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Only 94 more days ’til RAGBRAI! I can almost taste the Peanut Butter Jam and Pastafari…

I took some photos via my phone’s camera, which doesn’t have the best res, but better than nothing.  Enjoy.

It’s official.  I traveled across Iowa on a bike.  A used 1980s Schwinn 10 Speed to be exact.  I was a little nervous at first taking the bike after purchasing it less than a month ago and only riding 1o miles.  It held up just fine and performed well.

The last day was extremely easy compared to the previous routes.  Covering 42 miles with a tail wind, flat & smooth road wasn’t hard at all.  I would guess we averaged 15 mph compared to 11-12 the other days.  Burlington greeted us with an opportunity to go up Snake Alley which is famed the “Crookedest Alley in the World”.  I put the gear in easy and went for it.  Man was it tough but I made it without falling.  Others were not so fortunate.  For my effort, I was rewarded a koozie and a “good job”.  From there, we went down to the Mississippi River to finally complete our week.  The sense of accomplishment was huge, but also bittersweet knowing my adventure was about over.  I think the reason I am drawn to RAGBRAI is the challenge of riding a bike great distance but more so leaving behind everything and just enjoying life.  The atmosphere and people are great.  Whatever kind of mood you are in someone else is with you.  You can crank it up and go fast on the left or you can ride on the right and enjoy the company of others.

• Covered 442 Miles from Council Bluffs to Burlington.
• Camped every night in my 6′x5′ tent with a sleeping bag and inflatable pillow.
• Got rained on 3 out of the 7 nights.
• Showered at a host house, friend’s apartment, shower mobile, and camp hose.  Skipped two days.
• Zero flat tires.

Today was the last long day covering 74 miles. It felt the hardest with a head wind, no cloud cover, and some big hills. Physically, I am exhausted. Mentally, I am pumped tomorrow is only 42 miles. Lockridge gets the award for best pass thru town w/ free water. I also ate up the free senior dining center lunch (hot dog, potato salad and 2 cookies!) At the camp ground, I literally laid in my tent motionless for a good 40 min to muster enough energy to shower. Ahhh, it’ll be a good sleep tonight. (the pic is suppose to capture the blue sky & my lack of photo taking today)

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One day out of the week RAGBRAI offers an extra loop to riders who wish to go over 100 miles for the day. I was debating it up until the turn-off but then decided my legs wouldn’t like me. So I suck to the normal route and covered 77 miles with a 14 mph avg. Not much to report from the towns as I didn’t stay long in each. The previous night had some storms and I caught some pretty cool hail on the side of the road. Looks like snow in the middle of July. Did get a quick nap in Unionville and was impressed with the welcome into Blakesburg. Two more days left and I’ll get to sleep on a bed again…can’t wait!

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Today Justin, Jess, and I (team 10-2?) covered 44 miles rolling into Chariton. We were all pretty sore from the late nite before…should have left the dancing shoes in the tent. My favorite stop was Rudy’s for a delicious taco and apple pie. The convenient store run was also clutch for silos of Busch Light and Ice Cream Snickers. It was a fun couples days but my body will welcome the rest tonight.

PS – I type this outside of Hy-Vee huddles against a coke machine in order to steal some valuable electricity. Wanted: Solar Panel for bike.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Interesting day w/ heavy rain in the morning, head wind around noon, and sunny skies rolling into Indianola. Finally got my tenderloin, which was less than desirable but did drink Fat Tire in Prole. Total mileage was around 75 so tomorrow’s 50 something should be easy peasy. (more beer, that is). Hill Climber Award goes to Jess and Justin picks up the award for hauling the most cargo AND keeping up! Here’s to having no worries except getting to the next town.

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Long & Hilly & Wet. But no sun to further my red legs! Greenfield is the overnight town w/ a population of 2,000. They just got hugified w/ 21,000 riders. Not much going on except a pizza hut buffet and a free rain shower. With 77 miles staring me in the face tomorrow it’ll be an early night. 72 miles covered today.

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