The Sounds of RAGBRAI

Hissss....Ka-POP. The sound of the release lever from a bicycle tire pump as it is popped off of a Presta valve. That's the sound that woke me up this morning. Still dark outside. I grabbed for my flashlight and checked my watch--5:00 am. The person in the next tent was airing up his bike tires and starting to break camp. Not too early on RAGBRAI to get up and get going so I took that as my wakeup call and began getting ready to ride.

The thunder was still rumbling in the distance and there were flashes of lightening. It would soon be daylight and then I'd be able to tell if storms were threatening again today and if it would be necessary to carry my raincoat on the bike. I had been woken in the middle of the night by wind and thunder and lightening, but, thankfully, that storm passed us by.

Earlier in the evening when I had been enjoying the festivities downtown, a really ugly cloud began to form over the town square.

Soon after, the tornado warning sirens went off and some people took shelter in the courthouse basement. I stood there and watched the cloud become a doughnut shape. The wind picked up but it soon dispersed and we were spared.

We got rained on a couple of times after that but it was only a light rain and no wind, thank goodness.
By the time it was daylight this morning, we could see that the storm system was no longer a threat. I was out early enough to see the sun come up over the cornfields--one of my favorite RAGBRAI sights.

60 miles to ride today didn't seem like much when I looked at the route map. As the day went on, I was thankful that it was only 60 miles. There were a lot of hills on this ride. The day quickly got hot and I was thankful to roll into the overnight town of Atlanta in the early afternoon and hit the showers.

A great opening day on RAGBRAI.