This was the "big" day. Big mileage and big climbing. 4000' of climb is nothing to sneeze at - especially for Iowans as most of Iowa (and therefore RAGBRAI) is fairly flat and especially for me as I had very little training at all this year and next to no climbing...
On Day 1 of RAGBRAI, Tom and I did start out with the Moore-On group, them almost immediately became separated. (There are 20,000 others out there you know.) Belatedly it occurred to me that my Sacramento Moore-On friends (Paul, Tommy, Neal) did not start out with the group, so there was no chance to ride with them. Day 1 always feels a little jittery and awkward. Sometimes you just have to get out there and get going and figure it out as you go. On Day 2 with the big miles, Tom and I did start out with the larger Moore-On group, but stopped for coffee and again immediately lost contact with them. Which was fine as I was a bit nervous about the mileage and hills. I did feel bad that Paul had done so much to help me and I had hardly seen him since we started...
The hills on Day 1 were very nice and smooth. Some of them you could use your downhill momentum to roll up. Others were manageable as they weren't too steep or too long. So not so on Day 2. These wicked hills just kept coming and lasting. In short, they hurt. They were rude. The massive payoff of course was the gorgeous scenery. Hills = valleys and waterways. So beautiful all week long. I took some photos, but they just don't do the vistas any justice at all.
We stopped for breakfast at Debbie's favorite, Farm Boys breakfast burritos. They follow the RAGBRAI group every day. Later in the week, they posted a sign that a southern Californian restaurant chain complained that they were infringing upon their name, so they were changing it to Farm Kids to avoid expensive lawsuits. This will work until someone named Farm Kids complains... I am familiar with the Farm Boys in So Cal. This is so different at RAGBRAI. So Cal Farm Boys should not be worried and causing a stink.
Here's a shot of my breakfast burrito. Full of goodness!
About midday, we encountered an open free swimming pool. Hardly anyone was there. It was hot and we had ridden 30-40 miles and climbed who knows how many rude hills. Tom said he was taking the plunge! He had the foresight of bringing his swim trunks with him (actually for changing into at the end of the day, should there be a long wait for the shower), so he was ready to go!
At the entrance to the towns, the townsfolk put in some effort to get the cyclists to stop and spend time (and $) in their little town. Here's a new one: horseback advertising.
And again, the search for free water happens in every town. This setup had quite a nice stream!
They also provide some nice festive decoration to welcome us. Here's me in front of the town entrance to Corning.
And here's a RAGBRAI rider all decked out in her awesomeness.
Tom's first initiation of the corn! The rule is "5 rows back!"
Some of the towns offer water submersion vessels. I would not get in one of those for love nor money. Can you imagine the germ situation in there??? There are always takers. RAGBRAI is an extremely hot and sweaty experience.
I became huge fan of the salty juicy dill pickles while on a hot ride. Here's a station giving away free water and free pickles. They did have a donation bucket, so I dropped some $ in... I still like the idea of free!!!
At last we arrived at our host home. These folks were the best! They opened up 3 houses for showers and let me and Tom sleep in the enclosed porch (= no tent pitching today). Here's homeowner Bill and his prison rescue dog, Effie.
And the best yet - a cold margarita waiting for me after my shower.... Thanks to the arrival of the Colorado Springs contingent of the Moore-On group. Deb and Terrian (?) and their kids and niece were an excellent addition to the group. Especially Deb's goodies and margaritas.
I really enjoyed Terrian's t-shirt. A gift from his kids for Father's Day.
Here's Logan and Libby in the house next door. Which gave us access to...wait for it... LAUNDRY!! This was an unexpected boon and greatly needed. Hand washing bike shorts is a pain and not terribly effective.
Iowans are the nicest people ever. They totally opened their homes to us... Here's the main host house.
And a neighboring home for sale. $80k is the going price. Tom was tempted.
We went into town for find some dinner. On Day 1, Tom expressed the desire to find some salad. I rudely laughed in his face at the thought of healthy salad at RAGBRAI. But here he is with a nice spinach salad in one of the town restaurants.
Here's the train museum in this town, Creston. I understand Creston is the highest peak (crest) in the state. That explains all those rude hills...
Later back at camp, it was a game of Mexican Train with Tom, Terrian, Deb, Sena, and Steve. Tom (who skunked me in a game of Scrabble on the plane heading home) is a ringer and whipped them all handily... Thus ended Day 2 at RAGBRAI.
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