This Ride Rocks

Our final day was by far the easiest. Except for two big hills, it was mostly flat. The pace was quick. Everyone was anxious to finish, but fortunately, we did not lose sight of our priorities. We stopped for one last bloody mary on the way.

We skipped the ceremonial dipping of the front tire in the Mississippi. We were informed by a couple of RAGBRAI veterans that the finish area was usually a madhouse and the process took forever. So instead, Dino met us with the RV before the finish line, and we made a quick dash out of town.

RAGBRAI exceeded all of our expectations. The people were amazing. Although our fellow riders were great, it was the people of Iowa that made the trip. People would sit on their front porches or even drive to the route and wave as we passed by. We were always greeted with a smile, and they were anxious to know where we were from and tell us about their town. It's not the ride nor the food nor the beer that keep people coming back year after year. It's the people of Iowa.

The success of our trip was due to one person, Dino. Dino was always there for us, driving from town to town, getting supplies, setting up camp. Whatever needed to be done, he happily did it. He would go to the next town and patiently wait for us to arrive. Once there, we were often too tired to do anything else but eat and go to bed, not the most exciting traveling companions. Each day, he listened to our lame stories about our ride and took shit from John, and there was never a complaint, just a smile and a laugh. From all of us on the Not Dead Yet team, we thank you Dino for all that you did to make this a trip that we will never forget.

As for all of you who have read this blog and followed us on our journey, you really need to get a life, but thanks for your comments and support.

In closing, I am happy to report that we are NOT DEAD YET.

WE MADE IT!

TGIF - Thank God I'm Finished

The optimism I expressed yesterday was quickly squashed today. The morning started with two flat tires before we ever got started, and it was down hill from there (or so I wish).

Although it was one of our longest mileage days, the overall vertical climb was less than previous days. Unfortunately, the reduction in hills were more than offset by winds (mostly in our face) and heat. Instead of going up hills half of the time, it felt as we were climbing constantly.

To say the least, it kicked all of our asses. Everyone was spent when we finished. The wear and tear of biking over 400 miles is taking its toll. Although it has been a great experience, everyone is looking forward to wrapping things up tomorrow.

I know I promised more pictures yesterday, but my focus today was to get to our destination. Given that tomorrow is our last day, I'm hoping for some good photo opportunities.

Whimp! I would like to see him pedal two wheels across Iowa.

Enjoying a liquid lunch in the comforts of our air conditioned RV.

Ottumwa or Bust

Day 5 of our journey started with early morning thunder showers. (Thankfully, we are staying in an RV and not a tent.) Fortunately, by the time we were ready to hit the road, the skies were sunny. The rest of the day was warm and clear except for a late afternoon rain storm that caught us off guard about 5 miles from from the end of our trip.

One thing we have come to realize after 5 days of riding is how dangerous it can be to bike with 25,000 other riders. Each day we have seen ambulances cart off people. Today, John witnessed a rider getting side swiped by a car. Most of these accidents are a result of biker error or negligence, but with this many people biking innocent bikers also get taken out.

I apologize for only having a few pictures to post. I promise to have more tomorrow. My priority today was just completing the 76 miles. Tomorrow is another long day, but all of us are feeling good about completing the trip. The end is nearing, and we are NOT DEAD YET.

Four days of biking and we can still smile at the beginning of the day.

If you look closely you will notice that Mr. Pork Chop is a Cub fan. I hear he goes with Ms. White Bread, a Sox fan.

White RV Trash

I told you Randy that we should have sought cover from the rain at the last farm.

Every good day needs to end with a piece of pie.

Hump Day

We are over half way to our destination, but I don't think any of us believe it's down hill from here. Although all of us are holding up fairly well, the legs, knees, butt, back, arms, shoulders, and neck start getting sore a little bit sooner each day we ride.

Today was fairly uneventful. We woke up to a heavy fog that burned off by mid morning. The remainder of the day was warm and sunny. We rode through the town of Milo, the fictional home of MASH's Radar O'Reilly (I always thought it was Ottumwa). Otherwise, there was nothing notable to report other than numerous hills and beers to get over them.

Why Vicky rides.

RAGBRAI Cowboy?

See! I told you there were a lot of fruits that rode RAGBRAI.

Some people just don't know when to leave their dogs at home.

RAGBRAIers cool off after a big climb.

Elvis is alive and well and living in Prole, IA

Day 3 started off cold and wet. We spent the first hour riding in the rain, but by mid afternoon it turned out to be the nicest day that we have had so far. We spent most of the day riding in Madison county made famous by the book and movie, "Bridges of Madison County". Did we see any covered bridges? The answer for five of us would be no, but Vicky said that we passed right by one. So much for taking in all the beauty of Iowa.

More importantly, we are happy to report that the rumors of Elvis Presley's death are false. We have proof (see pictures below) that he is alive and well working as a dairy farmer in Prole, IA. Fortunately, for RAGBRAI riders he still performs occasionally at Gabby's.

Tomorrow is the easiest day of the ride. We are only riding 44 miles. So, we will be able to sleep in and have a big breakfast.

Headlining in Vegas or Prole it doesn't matter. He is still The King.

Elvis with adoring fans.

Elvis with some biker chick.

Biker chick's new tattoo.

The people in Iowa open their homes for RAGBRAI, literally.

Hills, Hills and More Hills

Day 2 started out with ominous clouds on the horizon. Fortunately, except for a few sprinkles and a late afternoon light shower, we made it through the day without getting too wet. Tomorrow, however, may be a different story. The forecast is for heavy rain tonight (Thank God we are not sleeping in a tent.) and 40% chance of rain tomorrow.

Did I mention there are hills? The worst part of it is there are very few stretches where you are on flat terrain. Either you are going up or down with little in between. After tomorrow, the worst will be behind us.

Oh by the way, we passed through the birthplaces of the Folgers lady, Mrs. Olsen (Stanton, IA) and Johnny Carson (Corning, IA). Now, don't you wish you were riding with us.

Little did we know what layed ahead.

We didn't even make it out of town before we hit our first climb.

Stanton, IA is a Swedish settled town and home of Mrs. Olsen.

Hills,

Hills,

and more Hills

Only in Iowa would you put a beer garden out in the middle of nowhere between a corn field and soy bean field

Julie and John didn't mind.

Note to self - Bad idea to stop for beers when there is still 15 miles of hills to climb.

And We're Off

Day 1 is over and we have survived! It was much more challenging than I anticipated, but it was a lot of fun as the photos illustrate. Whoever said that Iowa was flat hasn't been to Iowa. Tomorrow will most likely be our toughest day, one of the longest (72 miles) and as hilly as today. I have been hearing rumors of bad weather rolling in later tomorrow. If it does, I'm hoping the worst of it will pass by Tuesday morning.

There are so many riders that we have overloaded the cell networks of these little towns. So, there was almost no cell phone coverage. In fact, I'm sitting outside the local fire house on the grass and jumping on their unsecure wireless network to post this blog.

Enjoy the pictures below. Hopefully, I will be able to post some more tomorrow.

All set to take off, and we didn't even have to pull Julie out of the casino.

There were so many riders that we had to walk our bikes through small towns.

Riders come in all shapes and sizes

and weirdness

WHY WE RIDE!!

How can you beat having a beer at 10:30 am on a Sunday morning?

And with a beer garden like this, how can you blame us?

When your 45 miles into a 55 mile ride, you need to stop for another beer. Hell, it was also late in the day. I think about noon.

The Easy Part is Done

We made it to Council Bluffs in record time thanks to Dino. He still drives as if he is going to a fire. Tomorrow should be interesting. We have received reports that there will be 25,000 riders (10,000 week long riders, 5,000 day riders, and 10,000 riders that are too cheap to sign up). Everyone has also been telling us how hilly it will be, particularly tomorrow morning as we climb the bluffs of Council Bluffs. Below are a couple pictures of our trip so far.

Not even out of Chicago and Pam was out for the count.

Julie was not far behind (no pun intended)

Team Wimpy was one of many teams that Dino blew past.

John makes sure he remains hydrated.

Where's Julie? At the casino. Where else?