Biking Iowa - First Day of Riding

After a serious street party, I headed back to camp to sleep for the ride. Good thing. About 4 I woke up to cold weathe.
It was about 60 degrees and my light blanket was not enough. What a great thing. About 6 the sky started to lighten and
some other riders started to stir - of course John was one. I heard him say something to Gwen and Paul about how I was out beer drinking last night, but not to worry about me, I was used to this routine.
When I got moving a short time later, his tent and gear and John were gone. I was packed and on the road about 6:15. The sun started to appear over a hill a few minutes later. It is about five and I haven't seen him all day.

The ride today was pretty tough due to the hills. (Can't practice those in Tampa very well) We did 54 miles, our shortest
day of the 7 day trip. Along the way I met Jake and his sister Payton. They weren't getting along today. Arriving in Ashton was a big deal. It was first real time all the riders came together- all ten plus thousand of us.Along the way were some great people. The kids were pretty unsure of what to think. I met Jason and Payton selling Gatorade. They were a selling team but

The town was ready for us. I found the Fireside Steak House and their "friendly" staff. Picture links at Tampagold.com. Nothing like a bloody mary at 9:30. I also met Courtney and Benson. Benson was pretty excited about all the bikes, but
was pretty shy about having his picture taken. Courtney is a nurse in Sioux City and her husband a contractor. She lives about 15 minutes outside of Ashton and works in Sioux City. I asked if she would ever move from Iowa. She talked about Washington state. But she
wanted to stay in a small town with a few acres of land. I asked if she would trade for my place in SOHO, she said she probably couldn't afford it but preferred her two acres and the country.

Along the next stretches of the road hills came hard and fast. Lots of folks walking their bikes up them. Not me (so far anyway). I ran in to Mr. Pork Chop, a RAGBRAI institution. For the 7 days of the ride his big pink bus moves grills and more and starts cooking huge pork
chops for $6. At some point on RAGBRAI you will have one, you can't avoid it. He has been doing this for 25 years now.



Other than some muscle pains, I have been doing well on the ride, until arrivng in Battle Creek. I stopped for a moment to check gear just as I was entering town. All was fine. Then I realized a block later that I had a flat. Fortunately it was in town.
Bike crews were everywhere to help and I found one that replaced the tube for me in 45 minutes for $10. Not bad. Gave me just enough time to visit the firestation where they were selling beer to raise funds for a new firetruck. While it had been cool last night, the temperatures were now in the low 90's and the town had set up a sprinkler for every one to
ride through as they were leaving town. Just as I was leaving I ran into New John, Tom, and Tammy. They had just gotten to town and were searching for a beer. I went to check on my bike repair, it was ready early, so off I went -riding through the sprinkler on my way out of Battle Creek.
The last 7 miles were and easy trip. Along the way I met Doug from Cincinnatti. He had been in Tampa recently to help his daughter start school at USF and I met the Chases from Fanning Springs. They have done the ride several times and now had their niece with them from California. They also had an RV so we talked rving for awhile as we rode towards Ida Grove.

It has been realy hot for the last few miles. The Des Moines Cycling Club did their usual great work and had bright yellow signs along the way to direct you to the campsites. Getting their about 1, I thought a nap would be great, but it was too hot to do that. So I rode around the town for awhile and found the coolest place in town The Ice Skate Palace. Cold beer, drinks, and food. And Cheap.
With limited WIFI access I decided to write this while in the coolness and then will upload a little later from a travelling communications trailer.

The evening festivities will start soon, but I have no idea when I will be able to send again. Lots of corn in Iowa, not many computers and internet. When I ask about WIFI I get blank stares. Not any Starbucks around here, however, there is the Gramaco Trolley Company. They built the electric trolley cars serving Channelside and Ybor.
Til next time.