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

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

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.

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

Nolan After an "Explosive" Nap

Here's Nolan lounging it up,  after a nap that was, um, too big for his diaper.

Nolan's First Song

Nolan woke up this morning singing a very distinct "Happy Birthday to you!" for several minutes. Tonight, he dedicated the song (with slightly less of a tune than before!) to Nona. Happy Belated Birthday, Nona!! :)

Easter Nolan

We got to spend a lovely afternoon with good friends, food and chickens.  Nolan had a wonderful Easter, and so did his parents!