Author: Rich

Davenport IA – 7.0 miles I woke up around 6:15AM to tear down my tent.  Oh yeah, I’m in a motel in Davenport IA – how glorious!   The next thing I observed is my watch reading 10AM.   Man did that feel good. Jack and I rode about 3 miles south to a laundromat, since the machines at our motel were broken.  There, we found a motherlode of just what we wanted: Country Style Ice Cream and Coffee Shop Laundromania Handy Dollar and More Convenience Store Hungry Hobo Grill I must say that I’ve never had worse laundry.  I’d have never

Coralville IA to Davenport IA – 76.3 miles I woke up feeling weak this morning.  I’m sure it had nothing to do with the 96 oz of beer I drank yesterday. Up through Iowa City and the University of Iowa in the morning – Jesse’s alma mater.     Jack and I stopped in West Branch IA for breakfast, this time an all-you-can-eat affair prepared by the Fire Department.  The line was pretty long but they were churning out pancakes at an impressive rate.  Sometimes the servers would flip them high into the air for cyclists to catch on their plates. To

Grinnell IA to Coralville IA Following 22 miles of riding from Grinnell IA, I repeated a breakfast this morning with the egg muffin guys, and sat around trying to enjoy a religious rock band playing while sitting in the shaded beer garden.  A fellow was sitting next to me with Bloody Mary in hand, and I said, “Jeez, this band could drive me to drink.” I lost Jack before breakfast and I never saw him again today on the route.  Instead, I started seeking out all live bands in each town, which often took me to the beer garden.  Well,

Altoona IA to Grinnell IA Yet another excellent day at Ragbrai.  As has been the trend, wi-fi and especially electricity has been difficult to come by.  I’ve been trying to keep the laptop charged so I can at least write, but my phone has been dead.  No wi-fi for a couple of days either.  I could go out of my way for it (at the library for example), but there are too many other things to do. Overcast skies today kept the temperatures lower, only into the low 90s.   Starting in Altoona IA, we travelled more Iowan farm roads into

Boone IA to Altoona IA Another typical great day at Ragbrai.  Morning spin with Jack away from Boone, through the little town of Luther which had practically nothing set up.  At the 22 mile mark we found Slater IA and at least there were a few breakfast options.  In fact, we had fun watching the operations of the breakfast muffin guy (an oversized knockoff of an Egg McMuffin).  The guy working the egg griddle was a maestro. Lots of little Iowan town after that, spaced fairly close together. Sheldahl, Alleman, White Oak, Elkhart…  None of them really stood out for

Carroll IA to Boone IA A very typical Ragbrai day, so I’m not really sure what to post about it.  Great riding conditions AM, plenty of heat in the afternoon.  I decided not to do the “Karras loop” century option, since I’m not really seeking to add miles to this journey unless somehow warranted.  Stops in the Iowan towns of Lidderdale, Lanesboro, Churden, Paton, Pilot Mound, and our final destination here in Boone. I ate plenty of ice cream, lemonade, Sprite, water, and tried a lamb bratwurst from Greene County.   In Churden I was successful in spying an exposed outlet

Glenwood IA Good sleep last night.  I woke up several times and caught glimpses of a starry sky, then the next time a cloudy one.  Drops fell before dawn, but not enough to cool it down much.  But the fan!  The fan!  It works great.  I’m thinking that on the 1st morning after everyone rides, I’m going to be able to sell this thing for $300.  No sale. Breakfast this morning at Tim and Jill’s Family Restaurant.  This is supposedly the best place in town for breakfast.  The place was just about full but not overflowing, and yet they acted

Glenwood IA Oppressive heat last night.  Oppressive.  So hot you can’t sleep.  So hot even Nyquil doesn’t work.  So hot the sweat is pouring out of you evey second, your pillow is saturated and the air mattress has about a cup smeared all over its surface (the sleeping bag never came out of the sack). I rose in the morning with about 1-1/2 hours sleep under my belt and a lovely sinus headache.   Mind you – I’m not complaining.  This is all part of the.  It’d be folly to expect to go the whole 3 months without someone getting a