Last night was brutal. I have experienced three RAGBRAIs and never experienced the heat and humidity we had last night. There was not a lick of air; the temperature had to be near 90 when we went to bed. Trying to sleep in those conditions was awful. I wanted to be fully naked and have my tent fully open at the same time - two things that just were not going to go together. I also did not want to put on my tent fly, but was glad I did when our recurring nightly rain spell hit. Anyhow, back to trying to sleep - impossible. I could not find a cool spot to lay in. I did not want any body part to touch another body part. I never realized how I usually lay my hands someone on my torso when falling asleep. Just couldn't do it last night. I finally conked out, but still did not sleep well. Poor Steve did not sleep well either. This makes three nights in a row of crappy sleep for us. Debbie resorted to some Rx meds and a battery operated fan, and slept through the misery.
But we were up bright an early, ready and eager for another day of RAGBRAI fun and adventure. It was hotter today, but Debbie and I actually found the riding today easier than yesterday's. Acclimation? More breeze? Getting better at seeking out shade when we stop in the towns? Not sure. We have some breeze tonight, and I bought some sleeping aids from the local market tonight. Sleep shall be mine!
Here are the photos from last evening and today.
After yesterday's arrival in Cherokee, Iowa, we showered and then went to explore the Little Sioux river. It was mucky and yucky. The water temp was warm. We camped very close to this little humid mess. But Debbie looks cute here, so I guess the trip was worth it!
Then we headed into town to listen to the band.
Here's the beer garden.
In the space of 10 minutes while listening to the band, we were treated to an array of interesting RAGBRAI buttocks.
WTF?????
Okay, this photo is from this morning - right at 6AM. We are packed and ready to roll... Along with thousands of others also trying to get out of town. It was a crowded, slow start.
But check out this cool French homme. His bike is pre-World War II. It has two speeds and does not shift. In one speed, he pedaled backwards. In the other speed, he pedals forward. The bike determines which speed and automatically shifts the pedaling. Trippy and very cool!
Slights on today's ride: the Tooth Fairy.
Adorable little pony, horses, and baby pony!
The Pepto crew. You can spot them a mile away.
Brent doing what he does best.
Tutu girl!
Look at the temp: 122 from sitting in the sun. We were baking!
Some guy crashed into Brent's bike right when we entered one of the towns. Luckily this rad bike tech dude was 20 feet away, ready to fix his bent wheel (by wacking it on the ground). Here he is truing up the wheel post-wack.
At Lakeview, our final town, we were all so parched. We hit this water stop and drank and drank and drank. And drenched ourselves over and over again. Ahhhhh...
Then we hit the lake. Too bad we didn't have a raft. I still may be in the lake if we had a raft...
Here's our campsite. Home away from home.
Spaghetti dinner was in the Methodist church. We had an hour wait. But they let us sit in the pews while we waited. And it had a/c, so we were happy to hang out there.
Here we are eating one of the best spaghetti meals I've ever had. Ever. Totally worth the hourlong wait.
This is Brent's SECOND helping. Wow...
Then as we were leaving, Brent (a man of many skills apparently) helped them repair a door lock. Full service at RAGBRAI for Brent!
And it works!
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