiently.)

Laura: Can I touch you? (He says nothing. Silence gives consent is my motto, so I put my hand on his shoulder, terrified if I knock him over and hurt a piece of his precious freak-of-nature greatest-athlete-in-the-world body, I would have to kill myself or let his fans kill me. I put my hand on his left shoulder and grin like a fool at Brent who is now ahead of us, taking pictures.)

Laura: I love you man! (He looks concerned.) I babble: "I mean in a good cycling kinda way..." (He smiles patiently.)

Then I start babbling about seeing him at the SHRM conference in Vegas. He doesn't appear to remember his recent speaking event (and this was June 23!) I decide I have pestered him enough, humiliated myself enough, said exactly what was in my heart and I knew I could now die happily.

This cycling experience equals or possibly exceeds my other # 1 high: finishing my first century ride. After I pulled back and let Lance pass, I started shouting to all around me, "I rode with Lance Armstrong! I rode with Lance Armstrong!" Well, I have so many other things to tell you, but the day is getting long and we still need to go find some dinner. I will try to write tomorrow........ Love to all. I am the happiest cyclist here!

Date: Monday, July 23, 2007 6:39 PM
Subject: Day 2 at RAGBRAI

Hello All, Another good day on RAGBRAI. No Lance sightings, but I saw a pack of his posse and my buddy rode up to them and chatted them up all about Lance. We had a 77- or 100-mile ride option today. I did the 100, so my total RAGBRAI mileage will be 500 miles in 7 days. A nice even number. We had lots of wind today. After Mile 70, I was toast, but my friends helped me through. I finally had my first piece of pie here - rhubarb. Good stuff. Yesterday was the best day ever. Today was a long hard day. Yesterday was Sunday, so we saw all sorts of characters and a good number of freaks. Today most of them must be working, because the weirdo watching was much less varied.

I will tell you a couple of sights today: A pack of hunky young guys - very fit and tanned and cute - wearing naught but black cycling shorts and a painted pink squirrel on their back shoulders. (Stacy - I got them to pose for a picture for you. They want to know if you are hot!) 4 girls wearing red santa dresses A guy wearing a bright yellow banana suit with a yellow toy monkey strapped around his neck. He's riding a funky recumbent that does not pedal like a bike - he stomps on it like a stair master! He has a boom box and plays some oldies. And he totally smoked me climbing up a hill! An old geezer wearing cowboy books, long johns (it gets hot here in the afternoon!), capri-length overalls and suspenders with a huge red bulls-eye on his fanny. A totally normal looking woman about my age wearing a fake naked butt on the outside of her cycling shorts.

Yes, we're having a great time here! Wednesday is "Wear Yellow Day" in honor of Lance. I had to buy the entire Livestrong cycling gear (now I'm really broke, but it is for a good cause) to honor the occasion. And there is a concert that night and Lance is making an appearance. Thursday is RAGBRAI jersey day. Oops, I wore that jersey on Sunday. I got the memo, but failed to read it! I've been airing it out and plan to wear it. Saturday I am wearing my cool new Doors jersey because it is mostly black and I expect to be sad and moody! Tent sleeping was tough on night # 1, but I slept like a rock last night. After 100 miles today (then pitching a tent, standing in lines for showers, foods, toilets, email, etc!), I shall sleep beautifully. Getting kicked out of here so I will run. Love to all!

Date: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 3:41 PM
Subject: RAGBRAI Day 3

Hello All, An easy ride today - 72 miles. The weather was great. Not too terribly hot, not too terribly windy, and not at all humid. The countryside was very pretty - more rolling hills and meadowlands. We even saw a small lake! (After days of corn and soybeans, it is a treat to see some natural nature.) No Lance sightings today, but I did see a pod of Lance-a-likes (his body guard/posse guys) pass. They looked like men on a mission. I figured they were headed up to meet up with Lance up ahead. We did not give chase - this time!

I thought I'd tell you a bit about the cycling lingo. When a rider enters the stream of cyclists on the road, we must holler out "Bike on!" And when we pull over to turn off, we shout "Bike off!" Then when we come up to the deeply gouged cuts in the pavement that warn motorists of a turn or a stop light (no street lights out here), we shout out "Rumbles!" to warn the cyclists behind you. Believe me, you don't want to ride over those rumbles if you can avoid it. It'll shake your brain and bike to bits. Sometimes cyclists drop objects in the road (mostly water bottles), and we warn each other by shouting and pointing. I myself dropped my pricey bike computer today. I heard something hit and immediately looked at my handlebars and saw it missing. So I had to hurry up and "Bike Off!" and run back shouting "Computer in the road - don't run over it!" Luckily the crowd was light and my computer was saved. Another common term out here is "kybo," which is the word for the outhouses. Don't know where that came from. Simply put, there are not nearly enough kybos out here for 10,000 people. The lines are terribly long. I waited forever the first day. That evening, I asked our charter guy Ron what are the "must dos" for 1st time RABGRAI riders. He said I needed to christen the corn. It is RABGRAI's solution to insufficient kybos! Riders are constantly pulling off to visit the cornfields. Ron's rule is "5 rows back!" So finally on Day 2, I did give it a whirl. I won't go into detail, but things worked out just fine. Brent and Tom wanted photos of them going into the cornrows today, so I snapped away. Then Brent put a huge cornstalk in the back of his shorts - it curved like a perfect tail. He rode that way for a good 5 miles. I enjoyed watching the reaction of the townfolk to Mr. Cornstalk. I'm having a ball. Tomorrow is Wear Yellow Day, for which I am very excited. Gotta run. They have a time limit of the computers here. Love to all!


Date: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 5:06 PM
Subject: Day 3 Continued

Hello All, Got another chance to hit the email. Thought I'd tell you about a typical day. We sleep in tents in a campsite of 200 people. All around us are other camps. Mostly we are in fairgrounds, but today we are at a high school. You wake up at about 4:45 or 5:00 to the sounds of tent zippers opening. We get up pretty quickly (me because the kybo lines get longer the longer you wait!). We dress and pitch our tents, and pack everything back into our bags. Everything is in waterproof bags. We hop on the bikes and head out to the first town. We are on the rode by 6:30-ish. At the 1st town (about 10 miles out), we'll stop for breakfast. Day 1 was Dad's Waffles; Day 2 was Chris Cakes (pancakes); today was Hearty Farms breakfast burritos. After breakfast our group of 7 (we gained one more Rancho Cucamonga friend, Tom) breaks up a bit. We have faster riders or slower riders. I'm usually in the middle. There are about 8 meeting towns you can stop at throughout the day. It's like a big street fair at each town. Tons of vendors (mostly food), a beer garden (usually with a live band), and other entertainment. The best town so far (and by far) was Eagle Grove. They had the best welcoming committee, a beautiful town, all along Main Street they had out their immaculate vintage cars. They had a police cruiser from the Andy Griffith Show, complete with an Andy and an Aunt Bea! I loved this town. Gorgeous old buildings. This is the first place in Iowa I thought I could actually enjoy living in (but not in the winter!). We roll into camp around 4:00 p.m. and immediately find our bags and set up our tents. We are tired, sweaty, and hungry. But the tents must go up first! (Gotta bag your spot!) Then we find showers. So far I've had a shower from a suspended bag of water (I wouldn't recommend this), a real shower in a humid little bathroom with 2 stalls, and tonight a community shower in a high school. (I've seen enough cellulite to last me a lifetime - I am talking about my own, of course.) Then we head to the RAGBRAI area and find dinner and check out the vendors and listen to the bands, etc. We are all abed by 9:00 p.m. I have been sleeping like a baby! Gotta run - time's up!


Date: Wednesday, July 25, 2007 4:33 PM
Subject: RAGBRAI Day 4

Wonderful day! We had a fairly short ride (68 miles), great weather (warm but still no humidity). Not too windy, but lots of rolling hills and nice scenery. The best part of the day was in the last town. We had all gotten separated and it took forever for the 5 of us (2 were early birds and did not ride with us) to find each other. We were at the end of the town, waiting for Brent to finish his Gatorade. A pod of Lance-a-likes were slowly cruising by (you cannot ride fast in the towns - way too many people walking with their bikes). Anyhow, the pod approaches us, we all look at them closely. One guy looks very familiar. Brent says, "That's Lance." I said, "Hi Lance" and he looked at us and said hi. We had one moment of shocked realization that Lance was right in front of us, then we all started clipping into our pedals and taking off after him. Brent threw his bottle on the side of the road like a true Tour de France rider! Since we were at the edge of town, it was only a few feet until Lance had open road. Once he hit that, he and his crew took off. I knew I couldn't catch him, but my buddy Painfreak (who was dying to meet him and majorly depressed that he wasn't with us on Sunday when I rode with Lance), Brent, and Tom took chase. A while later, I caught up with Painfreak on the side of the road, buying something to drink. I pulled over and heard the whole story. He caught Lance by hammering up to 27 miles per hour. He got his chance to say hello and have a few words with Lance before pulling off. He was high as a kite - high on Lance. I was so happy for him. Another interesting thing today - at an earlier town, I did a live interview on a local radio station. They wanted to hear my Lance story. The disc jockey really liked my "silence gives consent" motto. It cracked him up. Tonight we are staying at the home of relatives of Tom's. We have wonderful showers, 4 bathrooms, and indoor air conditioning. No kybo lines! And fresh hot coffee in the morning. It is wonderful. We'll be back in the land of roughing it again starting tomorrow. Love to all!



Date: Thursday, July 26, 2007 2:31 PM
Subject: RAGBRAI Day 5

Hello All, Day 5 and we're in Indepence, Iowa. It is a beautiful little town. At the close of this email I have forwarded Brent's email so you can have a sense of what it is like out here with him. Today was a wonderful day. Pretty easy 65 miles in beautiful country. We rode though an Amish community. Horse and buggies, girls in dresses and caps, boys in long pants, suspenders, and straw hats. What a trip! No Lance today. Word has it that he left for France to support his Discovery Team now that they are leading in the top 2 spots (thanks to Rasmussen's blood doping bust!). You may be wondering how this 43-year-old body is holding up after 5 days and 380 miles. In general - not too bad. My legs and lungs are feeling super. No knee problems whatsoever (thank the heavens). I think my training preparation is the reason I feel so good. My other big worry has been - how do I put this delicately? - the undercarriage, shall we say. I developed a saddle sore in April after the Hemet Century, and I've been terrified of having a repeat here. If you have a saddle sore, you simply cannot ride. All you can do is cry. So far the nether regions are faring pretty well. I do have a hot spot where the Hemet problem was, but I'm taking good care of it and so far, so good! I do have a couple of problems that I did not anticipate. First of all, I am scorched to a crisp with a terrible sunburn. In fact, my face is peeling, so the new skin is getting sunburned as well. I have a sunburn on my sunburn. I brought 50 SPF sunscreen, but it is no match for this Iowa sun. All of us are fried. We can't figure it out - we've spent lots of days cycling all day in the sun without getting cooked like this. We decided it was the clear skies. Our southern California skin needs its protective smog layer to filter the UV rays for us! Also, I have what I call a "corn cough." Each morning and evening, I develop a dry, husky cough. I feel like I have corn husk particles in my throat! It goes away as soon as I start riding, so I'm not too worried about it. After the 1st day, of riding, then walking all over in my uncomfortable cycling shoes, my left big toe fell asleep. When I woke up in the morning, it was still numb. It's been numb ever since. I try to take my shoes off at rest stops if we're going to walk around to alleviate the situation. I guess I'll have to wait until I get back home to have feeling in my toe again. Weird, huh? My biggest problem by far has been the awful knots in my neck and shoulders. Especially my right shoulder. The worst was Day 2, the 100-mile ride. I was popping Motrin like candy and still in pain. I found a wonderful massage guy (Glen) who is traveling with our camping group. I've been seeing him almost every night. The first night I could not turn my neck all the way to the right; on the 2nd night, boom, he worked that knot out enough to turn my neck. I'll see him again tomorrow night. When I get home I really must do 2 things: take breaks from my computer at work every 2 hours and find a good massage therapist and go every month, whether I feel like I can afford it or not!

I'll tell you about my favorite cycling jerseys I have seen and then close. On a grandma type: "Club Hootenanny - Gettin' High on Pie." On an old, tubby dude: "I know, on my left." If you don't get this cycling reference, I will explain. When a cyclist is going slowly, they are supposed to ride on the far right of the road. Passing cyclists will pass on the left. Often, these slower folks are enjoying the scenery as their bikes drift dangerously to the left - they are entering into the high-speed area. In order to safely pass them, we'll say (calmly) "On your left." Which means move over so I can fly past you. On the front of this guy's shirt, it said "Hills Suck." On an older lady: "My Philosophy: Start Slow and then Ease Up." My personal favorite (on a college student type of guy): "Make awkward sexual advances, not war." Okay, gotta run. Brent is hollering for me to leave the internet bus. Talk to you later! Here's my goofy brother-in-law Brent's email:

24 Jul 2007 17:19:51 -0700 (PDT)

From: BRENT FELLER

Subject: RAGBRAI Update

First Emiloo is doing Great!!!!! Everyday her Avg picks up and by the end of the week she will be dropping me. No more Lance rides but the week in not over. PF can't get enough of the hammering pace lines. Once Laura found out there is no line to use the corn field she is always there. (What happens in a corn field stays in the corn field) Wait till you see the photos from today. Emiloo had gas last night it was so bad it made Papa proud! I also want you to know RAGBRAI is also on Vino time!

Lance rides 1

Corn on the cob 5

pie 0

Ice cream 4

Sore butt 1

Mr Pork Chop 1

Dad's Waffle 1

Chris Cakes 1

A good night s sleep ? Price less!!!!

Mr Pork Chop will be retiring this year so it will not be the same. See all of you soon IT'S TIME TO RIDE!!!!!



Date: Friday, July 27, 2007 3:54 PM
Subject: RAGBRAI Day 6

Hello All, Today was another super great day. I have been to Europe twice, Hawaii, Puerto Vallarta, lots of great vacations, but nothing beats this. I don't even think you have to be a cyclist to love this experience. [The only thing missing is not having my hubby with me. :( And not having my favorite cycling partner (other than Lance of course), my buddy Cynthia...] Seeing Iowa like this is seeing America's roots. I think this is what they mean by "Americana." Iowans are really "salt of the earth" type of people. They are so nice, so accommodating. Seeing all these small towns and how they live quietly is amazing. Here's a few of the good things Iowans are doing for the 10,000 to 15,000 RAGBRAI riders who cruise through their towns:

1. Warm welcome - as we arrive in the "meeting towns" and the daily "overnight town," many towns have welcoming groups, music, balloons, bicycle displays, and lots of people simply saying, "Welcome to xxx!" We've seen cheerleaders, tractor displays, and a dozen other things I don't have time to describe.

2. Tons of local kids have lemonade stands set up. They also sell us bottle water ($1) and the large size Gatorade ($2). Some families give us the water for free!

3. Some kids like to hold their hands out so we can give them the high five slap as we cruise in. Very fun. We feel like heroes.

4. My favorite - this happens out in the farms in the middle of nowhere - they will put out a huge water sprinkler set to spray into the road. It is hot out here and wonderful to cruise through the refreshing spray. Some kids forgo the sprinkler and shoot the hose at us. Brent and Tom have taken to shooting water back at them with their water bottles. They love it.

5. Sitting on the porch. At the meeting towns, lots of families put out lawn chairs under their shade trees. Some of my favorite moments have been visiting with these good folks in their front yards.

There are a thousand other great things I could say about Iowa and Iowans, but not enough time. I will miss this place! I can understand why Brent comes back year after year. Okay, last night we finally had some rain, which I have been worried about all along. First we camped in the compound of the Mental Health Institute. It was a fair way away from the main town, so Brent, Mike and I rode our bikes into town to find some dinner. Emilee took the free shuttle bus. Tom opted to hitch a ride with some Iowan leaving the MHI. The guy's name was Emmet and would not pick Emilee up when Tom asked, nor would let Tom get out of the truck, nor would drop Tom off where he requested. When Tom finally escaped, he had to take another shuttle bus to get to our meeting point. When Tom got on his shuttle bus, another character named Clovis sat next to him and was almost as scary as Emmet. We are all giving Tom a bad time for taking rides from people coming out of a mental institute... Not all Iowans are like Emmet and Clovis! The camping in the rain was okay. I was under a shelter and stayed dry. This morning I packed my "rain gear" at Brent's suggestion. After an hour on the road, the rain began. I thought I was pretty smart to have rain protection, so I pulled over to gear up. Emilee and Brent put on windbreaker type jackets; Tom and Mike did not have anything; and I pulled on my bright day-glow yellow poncho. Let me defend myself by saying that I have only ridden my bike in the rain once, and we cut that ride short. After donning this huge flapping poncho, we took off. This thing was like a windsock and we had lots of rolling hills today. All my friends, including Emilee, dropped me because I could not get up much speed. My fellow cyclists actually laughed at me. I looked like I was riding wearing a parachute, and it was just as effective at slowing me down. Totally embarrassed and humiliated, I pulled over and took it off, then sped up and caught my friends. I was so peeved at them. I said, "Friends don't let friends wear parachutes when cycling!" Of course they laughed at me. I'm glad to provide entertainment. Speaking of entertainment, we hit our first beer garden today. We've been avoiding them because Emilee is only 20. But today I saw the foam maker and a lot of dancing going on and I had to get in there. So Emilee headed for home, (Mike had already dropped us), and Brent and Tom and I went into the beer garden to take pictures of ourselves wading through a sea of foamy soap bubbles. The DJ was playing some very good music, and a bunch of people were dancing. You have not lived until you've seen a bunch of middle-aged, white, drunk cyclists dancing in their lycra bike shorts. It was hilarious. I got in there too, and got my groove on. I have no shame. I think Brent was taking pictures, but I was too engrossed in my groove to notice.

A last highlight of the day: Mr. Porkchop. This guy sells pork chops grilled over corn cobs. He is 79-years-old and wears suspenders. They travel in an old beat-up school bus painted pink with piggies all over it. What I can never fully describe to you is his holler. Every so often. he yodels out "PORKCHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!" He does it with I think about 50 years worth of built-up phlegm. I swear you think he will keel over every time he does it. But all the cyclists love it. The line for his chops is extremely long, but totally worth the wait. You get to watch all the non-chop-stoppers ride by. Many of them mimicking Mr. Porkchop's yodel. It is hilarious. I understand he has his own website. I'll have to check it out when I get home. Well, gotta run. I am so happy and having a very wonderful time. Anyone want to do RAGBRAI with me next year??? We'll start training in February and be totally ready by July! I may not have time to write tomorrow. We have only 50-some miles and must pack up quickly and board a bus to take us back to Omaha. We'll be crying all the way home, I'm afraid... Love to all. Wish you were here!



Date: Sunday, July 29, 2007 5:44 PM
Subject: RAGBRAI Conclusion

Hello Dear Friends, Well the sad truth is that RABGRAI is over. I arrived home this morning (Sunday). While it is good to be home and wonderful to see Bill, I am sorry that RAGBRAI is over. I’ll tell you about Day 7 since I did not have time to log in yesterday. As a thank you gift to Brent for bringing us to Iowa, Mike and I bought Brent a t-shirt that says “Got Butt Butter?” For the non-cyclists, butt butter is the term used for our various ointments and lubricants we use to keep the chafing and saddle sores at bay. We know that Brent will feel free to wear this obnoxious t-shirt everywhere and get lots of weird looks – it’s perfect for him! If you recall on Day 6, we hit the beer garden for the first time. This was at one of the meeting towns during the ride. That night (Friday) was our last night, and we had never gone to the beer garden at the overnight town (although we could hear the live music from our tents almost every night). Well since Friday was our last day – our last chance – Brent, Tom, and I headed over to enjoy the party. The band was so-so, but the party was the bomb. I thought cyclists were happy people when they are on the open road, but boy are they happy in the beer garden. It was a love fest and everyone was everyone’s friend. Woodstock on wheels? I had my usual fun getting my dancing groove going and persuading Brent and Tom to dance a little (you don’t want Brent to dance a lot – a very little will do). We got to bed at a fairly decent hour and I am happy to report my tent was spinning only a little before I fell asleep. We woke up extra early (it seemed) on our last day, Saturday, to the usual sounds of tent zippers opening. We knew we had to finish our ride (56 miles – the shortest yet), get back to the charter bus and pack our bikes and get out of Dodge (Bellevue, Iowa) by 2:00 p.m. So we tried to hustle and get an early start. But again Brent was on Vino time (a.k.a., slow) and the day started out fairly leisurely. When we decided to have breakfast at Chris Cakes (pancakes with a mile-long line), I realized we really weren’t in much of a hurry at all. Saturday’s ride was by far the most beautiful of all. We had started out the previous Sunday with totally flat rides in western Iowa, but gradually experienced more hills as we traveled east. Friday had lots of rolling hills, but nothing like Saturday. Up and down, up and down we went. And the vistas were spectacular. We had lots of trees and meadows in addition to the undulating fields of corn. It was gorgeous and the favorite ride of the week for the men folk in my RAGBRAI family. It was harder for me – the poor climber – and I am sure for Emilee as well. (Note to self: I really need to work on improving my climbing.) In Bellevue, the RAGBRAI tradition is to dip your bike tire in the Mississippi River. Since this was the end point, the town was pretty much chaos. Lots of bikes and cars headed to the river, lots of tire dipping and photo shots going on. I hurried through and then headed to our charter bus. Now things really started to get crazy. We had to find our luggage, disassemble, pack and ship our bikes via UPS, and take a cold shower from a bag (if you were lucky, which I was). Then we boarded a fairly nice charter bus for the 6-hour drive all the way back to Omaha. Well, the bus did not leave on time and what with the dinner stop and all, we did not get to Omaha and to sleep until around 11:00. At the dinner stop, I made a dash to the nearby convenient store and encountered and entire family of Amish people. The girl was drinking a soda (“pop” in Iowanese), which seemed really strange to me. But why wouldn’t they drink pop? Then today we were up before 5:00 to head out to the airport for our 7:00 a.m. flight to Ontario. (The cab driver that took us from the hotel to the airport seemed to be related to Mike’s new friends Clovis or Emmet, which added to the excitement level this morning.)

I’ve been home since 11:00 this morning and not doing much of anything except clothes washing and napping. The old bod feels great, but I’m bone weary from the traveling. I know it sounds corny (no Iowan pun intended), but this has been a profoundly moving experience that I will treasure forever. As I wrote at the start of this email, I am grateful to be home safe, but I truly miss being at RAGBRAI and constantly living in the moment in America’s heartland. Thank you all for your kind messages along the way. Gotta run now. We’re due for dinner at Brent’s and Stacy’s to look at our photos. Let’s hope the one of me and my cycling partner Lance turned out okay! Love to all!