I really have not touched upon the cicada situation, have I? Those puppies are LOUD! But not annoying loud; they do not interrupt your sleep. Nor are they lulling. Strange creatures. One of them slept with me this night. Here he is attached to my rain fly. Below he is returned to the wild. Rather pretty creature, isn't he?
As I was saying, I really enjoyed riding with the boys. I felt like I had 4 brothers in my little RAGBRAI family. Having not grown up with brothers, I liked it!
Sometime mid-morning, Tommy pulled off and lost contact with our group. This was a bummer because today was a milestone birthday for Tommy. Trying to find one person in a group of 20,000 was going to be a challenge. I was keeping my eyes open for him, fore and aft.
Here's Paul and Neil. This is the first day I rode with Neil. He's super. It was fun to experience Paul with his other buddy. Paul has a knack for male friendship. Experiencing these guys really enjoying each other's company, constantly chatting and joking and finding fun was so enjoyable for me. Maybe guys do this all the time? Like I said, I did not grow up with brothers. The major men in my life, particularly my father, did not have this ease with others. Or maybe just not around me. I loved being around this positive male energy.
Our weather was holding up beautifully. In my previous RAGBRAI experience, we seem to have one ugly rainy day to contend with. Not so this year! The temperatures were cooling a little each day. Sleeping was very comfortable as we had a nice cooling breeze. The humidity was decreasing each day. Superb weather. Truly the best I have experienced in my 6 RAGBRAI experiences.
Another favorite jersey. I will have to keep this in mind the next time I am laboring up a wicked hill or hammering on the flats trying to keep my speed up - all the while my legs are in agony.... My scientist wife disapproved of this message as it is not medically accurate.
And here's where we found Tommy!
We stopped in a little town where the "Tom's Tender Turkey" vendor was set up. Tommy had discovered these turkey sandwiches the day before and was in absolute raptures over how delicious the turkey tenderloin was. He proclaimed, "This was worth the flight to Iowa!" We figured he would make a stop at Tom's Tender again. After we got off our bikes, we left Paul with the bikes, I went over to Tom's Tender, while Neil and Tom went off to secure the required beer. With no Tommy near Tom's Tender, I cast my eyes all around the town, looking for a cool, shady spot that Tommy would pick for relaxing. Some RAGBRAI riders have a gift for finding the best (or simply free) beer, some are always on the sweet corn look-out. Tommy, I felt, would be a connoisseur of some lovey shady, breezy relaxing point. From far afield, I spied an elevated oversized gazebo with a number of cyclists lounging on it. I made a beeline toward it and BINGO! There was Tommy, doing exactly as I imagined - relaxing in this comfortable spot with a fantastic elevated view of all the goings-on.
The day before, as I set off with "Party Paul," I was expecting (and was warned) by others a long boozy day on the bike. Not so! Totally denied. It was a great day, but not exactly a party day. Today, however, I did get to experience the Party Paul vibe. We left the gazebo and headed over to the beer garden. I am not a beer drinker, but found out they offered Mike's Hard Lemonade. I bought a tall can and in no time, felt rather nicely buzzed. Which was great because Paul and Tommy took me out to the dance floor. Repeatedly. (Where was Debbie when I needed a break?!)
Me and my brothers catching some shade by the beer garden.
The dancing was a lot of fun. Here's a shot of a sexy, fun character! The best thing ever was when Paul and I were out there and the DJ played Meatloaf's Paradise by the Dashboard Light. Several of us on the floor (me included) knew every word of the lyrics and we belted out an impassioned rendition for all. I played the role of the girl who wanted the boy (Paul) to "Stop right there - before we go any further, do you love me? Will you love me forever?" Paul was cracking up, coming back with "Let me sleep on it - baby, baby let me sleep on it!" It was a hoot. And Meatloaf is brilliant.
This good ole boy was letting us share some of his shade next to the beer garden. These locals in their overalls were priceless. His cap says, " I hate to wake up grouchy in the morning - I let her sleep."
And here we are back on the road. All except Party Paul, who opted to stay in the beer garden. Happily, I was not noticeably affected by the alcohol. The miles were short and the hills were gentle. Here's Tommy shortly after christening the corn. Shortly after this shot, I lost my other brothers too. Tom saw a sign for biplane rides and peeled off to add to his new RAGBRAI experiences. I am terrified of heights, so I said, "Have fun!" and kept on pedaling. Then Tommy and Neil found the free beer, so I lost them too.
I rode in to the host home (above) all by myself, which was A-okay. There was a wicked steep hill right there in Ottumwa. My Garmin bike computer showed a 15% grade. I was hot. I was tired. I was alone. My legs were like putty climbing that wicked thing. No one was there. I was by myself. I got off my bike and walked it up the rest of the way. Typically this is the walk of shame, but since no one was there to witness it - it did not exist! Right?!? Well, had I known that every single Moore-On greeting me back at the host home asked me if I climbed that hill... My first response was "I'm here, aren't I?" But they did not fall for this lame answer. I cannot tell a lie and had to admit I walked up the hill. Humiliations galore...
Paul, Neil, and I took Tommy to the local country club for his birthday dinner this night. It was a swanky indoor place - we weren't used to such luxury. Paul convinced the manager to allow Tommy to order the special chicken dish, which they were not offering due to the RAGBRAI crowds. Tommy got his special meal, and we were all pleased to spend some time with the birthday boy. He looks so young - I bet you could not guess his age...
Neil, Paul, and I left Tommy back at the Moronosaurus and headed into downtown Ottumwa for the RAGBRAI entertainment main event - Rick Springfield in concert. We had lights for our bikes and windbreakers for the cool breeze that picked up. The concert started at 9... Such a long day! 50 miles on the bike. Out in the sun all day. Beer garden. Then out again to party at night. I can do this once in a while, but some hardcore RAGBRAI partiers do this every day. Amazing. Here are shots of Rick and me and the boys. It was crowded. We were on our feet standing on concrete for a couple of hours. We could not always see as taller people were standing in front of us throughout. Not the most pleasant environment. But every time I looked over at Neil, he had this big, broad smile on his face. He was really enjoying the moment, every moment. Being around these guys was awesome. We had another piece of excitement. We watched the police deal with an extremely intoxicated concert goer. It startled calmly enough, but when the guy lunged at the officer, he took him down quite efficiently!
I knew I had that wicked hill to climb on the way home. And climb it in the dark, mind you. We set off and guess what? That hill was a breeze. I must have been really hot and tired and over it earlier in the day to have walked my bike.. Shame... Thus ends day # 5. Only two (really one and a half) to go!
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