Day 7 - Biking Iowa - Reaching the Mississippi

Today required a little more time to pack. You knew this was the last time to use your tent and sleeping gear, so putting it up for a long storage took a little longer. I had taken a small folding chair and it decided to break this morning. Perfect timing, at least it waited til the end of the trip. The heat was already in evidence as I started riding at about 620 AM.

Coralville is a pretty place and pretty soon we started an uphill towards the University of Iowa campus. The sprawling campus is quite pretty with old and modern buildings. Lots of residents were sitting on their porches and yards to cheer us on on the last day. People applauded as we rode by - and not yet 7 AM.

With a ride of around 50 miles, I was hoping on some flat lands for the day and we got a lot less hills. But it was hot. Heat index of over 100. About 20 miles into the ride I started to get really hungry. You could feel a melancholiness in the riders attitudes knowing RAGBRAI 2006 was about to end.

Lots of signs are on the roadway telling you of the next town's offerings. I see a french toast breakfast announced at a Methodist church in West Branch and decide to refuel. The town has lots of trees and a small downtown that clearly is from the late 1800's. As we enter town we are greeted with free coffee and water.

As I pull my bike to the side I am told by a resident to walk a few blocks down a beautiful tree shaded boulevard to see the Herbert Hoover Museum and Library and his birth place. It is quiet, beautiful, and shaded. A real treat to visit.

The line for french toast takes me almost an hour to get through. Meeting riders from Arizona, California, and Kansas in the line and everyone is still rehashing the hills of Day 2.

The ride to the end in Muscatine at the Mississippi River is flat and very hot. My goal is to arrive by 1 PM so that I can get my bike boxed and shipped back and then find our group for the 3 hour bus ride back to Des Moines. The town is pretty large and the riverfront has a giant celebration taking place with lots of carnival rides, food booths, and of course, another beer tent.

Pausing to enjoy the river and to reflect on the 7 days just past, I think of how genuine Iowa is. And I wonder why these riders do this year after year ? Yes, some are serious bike riders, but most are not.

Floridians think of cruise ships and lazy vacations. Iowans sleep on a hard ground, get up every day as the sun is rising, and spend all day riding a bike - for 7 days. The amount of riders that have participated in RAGBRAI for 20 and 30 years is amazing.

There is something about the ride that can get into your blood. Having participated three times now, I am still not quite sure just what it is. You just have to experience it yourself to really know.