Day 6--Iowa City

Well, technically, Day 6 of this year's RAGBRAI ended in Coralville, not Iowa City. The archway welcoming riders into town gives you an indication that Coralvillle went all out to show us their hospitality.

But for Lee, Mike and me the hospitality that awaited us was at Mike's house in Iowa City. Coralville and Iowa City are next door neighbors. We will now be able to enjoy a home cooked meal, hot showers that we don't have to pay for and a bed in an air conditioned house.

Tomorrow and Sunday Lee and I will be able to spend some time with the grandkids. Sunday evening we fly back to Virginia and then it will be back to work on Monday. Once again it's been a wonderful week riding through the beautiful state of Iowa. Thanks to all who followed along by reading these posts. Check back here again sometime in the future for further adventures of Lee and Barb.

2 intrepid riders

5th day out on RAGBRAI for me and thousands of other riders. Not everyone is able to take off work to ride the whole 7 days. It's still possible to participate in some of the RAGBRAI fun. Take, for example, my son and my husband. These 2 intrepid riders wanted to do the Friday and Saturday rides with RAGBRAI. But to get here to Grinnell, Iowa, the Thursday overnight town, they had to start at daybreak this morning in Iowa City and pedal their bikes and gear 80 miles to get here to Grinnell.

The ride from here back to Coralville tomorrow is the longest ride of the whole week. As hot as the weather has been this week, I tried to talk them out of their plan. It seemed like too much to try and accomplish. But they triumphed and rolled into town early in the afternoon.



The first thing Lee did was collapse under the nearest shade tree. You can tell he was happy to finally be here. And I was happy that they had safely made it in.




My ride today had been much shorter, although, it was quite hilly again. Lee and Mike encountered some major thunderstorms but I only got rained on for a short stretch.

We are camped on the Grinnell campus in a very nice area. The new Aquatic Center on campus was open for showers and they were some of the best showers I have ever had on RAGBRAI.

The tent is set up and it looks like a thunderstorm is close, so it's time to head back to camp.

Who is it that strengthens you?

"I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me" is the King James version of Philippians 4:13. It was nice this morning to be reminded of that by a sticker on the piece of strawberry rhubarb pie that I feasted on in Alleman, Iowa. Yes, the strength in my legs that is required to do all of this pedaling across Iowa is the result of hours of training miles on my bike. God does expect us to do our part. But we can never forget that the blessings of health and strength and finances and all that is necessary to enjoy an adventure like this, are blessings that come from His hand.

The ride today was shorter than the other 3 days and there were very few hills to climb. Sometimes the wind was blowing against us and the sun got very hot again later in the day. But I had made an early start so got to the camp in Altoona in plenty of time to relax and cool off.

The campground is in a baseball field with very little shade. After getting the tent set up I pedaled back towards town and found that the library was open for riders to use. It's a nice break to be able to sit in the air conditioned library for awhile.

I've heard there is a good chance that we will get some rain tonight but I plan to be outside and enjoy as much of this day as I can. With the tent already set up it won't be an issue if it does decide to rain. Hopefully, no major thunderstorms and an end to the rain before it's time to pack up again in the morning.

Who is Blake?

You think riding a bike across Iowa would be hard? Well, then, how about riding your skateboard across Iowa? This picture is actually the second person I've seen skateboarding this year on RAGBRAI. His story was featured in yesterday's newspaper. I highly recommend checking out his website (whoisblake.com). Check out the video, too.

I had a chance to chat with Blake a few minutes as I was riding along next to him. At that point we were about 10 miles away from the ending destination of Boone, Iowa. The major obstacle for today had been overcome. I couldn't imagine how Blake could have rode that skateboard up and down all the hills we encountered Sunday and Monday, but he did. I was curious about how he did "Twister Hill", that major obstacle behind us today. He said he did have to walk up that one.

There were a lot of bicyclists who had to walk up "Twister Hill." I'm happy to report that I wasn't one of them. It was harder than any hill so far, but I struggled my way up in the very lowest gear and finally made it to the top.

Other than the one big hill, it was fairly level riding. The day was long and the sun was hot, but, all in all, enjoyable riding. It's time now to see what the town of Boone has to offer.

No, I can't do it

"I just can't do any more hills--no, I can't believe I'm seeing more hills." That was the thought running through my mind as we crested another set of hills. The hills seem to have this way of steeply going to a crest that appears to be the top of the hill and you've huffed and puffed your way up and then there is this smaller rise ahead of you and you go over that but then your eyes can't believe what you see because stretching out before and behind you is just more and more undulating rolls of hills. It's just like a ribbon of roller coasters in either direction.

Oh well, there's just nothing to do about it but keep going. You feel so totally awesome as the wind whistles past your ears on the way down and you try not to think about the climbing that awaits once you hit the bottom of the hill. As soon as you begin to feel the pull of gravity again you start to downshift. All the riders that were spread out sailing down the hill are now bunched up slowly grinding their way up and the sounds in your ears are huffs and puffs and grinding of bike gears. You just keep on pedaling and then you before you know it you have made it up to the top ready to head back down and tackle the next climb.

By the end of a particularly long 20-mile stretch of hills today I was ready for a pie and ice cream break. Sitting in the park in the shade ready to dig into my homebaked strawberry rhubarb pie al a mode was one of the highlights of the day.


It was a hot day today, too, but that made the shade breaks that much more welcome. And nothing beat finding the campground here in Carroll knowing that I had completed the challenge of all those hills. The word is that the next few days of the ride are much less hilly. And now that the hills are over my mind has forgotten all about how hard it seemed at the time. I feel ready for anything.

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.

Rain or shine--which is it going to be?

Sitting here looking out the window of the Bicyclists of Iowa City (BIC) bus wondering if this will be one of those RAGBRAI's where we get soaked with rain half the time and baked by the sun the rest of the time. The sweltering heat Wednesday and Thursday here in Iowa City developed into major thunderstorms yesterday morning. We even lost power for a couple of hours at Mike's house. But then before lunchtime the sun was out and it turned into a 90 degree day with the kids getting sunburns because Grandma kept them out too long playing with water balloons and splashing on the Slip-n-Slide at the park.

I was woken from sleep last night by the crash of thunder, flash of lightening, and the sound of the wind slashing rain against the house. I was so thankful that I was in the house and not in my tent! I've weathered more than one summer thunderstorm in my tent on RAGBRAI. It's fun to talk and laugh about when it's over but sure not fun when you're going through it.

This morning the clouds are still here but it was only sprinkles when the taxi dropped me off in front of the school where the buses are loading. I threw on my duffel bag, found my seat and was glad to see sun breaking through the clouds. It was a short-lived break as 10 minutes later the skies opened up and it was pouring again.

Well, buses are now all loaded, rain has stopped and we are enroute to our 4-1/2 hour ride over to Glenwood. Rain or shine, whichever this week brings, we RAGBRAI riders will weather it and have a wonderful, adventurous week.

Early arrival in Iowa

After the difficulties I experienced traveling to Iowa for RAGBRAI the last 2 years, it has been a pleasure this year to arrive a couple of days early. Instead of being stranded in the airport the day before RAGBRAI because of a late departure from Dulles resulting in a missed connection, yesterday I had a smooth and incident-free Delta flight to Cedar Rapids. Mike had the day off and was able to drive up with the kids and pick me up. My plane was landing just as they were walking up. The kids were excited to see Grandma's plane coming in and Grandma was happy to walk into the terminal to see all the smiling faces.

Iowa has experienced a heat wave the last couple of days. That is good news for RAGBRAI, since the one certainty about weather is that it is sure to change. By next week cooler temperatures should be here.

There was a scheduled 5:00 pm ride yesterday with Bicyclists of Iowa City (BIC) that Mike and I were going to join. After stopping for a fun lunch in Cedar Rapids at the Flying Weiner




we drove to the bike shop in Iowa City and I rented a bike for the day. By that time it was becoming clear that even with the winds picking up the day was going to be a sizzler. BIC decided to cancel the ride because of the heat. One of Mike's friends was debating if he still wanted to ride with me and Mike but at 4:30 he told Mike he had decided not to go. So Mike and I filled the water bottles and set out for a 30-mile ride. The thermometer showed 103 degrees.

The wind from the south was pretty strong so we decided to do a loop where we would head into the wind going out on the road that was fairly flat and then the trip back on the road with more hills would have the advantage of tailwinds. It was incredibly hot but we had the good fortune after about an hour of pedaling to pass by a spectacular display of fountains in front of the Riverside Casino. We put down the bikes, walked over to the fountains, and stood downwind of where the spray from the fountains was shooting over the grass. It was pure heaven standing there getting soaked with the spray after the sweaty ride.


Continuing on after our refreshing shower we soon spotted an A&W Root Beer stand and had a different refreshment--a deliciuos root beer float. We finished the ride with a dinner stop at a Chipolte restaurant downtown. Shades of RAGBRAI...riding your way through beautiful Iowa countryside filling up on treats at every opportunity.

Goodbye to an old friend

Our old friend, #25 Mohawk canoe, is on its way to a new home in West Virginia. Lee had the canoe before I met him. One of our first dates was a canoe trip on the Shenandoah River. It has stayed with us, resting on its perch in the backyard, since we got married and moved here to Oakton 13 years ago.

In the early years we would take canoe trips several times each spring and summer. But I think it was when I started doing RAGBRAI 9 years ago that we tended to neglect canoeing and began spending more of our time biking. I like the simplicity of grabbing a sandwich, filling the water bottle and jumping on the bike to head out the backyard for a fun time pedaling somewhere. It's so much easier than the effort involved in getting the canoe loaded on top of the car and lugging along all the gear that goes with it. Not to mention when you get home and are tired and everything is wet and muddy and you have to haul it back off the car, through the bushes, and down the slope into the backyard.

It will have a good home in West Virginia, staying in the family, too. Kelly and her husband are excited to get it and with two young boys I think it will get some good use in the years to come. Goodbye, old friend, and thank you for all the fun times paddling.

4th of July

Our plans for today were to ride our bikes downtown and check out the 4th of July festivities on the mall. The ideal 4th in Washington should involve being downtown for the spectacular fireworks display that every year celebrates our nation's birth. But because it's a workday tomorrow it wasn't practical to stay out that late and then have to get up early in the morning to go to work. We settled for enjoying the beautiful weather during the day and getting our exercise on the bike trails.

To get to downtown by bike is about 15 miles from our house. We started out by heading to the W&OD trail, which is about 3.5 miles through neighborhoods and on various side streets. That trail connects to the Custis Trail for the most direct route down to the Key Bridge which crosses into DC at Rosslyn.

W&OD and Custis Trail into DC

Last night there were a number of storm systems that moved through the area. We heard thunder and saw lightning at our house but the violent weather passed us by. It wasn't until we looked at this morning's paper that we saw there had been high winds and storm damage in surrounding areas. About 5 miles before we got to our downtown destination we had to get off our bikes and make a detour on the trail around a large tree that fallen across the trail.



Other parts of the trail in this area were littered with leaves and broken pieces of tree branches so it was obvious that this had been one of the areas hit by last night's storm.

Once we got across the river and into DC we rested at West Potomac Park, which is behind the Lincoln Memorial and overlooks the river back across to the Virginia side.


As we made our way to the Smithsonian Folk Life festival on the mall we were surprised to see that all the major streets were closed to automobile traffic. It was fun to ride our bikes on the streets that are usually clogged with cars. We soon discovered that the reason the streets were closed is that there was a parade about to get underway. We watched the beginning of it but it was slow getting started and we didn't have a very good view. We soon wandered off to look at some of the other sights.



To make the trip home we pedaled further down the river to connect up with the 4-mile Run Trail, which goes through Shirlington and joins the W&OD Trail. It's a bit longer than going back the way that we came but it has the advantage that it avoids the steeper hills that are on the Custis Trail.

Mt. Vernon Trail, 4-mile Run Trail And W&OD Trail

July 4th Weekend

No, we're not in Iowa yet. This photo was taken today on a training ride on the W&OD bike trail, which is where we do most of our riding. The western end of the trail in Loudoun County goes through farm country and I couldn't resist stopping to take a picture when I saw this cornfield next to the bike trail. It's such a reminder of RAGBRAI.

July 4th weekend is traditionally the time to find a day that I can prove myself capable of doing a 70-mile bike ride. The total number of training miles reached so far is important, too, but there's something about knowing that you can sit on the bike all the hours required to do 70 miles that makes you confident that you are ready for RAGBRAI.

This year it's convenient that the 4th is on Monday, giving us a 3-day weekend. The weather was perfect today and I wanted to have the test out of the way early in the weekend so I decided to ride the 70 miles today. Lee had to work this afternoon and if he wants to do a 70 mile ride before RAGBRAI he will pick another day, maybe next Saturday.

I left right after breakfast, 7:00am, and was home by 1:30pm, none the worse for wear. I think that's record time for me. All of the extra miles this year gained by being able to ride my bike to work have made a noticeable difference. The nice weather should continue through the weekend and now that the hard work is finished I'm looking forward to relaxing and doing more bike riding in the next couple of days only if I feel like it.