RAGBRAI Day 3

Here's a photo from yesterday. After we pitched our tents in the rain, the sun came out and after a while we had lovely white fluffy clouds in a blue blue sky.

Hello All,

Sorry - I lost a photo and reposted it above. Trying to get the hang of this blogging business! There is so much pressure here in the wonderful Internet bus. We have time pressures and it si noisy and packed with people talking on the phones. Please bear with me.

Today we had a really nice short riding day today - less than 60 miles. The weather was wonderful - not too hot, with a lovely breeze. Towards the end of the day, the breeze turned into a head wind, but it was totally worth it to not be hot all day.

Here's a photo from yesterday after I finished my blog. Brent and I are enjoing some soft serve. I ordered the "baby" size for 75 cents. Brent's medium cost $1.60. While we were waiting, a family of very scary Iowans was sitting at the table behind us. The kids were out of control and the parents were even freakier. They looked like something out of the Jerry Springer show. At one choice juncture while the parents were yelling at the kids (she was massively huge and he was a skinny dude with no teeth), Brent turned to the guy in line behind him and said, "This is a really good message for birth control." Let me say this is not typical of the wonderful Iowans I have encountered. Okay, I'll stop being mean and nasty and judgmental...

Today was the day that I had a riding date with Lance. I got all ready with my message for him...

And I was wearing my full Lance kit. And guess what? I got stood up. Bummer for me. Oh well, I forgive him and will ride with him tomorrow when he shows up full of apologies.

At breakfast, Brent wanted me to ask this mohawk guy (wearing a lycra skirt) what was under his skirt. So I went over to him and said, "See that guy over there? He wants to know what's under your skirt.) Hilarity ensured and Brent ended up going over there to find out. See how friendly cyclists can be?

Here's Dad of "Dad's Waffles." This guy is amazing. He runs 35-40 waffles irons at the same time. And the waffles are wonderfully tasty too!

Brent and I are waiting for our hot off the grill waffles.

Brent is eating his waffel loaded with butter, syrup, and tons of whipped cream. I went for the sugar-free maple syrup. (Can you see that halo of goodness and self-restraint hovering over my head?)

Here we are waiting for the train to cross over the railroad tracks. We all get packed up into a tight crowd while the train goes by. Cathy has been very diligent with getting photos for the blog.

And I realize I need to get more photos of our cute Cathy! Here she is, our Wonder Woman, zipping down the Iowan roadside. She is wearing tank tops everday and uses the bandana for sun cover, but she's getting lots of comments about being a caped crusader.

Here's Cathy returning from the water bottle filling station. With bottled water going for $1 a pop, we try to fill up with free water whenever we can.

I guess Brent got too thirsty to wait to fill his bottle!

I know I posted a photo of a cow person before, but these are my favorite cow people. They ride a tandem and are super nice. Mooooo!

Just another typical group of RAGBRAI riders.

Here are the banana boys dancing in the beer garden. (Yes their dancing style was as goofy-looking in person as this photo suggests.)

We are camped tonight right next to the "LIVESTRONG Army." Each of these cyclists raised $1,500 or more to ride RAGBRAI with Lance's group. Someday I would love to do this. All Lance All the Time is my motto.

Tonight is the Styx concert in town. We are staying in Ames, Iowa, home of Iowa State University. We are really looking forward to this. It is an outdoor concert. Styx songs (I have loads of them on my iPod) always bring me straight back to my high school days.

We had a really great welcome into the town (city?) of Ames. Cheerleaders, displays, lots of people clapping and saying "Welcome," lots of kids lined up for high-fives. Then we road through the University campus - a really pretty ride. We left the campus and rode through the downtown area - also very nice. Now we are camped on the outskirts of the campus, very conveniently located near the Expo (and Internet bus) and the concert tonight. I paid $6 for a shower with hot water (the first I've had since we got here!), and then had a super excellent massage from my new best friend, Dwight.

My right neck/shoulder is acting out again. This is exactly the same thing that happened at last year's RAGBRAI. Cycling gives me a royal pain in the neck. When I cycle at home on the weekends, I can usually handle the pain for the 2 days, then recover the rest of the workweek until I cycle again the next weekend. At RAGBRAI, the pain builds up each day and by Day 3 (today) I find myself riding with my left hand on the handlebar and my right hand on my neck, trying to put pressure on my spasming muscle. It feels like I have an icepick embedded in there. Ouch! Today during our stops, Cathy (bless her) put her elbow in there and laid into me. It hurt, but I think helped me ride longer before the spasms started. After I return home, I have both physical therapy and an x-ray session lined up to deal with this problem. I plan to see Dwight every night this week. I think this will really help me get through this week in good shape. The rest of me is okay. Legs and lungs are super-duper. The hot spot I described last year (to the dismay and disgust of many!) is in remission. I found out it was scar tissue from a particularly grueling bike ride. I'll deal with it later since it's not bothering me now. My butt is sore though! This rarely happens to me. I think it is because after we finish the ride and make our camp and shower and change, we generally ride our bikes to the Expo, etc. I am riding with my normal street clothes - no padded bike shorts. Ouch ouch ouch. I guess I am addicted to the padding. (Okay, I know I've given you all another round of TMI to complain about.)

Before I take off and find Brent at the all-you-can-eat taco bar, I will tell you that we have been subjected to listening to him play his lame, dorky, and highly embarrassing iPod music. Here's some of his song selection:

Let's Get Physical - Olivia Newton John

The Streak

YMCA - the Village People

Like a Virgin - Madonna

I'm a Barbie Girl (not sure of the title)

Oh there's tons more. I'm having a mental block at the moment. I'll try to remember and give you some more of his choice selections. I am going to give him my iPod tomorrow. Lot's of Led Zep, RHCPs, Queen, Aerosmith, etc. You know, the good stuff!

Love to all!