More from Day Minus 2

Hello All!

I have some time this morning before Ron Oman (our Iowan charter guy) picks us up, so I am going to post more photos. I was in a rush last night because another hotel guest was waiting for the computer.

Here's a shot of my baggage - 1 massive blue duffle bag with wheels. It weighs 51 pounds! It contains my tent, sleeping bag, pillow, air mattress, floor pump for my bike, 7 sets of cycling clothes, civilian clothes, towel and washcloth, and who knows what else. The orange bag contains my "camping" gear - lantern, batteries, battery-operated pump (for the air mattress), bath bag, some snacks (Clif bars for emergency energy), and who knows what else. My hard case bike box weighs 49 pounds and contains my bike (in pieces), my helmet, shoes, and all sorts of cycling accessories (extra tubes, tools, seat bag, handlebar bag), and who knows what else.

Here's Brent with his duffle. He does not have wheels - hahahahahaha!

Brent is already goofing off and we haven't even left the house yet. (I think this is how my pretzels got crushed, which I discovered when I unpacked yesterday...)

Our sweet sorority sister Emilee drove us to the airport at 7 AM. This was after she was out until 2 AM... Only the young.

Here's Brent sliding down the kids' slide in a sweet little park in downtown Omaha. This is an annual event for him. I took a ride on the slide this year, and I must say that steep section he's on in the photo can get you airborne at the end. I popped off the end of the slide vertically and stuck the landing!

Here's Brent and our newest buddy, Cathy (or is it Kathy or Kathie or Cathie or ??) waiting for our return shuttle back to the hotel after dinner last night. It was 78 degrees at 8 PM.

While we were waiting, we were able to enjoy (or endure?) a nice group of Mormon (I think) boys singing some religious songs. They did look a bit shy and you must love the ties. I especially like how they do not hit the belt buckle. You would not see this in So-Cal! Note the camelbak cycling hydration systems on their backs. (Looks like a backpack, but these hold water/gatorade for long distance cycling.) I did not get a chance to talk to them (they were busy singing), but I wanted to ask where they were headed and where they had traveled.

Lastly, no trip to the Midwest is complete without a visit to the local Wal-Mart! This is where Cathy-Kathie (?) bought her rolling duffle.

All is right with the world and we are quite anxious to get on the bus and get to RAGBRAI. We are supposed to leave the hotel at 11AM. We'll set up our tents, assemble our bikes, attend a "Ride Right" class (where we will get in a raffle to win a free Trek bike), scope out the town and vendor area, and take a bike ride to the Missouri River (okay I think it is the Missouri River - I, like many of my best friends, am geographically challenged), and dip our back tire in theMissouri River. When we arrive at the other end of Iowa, we'll dip our front tire into theMississippi River. Very cool and very exciting!!!

Love to all...