Hopefully this will spawn a deeper love for books!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
RAGBRAI Update 5
RAGBRAI Update 5
Once again the alarm woke me up just before 4am, but thankfully this time it was preceded by a solid night of sleep! No freight trains, no bright lights, and the temperature finally got down to 80 degrees, outside the tent.
One observation that almost everyone has made at RAGBRAI: though there are "official" mileage counts for each day, they fall quite short of reality, I'm guessing because they measure from town line to town line, rather than from camp area to camp area. As well, we usually end up riding 5-10 additional miles to down town for food each day. Having said that, a realistic estimate of our mileage thus far is 400, not including the prologue. With that kind of estimate, we'll most likely roll over 600 miles when all is said and done.
The ride today started off slow, with a trail of blinkies illuminating nthe otherwise dark morning route. As we slowly startedvwaking up we got a great sunrise and of course, mile and miles of corn. The end of the road broke the table top
Tonight we get a treat. Conrad's parents live in our overnight town, so we'll stay with them in an air conditioned house with laundry and a home cooked meal.
Once again the alarm woke me up just before 4am, but thankfully this time it was preceded by a solid night of sleep! No freight trains, no bright lights, and the temperature finally got down to 80 degrees, outside the tent.
One observation that almost everyone has made at RAGBRAI: though there are "official" mileage counts for each day, they fall quite short of reality, I'm guessing because they measure from town line to town line, rather than from camp area to camp area. As well, we usually end up riding 5-10 additional miles to down town for food each day. Having said that, a realistic estimate of our mileage thus far is 400, not including the prologue. With that kind of estimate, we'll most likely roll over 600 miles when all is said and done.
The ride today started off slow, with a trail of blinkies illuminating nthe otherwise dark morning route. As we slowly startedvwaking up we got a great sunrise and of course, mile and miles of corn. The end of the road broke the table top
Tonight we get a treat. Conrad's parents live in our overnight town, so we'll stay with them in an air conditioned house with laundry and a home cooked meal.
The RAGBRAI Finale'
Well, I'm sitting back at home, the temperature a solid 50 degrees cooler than it was in Iowa, and I'm surrounded by coffee makers, a warm bed and comfy couch, with the ability to cook whatever food I desire. Normal life is quite a bit different than it was the last week! Though I wouldn't choose to live in America's farmland, Iowa was quite hospitable and friendly, and I enjoyed getting to know both my riding partners and those who came out from the local towns to cheer us on and learn our names.
During the trip I'd had a lot of expectations for reflection and reading times, but the heat often allowed for nothing but wandering in search of the next shade patch and water bottle filling station. However, now that I'm back and have the chance to relax, I'll hopefully get some good processing time in. Sabbaticals are nice!
Well, for those interested, I've inserted my GPS data for the routes I rode last week into my older posts, so take a look if you're interested.
Here are some pics from the final day, ending at the Mississippi River.
Thanks for reading!
During the trip I'd had a lot of expectations for reflection and reading times, but the heat often allowed for nothing but wandering in search of the next shade patch and water bottle filling station. However, now that I'm back and have the chance to relax, I'll hopefully get some good processing time in. Sabbaticals are nice!
Well, for those interested, I've inserted my GPS data for the routes I rode last week into my older posts, so take a look if you're interested.
Here are some pics from the final day, ending at the Mississippi River.
Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
RAGBRAI Update 5
Once again the alarm woke me up just before 4am, but thankfully this time it was preceded by a solid night of sleep! No freight trains, no bright lights, and the temperature finally got down to 80 degrees, outside the tent.
One observation that almost everyone has made at RAGBRAI: though there are "official" mileage counts for each day, they fall quite short of reality, I'm guessing because they measure from town line to town line, rather than from camp area to camp area. As well, we usually end up riding 5-10 additional miles to down town for food each day.Having said that, a realistic estimate of our mileage thus far is 400, not including the prologue. With that kind of estimate, we'll most likely roll over 600 miles when all is said and done.
The ride today started off slow, with a trail of blinkies illuminating the otherwise dark morning route. As the first miles passed us by and we slowly started waking up, we got a great sunrise and of course, mile and miles of corn. After 65 miles of corn and soy fields we finally hit some rolling hills, and I acted like a child. i would tuck and go aero before bottoming out and the sprint up the inclines, leaving those behind me to wonder why I would waste such valuable energy. The ride ended at the 80 mile marker, around 10:30am, and we even managed to get into town before the porto potties were set up......uhhhhg!
Well, tonight we get a treat. Conrad's parents live in our overnight town, so we'll stay with them in an air conditioned house with laundry and a home cooked meal. Alaskan halibut and steak, ice cream and strawberries, Iowa corn and potato salad! Annnnnnnd, it's windy, rainy and thundering outside of my bedroom window. What a treat to have a break from RAGBRAI for a night!
Pics to come soon.
Chris, from the road
One observation that almost everyone has made at RAGBRAI: though there are "official" mileage counts for each day, they fall quite short of reality, I'm guessing because they measure from town line to town line, rather than from camp area to camp area. As well, we usually end up riding 5-10 additional miles to down town for food each day.Having said that, a realistic estimate of our mileage thus far is 400, not including the prologue. With that kind of estimate, we'll most likely roll over 600 miles when all is said and done.
The ride today started off slow, with a trail of blinkies illuminating the otherwise dark morning route. As the first miles passed us by and we slowly started waking up, we got a great sunrise and of course, mile and miles of corn. After 65 miles of corn and soy fields we finally hit some rolling hills, and I acted like a child. i would tuck and go aero before bottoming out and the sprint up the inclines, leaving those behind me to wonder why I would waste such valuable energy. The ride ended at the 80 mile marker, around 10:30am, and we even managed to get into town before the porto potties were set up......uhhhhg!
Well, tonight we get a treat. Conrad's parents live in our overnight town, so we'll stay with them in an air conditioned house with laundry and a home cooked meal. Alaskan halibut and steak, ice cream and strawberries, Iowa corn and potato salad! Annnnnnnd, it's windy, rainy and thundering outside of my bedroom window. What a treat to have a break from RAGBRAI for a night!
Pics to come soon.
Chris, from the road
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
RAGBRAI Update 4
Hey All, I rode a bit over a 100 miles today, and the weather topped out at a little over 100 degrees. Needless to say, I'm tired, so these images will have to speak for me. The century was full of corn fields, so here are pictures of our overnight town...much more interesting!
One quick reflection: Historically I have judged tandom bikes to be inherently dumb and weak. I now must repent. They are still dumb, but several times we hopped onto pace lines pulled by couples on tandoms, and the killed it......27-mph-for-miles killed it! I went aero on the biggest descent of the day and hit a little over 45mph, and couldn't keep up with a tandom. All that to say, under the right ridership, a tandom can make me feel weak!
Chris, from the road
One quick reflection: Historically I have judged tandom bikes to be inherently dumb and weak. I now must repent. They are still dumb, but several times we hopped onto pace lines pulled by couples on tandoms, and the killed it......27-mph-for-miles killed it! I went aero on the biggest descent of the day and hit a little over 45mph, and couldn't keep up with a tandom. All that to say, under the right ridership, a tandom can make me feel weak!
Chris, from the road
Monday, July 23, 2012
RAGBRAI Update 3
RAGBRAI Day 2 Update
I fell asleep last night several times to the pitter patter of rain, and each time the initial drops on my tent awoke me. The final awakening came aroumd 4:45am when the neighboring porto potty doors begain to slam shut, one after another. At 5:00am I got out of the tent and hopped in line for those large plastics sauna's, the line already 35 people deep.
We were on the road at a quarter to six, crammed into a small, 8-foot wide "protected" bike lane, while the other three lanes of traffice were "filled" with the earliest of the town's 4 thousand residents heading to work. After a few miles alligned like sardines, we broke free from our boundaries and took off down a farm road lined with leafy soy plants to the south and corn stalks to the north. Eventually we found a windfarm, the circulating windmills inferred a tailwind, but we found no ease added. What did help on the wind was the top-of-the-line Specialized race bike I demo-ed....man was it efficient!
Today's ride was an up tempo trip, with only a 2-minute stop for water and a second stop for frozen grapes, accompanied by some informative and courteous conversation with a local corn and soy farmer. During our 70 mile day we spent at least 40 minutes in pace-lines, pulling 24-28 mph. We arrived in our overnight town of Lake View and found our campsite directly under huge shade trees that border a huge lake.....that locals advised us to stay out of. I nearly cried at the news, as it's currently 109 degrees.
I'm now sitting lakeside, in front of an industrial fan that's covered by something like a circus tent. I keep trying to read Travels with Charlie by Steinbeck, but my eye lids quickly become too heavy to focus. We haven't yet met the state's mesquito population, but if there's a common ground, I'm sure I'm sitting in it.
Tomorrow is the century day, so my post may be shorter than usual.
Chris, from the road
I fell asleep last night several times to the pitter patter of rain, and each time the initial drops on my tent awoke me. The final awakening came aroumd 4:45am when the neighboring porto potty doors begain to slam shut, one after another. At 5:00am I got out of the tent and hopped in line for those large plastics sauna's, the line already 35 people deep.
We were on the road at a quarter to six, crammed into a small, 8-foot wide "protected" bike lane, while the other three lanes of traffice were "filled" with the earliest of the town's 4 thousand residents heading to work. After a few miles alligned like sardines, we broke free from our boundaries and took off down a farm road lined with leafy soy plants to the south and corn stalks to the north. Eventually we found a windfarm, the circulating windmills inferred a tailwind, but we found no ease added. What did help on the wind was the top-of-the-line Specialized race bike I demo-ed....man was it efficient!
Today's ride was an up tempo trip, with only a 2-minute stop for water and a second stop for frozen grapes, accompanied by some informative and courteous conversation with a local corn and soy farmer. During our 70 mile day we spent at least 40 minutes in pace-lines, pulling 24-28 mph. We arrived in our overnight town of Lake View and found our campsite directly under huge shade trees that border a huge lake.....that locals advised us to stay out of. I nearly cried at the news, as it's currently 109 degrees.
I'm now sitting lakeside, in front of an industrial fan that's covered by something like a circus tent. I keep trying to read Travels with Charlie by Steinbeck, but my eye lids quickly become too heavy to focus. We haven't yet met the state's mesquito population, but if there's a common ground, I'm sure I'm sitting in it.
Tomorrow is the century day, so my post may be shorter than usual.
Chris, from the road
Sunday, July 22, 2012
RAGBRAI Update 2
RAGBRAI Day 1
Today was the official start of the mileage. The day started promptly at 12:04am with a mad dash to the porto potty. Apparently I'm hydrating well. Next came the 4:00am frieght train that rumbled by a couple blocks away. If trains have theft alarms, this one was stolen, as the horn went off the whole way through the neighborhood. Or maybe the conductor had a bad experience with bikes growing up...
So the day actually started at 5:00am, packing up the tent and gear, filing water bottles, etc. Christine sent me off with some oatmeal cookies, so I had oatmeal for breakfast. A thick cloud cover first early miles was lit up by distance lightening at 6:00am. The roads stayed cool (high 70's) as the clouds continued over us until we passed through a Dutch town selling wooden cycling shoes and all you can eat pancakes.
As the mileage count and temperature continued to increase I was consistently amazed by the number of people we passed who were riding significantly slower than us. I saw a true dedication to the ride in their goofey bike helmet ornaments, hawaiian shirts and creaky gears. These people must have been on the bike by 5:00am and passed each rest stop to make it through the miles so quickly. I am impressed!
With the afternoon and evening still left, there is plenty of sweat, water and breeze to be had. We'll hit the Expo (all the vendors, bike companies and food carts) for dinner and settle into our tents around 9:00pm to rest for another 5:00am started, with an expected high of 108 degrees.
Chris, from the road.
Today was the official start of the mileage. The day started promptly at 12:04am with a mad dash to the porto potty. Apparently I'm hydrating well. Next came the 4:00am frieght train that rumbled by a couple blocks away. If trains have theft alarms, this one was stolen, as the horn went off the whole way through the neighborhood. Or maybe the conductor had a bad experience with bikes growing up...
So the day actually started at 5:00am, packing up the tent and gear, filing water bottles, etc. Christine sent me off with some oatmeal cookies, so I had oatmeal for breakfast. A thick cloud cover first early miles was lit up by distance lightening at 6:00am. The roads stayed cool (high 70's) as the clouds continued over us until we passed through a Dutch town selling wooden cycling shoes and all you can eat pancakes.
As the mileage count and temperature continued to increase I was consistently amazed by the number of people we passed who were riding significantly slower than us. I saw a true dedication to the ride in their goofey bike helmet ornaments, hawaiian shirts and creaky gears. These people must have been on the bike by 5:00am and passed each rest stop to make it through the miles so quickly. I am impressed!
With the afternoon and evening still left, there is plenty of sweat, water and breeze to be had. We'll hit the Expo (all the vendors, bike companies and food carts) for dinner and settle into our tents around 9:00pm to rest for another 5:00am started, with an expected high of 108 degrees.
Chris, from the road.
RAGBRAI Update 1
As I hopped into Conrad's truck (founder of CVI) at Des Moines airport, he said he didn't expect to see me. Yes, he knew I was coming and had my itinerary, but my messages to him in Chicago O'Hare made him wonder if he would see me. I was supposed to have a 75 minute lay over, but that quickly diminished to 25, as apparently United + O'Hare = disaster, as Conrad told me later. After not sleeping much on the first leg of my trip, those 25 minutes persuaded me to jump out of my SF flight with two heavy carry on's and procede to run the length of the entire airport in the hope that I wouldn't miss my flight, and subsequently the 4 hr charter bus to the RAGBRAI's start. I might have been stressed.
Somehow my sweaty, heeving body got me to the gate in time to board my 6:10am connection to Des Moines and I immediately turned the air jets directly at my face. After I landed and hopped in Conrad's truck we headed to the charter bus staging area and sat for 2 hours until the busses loaded up. In that time I loaded up on free donuts and juice, hoping to fuel up my tank with some pre-ride "sustanance."
After we got into Souix Center (the start of RAGBRAI) our buss unloaded and Conrad was gone, instantly, and wasn't found for another 30 minutes. After finally finding him, we realized his genius. He'd rushed off to get the tents and got one of the few shaded campt spaces available, which was nice because it was at least 95 degrees out.
We grabbed lunch, a "tenderloin" sandwich the size of a bike helmet and the pulled on our cycling kits for a "quick" 30 round trip west the the Missouri river and Nebraska state line. Upon returning at 7:00pm we found a $5 charge to shower, so my wet wipe pack and a bathroom facet came in handy.
By 9:15pm I was zipped into my tent, debating whether or not to read for a few minutes. The fireworks that woke me up at 10:00pm told me I didn't have the energy to read and I dozed off to a light, but steady rain sprinkle as it tapped against my rain fly.
Chris, from the road
Somehow my sweaty, heeving body got me to the gate in time to board my 6:10am connection to Des Moines and I immediately turned the air jets directly at my face. After I landed and hopped in Conrad's truck we headed to the charter bus staging area and sat for 2 hours until the busses loaded up. In that time I loaded up on free donuts and juice, hoping to fuel up my tank with some pre-ride "sustanance."
After we got into Souix Center (the start of RAGBRAI) our buss unloaded and Conrad was gone, instantly, and wasn't found for another 30 minutes. After finally finding him, we realized his genius. He'd rushed off to get the tents and got one of the few shaded campt spaces available, which was nice because it was at least 95 degrees out.
We grabbed lunch, a "tenderloin" sandwich the size of a bike helmet and the pulled on our cycling kits for a "quick" 30 round trip west the the Missouri river and Nebraska state line. Upon returning at 7:00pm we found a $5 charge to shower, so my wet wipe pack and a bathroom facet came in handy.
By 9:15pm I was zipped into my tent, debating whether or not to read for a few minutes. The fireworks that woke me up at 10:00pm told me I didn't have the energy to read and I dozed off to a light, but steady rain sprinkle as it tapped against my rain fly.
Chris, from the road
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