We started out the day much cooler than yesterday. I am guessing 5 degrees cooler, but with steady breezes, which make a huge difference when it comes to the humidity issue. The first 30 miles (?) were good. We had headwinds, which I welcomed because they were keeping me cool. (Note: Today was the first time ever I welcomed headwinds in my entire cycling life. That's how much I hate humidity.) Early on, Brent and I jumped on a pretty fast pace line. It was fun, but a lot of work. During the next leg of the ride, a huge double-pace line came along, going at a nice easy rate. All 4 of us jumped on and basically had a free ticket to ride to the next town. No headwinds when your paceline blocked them for you! For the majority of the rest of the day, as the headwinds grew stronger, we spent most of our time in pacelines, often with just Brent and Steve leading. Thank goodness for strong cycling friends to block our wind! As Debbie says, we've got their back!
Things got very interesting after mile 56 when we peeled off from the sane group to do the Karras loop. Ten miles of wicked headwinds, followed by 10 miles of tail winds. Oh, and 3 sizable hills to climb and descend. Debbie got into a crazy long high-speed wobble on the first downhill. Steve, Brent, and I watched her helplessly as her wobble continued for what seemed like forever. Happily, she stabilized and all was well. She had a major adrenaline rush and let off a few choice expletives afterwards.
After the Karras loop, we had what we thought were another 25 miles to go. Those were the hardest miles ever. We were super hot and getting tired. Our fuel consumption was problematic. We were a mess. We fully enjoyed all the free water stops and the many "bike wash" stands they put up to let us walk through nice cold water to cool us down. In the end, it was one long hot suffer fest. Our ride finally ended at mile 110. OMG. It was a fantastic day. It is 10; way past my bedtime. Steve and I were over at one of the local concerts. Good music.
Here are the photos of the day:
Leaving Lakeview. Isn't this lovely?
This pup is getting a nice ride.
Saw a team of guys wearing this jersey. Nice.
Then we saw this guy! Love it! Here is the cutie below.
A nicely cooling "bike wash."
Debbie very happy in town # 2 after her margarita. Here she has purchased a souvenir for Dave.
View from a mellow paceline.
A cooling tub of water. Or an Iowan petrie dish? None of us were brave enough to try it out.
My compadres.
Debbie pulling those boys in a quarter crosswind. This is on the Karras loop. We were getting delirious at this point...
The welcome committee at the Karras loop. They totally made the extra miles and extra pain worth it.
Good times.
Then Debbie totally gets hit on by this dirty old man! We think he must have been quite the player in his youth.
Steve has his Karras Loop patch. Priceless...
Here's John Karras. He started RAGBRAI 40 years ago. Look it up; it's a good story.
Steve buying some gaterade from the local very cute kids.
Uber fun cycling dudes.
Turns out they are from Vegas. Of course....
Ah... Another wet-oneself station.
No more pictures today after this because I hit the wall and was too damn tired! More miles tomorrow. Can't wait!
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