Who Are These People and What Message Do They Have for You ?

We received this Press Release and felt it was worth sharing with our readers. Many businesses and individuals are having a tough time and this story is a very good one.

Scan Design, the largest contemporary furniture chain in Florida, is celebrating its 40th anniversary in April. Reaching such a milestone in retail of any kind, but especially the furniture industry, is almost unheard of. Scan Design's story is remarkable in many ways:
Scan Design founders Preben and Lis Knudsen came to Orlando with only $2,000 to open the furniture store of their dreams and for a time lived in the store with their 3-year-old daughter. In those early days of 1969, Preben and Lis were the only employees of the store, working long days Monday through Saturday handling everything including sales, operations, and furniture assembly, and then making deliveries on Sundays.

At the end of their first month of operation, they were $1,000 short for an important payment, a shortfall that could have spelled the end of Scan Design. The night before the payment was due, a customer came in after business hours and purchased $1,500 worth of furniture, allowing Scan Design to stay open. The Knudsens are still in contact with the customer who saved the day and the store.
Customers are so loyal to Scan Design that there are entire families in which several generations are devoted to Scan Design furniture.
Despite the current economic downturn, Scan Design has laid the groundwork to withstand the slow economy with sound long-term investments and commitment to quality and honesty that ensures customer trust.
Scan Design has remained family owned and operated since 1969 and has recently experienced a successful transfer of power between Preben Knudsen and his younger son Jesper.


The Knudsens continue to individually purchase each piece of furniture carried in their stores, making purchasing trips all over the world from Milan to Singapore to find the most unique and well made furniture.
Preben and Lis Knudsen overcame almost insurmountable odds to turn that initial $2,000 investment into what is today a multi-million dollar contemporary furniture chain, with stores in every major metropolitan area in Florida. We hope that you will consider their amazing story of interest to your readers and worthy of inclusion in Davis Island Community News.

Gasparilla Was A Great Time !

Get all the pics and details here.

Gasparilla Invasion Complete Details

Ready or not, here it comes…

Gasparilla 2009.

For most of the Tampa Bay area, that word conjures thoughts of celebration, fun, and regional - if not national - recognition. But for those of us who live adjacent to the festivities, the word “Gasparilla” might just cause us to roll our eyes, shake our heads, and give us chills.

You know the drill.

Each winter, the city of Tampa holds a festival disguised as an invasion of pirates. Members of the local business elite dress as pirates, sail up the bay on a galleon, and berth in downtown Tampa, claiming the city as their own. The invasion ends with a parade in which leaders of the city escort the pirates from the southern end of Bayshore Boulevard back to the Tampa Convention Center. The celebrating (and drinking) starts early in the morning, before the pirates even land. And once the parade gets going, the noise, crowd, and debauchery really intensifies. Gasparilla is named for the legendary (and fictional?) Spanish pirate captain José Gaspar who operated out this area.

The festival began back in 1904 and has taken place nearly every year. Today over 400,000 people take part in the celebration, and all of downtown and Bayshore Blvd becomes a human log jam of revelry. It all takes place on Saturday, February 7, 2009.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

The Invasion
The legendary pirate, Jose Gaspar, and his band of marauding buccaneers return to Tampa to reenact the historic pirate invasion, which began in 1904. At 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 7, 2009 the Jose Gasparilla will appear at the south end of Hillsborough Bay. The ship is met by a multitude of pleasure crafts all intent on defending the City of Tampa. They quickly see the error of their ways and join the Captain and his Krewe’s flotilla. The Gasparilla Flotilla then makes its way north across Hillsborough Bay and into Seddon Channel, between Davis Islands and Harbour Island. The Gasparilla Flotilla, which is led by YMKG’s Jose Gasparilla and accompanied by thousands of crafts, is a spectacle like no other as it makes its way up Seddon Channel towards downtown Tampa. Amidst a volley of cannon fire, the City is defenseless as the Jose Gasparilla docks at the Tampa Convention Center at 1 p.m. The Mayor surrenders the Key to the City of Tampa into the hands of the Captain of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla at approximately 1:05 p.m.

Following another successful invasion of Tampa, the Pirates gather on Bayshore Boulevard for a victory parade, which begins at 2:00 p.m. at Bay to Bay and Bayshore.
Brunch - You can be among the first in the City to surrender to the pirates while encouraging the Mayor to relinquish the Key to the City! The Tampa Convention Center will host the Gasparilla Invasion Brunch. This is your opportunity for reserved seating along the Tampa Convention Center’s Riverwalk. The Jose Gasparilla will sail up Seddon Channel and dock “table side” at the Convention Center. This colorful event includes a buffet brunch, live entertainmentand a reserved seat with the best view in Tampa of the historic Gasparilla Invasion of the pirates.
Reserved tickets are $58 for adults, and $48 for children ages 3-12. Children two and under admitted free. Visit GasparillaPirateFest.com for more information.

Parade of the Pirates
Having captured the City of Tampa, Jose Gaspar and his merry men share their wealth of beads, treasures and doubloons with the enthusiastic crowd along the 3.5 mile parade route. The Gasparilla Parade of the Pirates consists of over 130 units, including over 90 colorful floats, 14 marching bands, 50 participating Krewes and, of course, those infamous YMKG pirates.

The parade begins at the intersection of Bayshore Blvd. and Bay to Bay Blvd., moves north on Bayshore into downtown Tampa, turning east on the Platt Street Bridge. Parade continues east on Channelside Drive, turns north on Florida Avenue to Jackson Street, then turns east on Jackson, ending at Jackson and Marion Streets.

Admission is free, but you can get reserved seating for $28 per seat. Visit GasparillaPirateFest.com for more information.

Street Festival
The streets of downtown Tampa will again host the Pirate Fest street festival along Florida Avenue, from Kennedy before the pirates invade the City and continues until long after the last pirate parades through the streets! The 2009 Pirate Fest Street Festival will feature stages of live entertainment, food, and the Gasparilla Midway – with games, rides and amusements for all ages. Admission is free.

Live Entertainment Stages
The 2009 Pirate Fest Street Festival features stages with live entertainment, food and fun.

Gasparilla Invasion Stage presented by Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Tampa, and sponsored in part by MIX 100.7 FM (Located at the corner of Platt & Bayshore in the Publix parking lot).
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Navy Pride Rock Band 11:45 a.m – 12:45 p.m.

Charlie Hotel 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

SkyCoasters Post Parade Mix 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Charlie Hotel 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. SkyCoasters

Gasparilla Pirate Fest Stage presented by Budweiser, and sponsored in part by 98 ROCK (Located at the corner of Florida & Brorein)

12 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. Cellfish

1 p.m. – 3 p.m. Uncovered

Post Parade Mix

5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. Basic Rock Outfi t
7:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. Carnival of Crue - “Motley Crue Tribute”
9:30 p.m. – 11 p.m. Highway to Hell - “AC/DC Tribute”

Gasparilla City Center Stage presented by Budweiser, and sponsored in part by

CENTRO, Telemundo and 92.5 Maxima FM. (Located at the corner of Florida &

Kennedy)
11 a.m. – 2 p.m. TICH and Voz Juvenil

Post Parade Mix
5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. Somos Musica
7:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. Point 6
9:30 p.m. – 11 p.m. Supernatural

Gasparilla Captain Morgan Channelside Bay Plaza Stage, sponsored in part by 93.3 FLZ (Located in the Channelside Bay Plaza Courtyard)

5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. Save the Radio
7:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. Late Night Brass
9:30 p.m. – 11 p.m. Rhythm Method

Super Bowl - A Final Assessment

Ok, the Super Bowl excitement is over.

Like many of you, I attended many of the "Celebrity" parties. Tampa looked good, but as the parties got under full swing, no one seemed to mention the actual game. At one party within feet of me were some of the greatest sports heroes of all time - Wade Boggs, Bobby Bell, Garo Ypremian, Billy Kilmer and plenty more- when a Tampa resident asked me if I had seen any celebrities ? I asked if she had, and the answer was no. Seemed silly for me to change her luck.

Mike Ditka's Gridiron Greats held various events around town to assist former sports players in need of medical and financial assistance. Congratulations to Ditka and local events organizer and former Florida State/Green Bay Packer player Barry Smith on a great job, BUT special mention must be made of Bill Horne, President of Laser Spine Institute at Rocky Point. Laser Spine Institute is contributing One Million Dollars in surgery costs to sports heroes through the Gridiron Greats.

Ticket prices seemed to like to hover at the $250 range for most of these events and many had special VIP sections with prices in the thousands. "Celebrities" must sleep in because they seemed consistently late to arrive to "their" events, if at all. While red carpets with lit logoed back stages seemed everywhere, many were more celebrity wannabes than anything. The tv/movie/music stars seemed to be what the crowds were talking about. Pretty funny considering this all revolves around a major sporting event.

The opening of the Hula Bay Club happened with three celebrity events. This club, formerly Rattlefish, is now staffed with many former SOHO bartenders, managers, chefs, and servers under the direction of former Whiskey SOHO Manager Armando Valdes. The club will open officially next week.

Tampa did a great job in hosting the event. Traffic seemed congested but not too congested. The Tampa Police Dept. seemed to have a pretty good attitude about it all. As did the crowds in attendance. I had doubts Channelside could handle the whole thing and it did feel cheapening to see all the sausage and elephant ear vendors lining downtown streets, but all in all, it turned out pretty well.

Mayor Iorio gave a good summary by saying it is better to have the Super Bowl here during a recession than not having the Super Bowl at all and still having a recession.

BUT back to the game. After days of Super Bowl partying with little mention of the game by the partying crowd, what a game we got. It started a little slow and stayed exciting all the way til the very last minute. Whether a Pittsburgh Steeler or Phoenix Cardinal fan, it was a hell of a game. Did I go to the game ? You kidding ? I attended three great parties and had a great time. What did you do ?

Help Talk Me Down on Super Bowl

Help talk me down, why were tickets to the Presidential Inaguration Events at $150 while Super Bowl Party Tickets are $300 or more ? Is football more important than government ?

Actual Game Tickets are over $1,000.

As we spend millions on sports teams stadiums and more, don't we realize that "our" Tampa Bay Bucs are really a for profit corporation with most players just out of town mercenaries that would play almost anywhere for the money ?

I like football as much as anyone, but the "holier than thou" attitude that many fans have towards teams can be concerning, especially when it involves millions of dollars in Taxpayer money.

What do you think ? Help talk me down.

Next Meeting - Sunday, Jan 25 - 6 PM

HOPE EVERY ONE IS HAVING A GREAT NEW YEAR !

Our Next Meeting of the Tampa Ghost Watchers will be Sunday, Jan. 25, 6 PM at the offices of the Tampa Marketing Company. 1906 N. Armenia Ave. #207.
Please call me if the door is locked at 813-770-3902 cell.

We will have a conference call with one of the Gettysburg Ghost Investigators, and we will layout our schedule of meetings and events for 2009.

Members, Guests, Visitors are all welcome to attend. NO Cost to attend.
More info at www.TampaGhostWatchers.com

Tampa Bay History Center Media Preview Today

This is really going to be a great museum. But it really wasnt quite ready today.
The official opening is planned for Saturday, Jan 17 at 11 AM. Lots of music and more.

The exhibits showcase the Seminole Wars, the Cigar Industry, the Port, and more. An Olds auto that was provided by Ferman Motors looks so new that you think it must be a replica. Several media theatres deliver first class graphics and information.
Their is pleny for kids, but adults won't be disappointed. My favorite was a room loaded with excellently kept maps showing many different Florida locations at many different times.

As part of the RiverWalk, the Tampa Bay History Center is a great addition. The best secrets of the musueum might be the gift shop that looks like it is going to have some great historical items and the Columbia Cafe that will be open for lunch and more. Neither will require admission to the museum to enjoy. Museum admission is $12 per person. Children 4-12 - $7. Discounts for students and seniors.
Hours are 10 am - 5 PM Daily. More info at www.tampabayhistorycenter.org.

2009 Going to Be Pretty Interesting in Tampa

2008 was moving along ok until the Financial Markets really tanked. Admittedly there were plenty of local indicators that were not good.

Florida is extremely dependent on tourism and construction/real estate. As gas prices kept going up and home values down, all related industries looked pretty bad.

The usual promise of a Holiday Season boost seemed to be forgotten as the Presidential elections seemed to dominate everyone's thoughts and then all of a sudden there was Thanksgiving.

Tampa has the next promise of Superbowl and Gasparilla providing a financial boost to the area. And we do not want to forget our incredible weather and the winter visitors that they bring. But they too are looking weak for the year.

Hotel rooms are still plentiful for Superbowl. We hear several large hotels are waiting until that hopeful weekend before shuttering there doors. More retail closings will happen soon as well. Quite a few parties have been cancelled and once optimistic caterers and restaurants are starting to become pessimistic.

The new History Museum will open on Riverwalk near Channelside in Mid January with a lot of hoopla. Along with that will be Lights on Tampa, a free expression of outdoor art.

The Obama administration definitely will start their term with a full basket of problems. Many of these are severely impacting Tampa.

We want to give you several things to watch for:
1. More money and encouragement will be made to banks for more lending. The credit markets have become too restrictive. Banks will be looking more to the quality of the borrower rather than the quality of the underlying asset.
2. The Federal Government will probably be providing funds to some States and Local governments in order to short cut layoffs due to taxes not being paid and declining real estate values. California has indicated that they may soon be issuing IOU's rather than actually paying some of their larger bills.
3. Efforts will be made to make government projects happen FAST ! Construction costs have declined due to the recession. This will allow for lower cost projects if the money is available. In Tampa, projects like part of Riverwalk, Tampa Heights, and more may begin construction pretty promptly.
4. Tampa will be a loser in the Mass Transit side. Thanks to the lack of vision of the County Commission, there is not yet a solid plan for a light rail system that could be implemented right away. Watch for Federal money to be pumped into Orlando and other markets for that. Mayor Iorio will be pushing for the start of a light rail plan to be on the ballot in 2010. Probably too late for the most immediate of Federal stimulus funds.

The question for the new administration will be how fast they can actually act in getting things going. Only time will tell what that will mean for Tampa.

How are you surviving ? Are you optimistic about 2009 ?

Changes at the Tribune are Seriously Affecting Non Profits and Event Planners

Every day I am greeted with over 30 public relations announcements from everywhere. Today, Macy's told me about a Fashion Show at their Clearwater store. Some NY PR firm told about a new gum that has more caffeine than a cup of coffee. Three local non-profit groups have told me about their upcoming events.

If you have been watching the transition in the content and appearance of the Tampa Tribune, it has become pretty clear that they are shrinking. And the emphasis is clearly moving them towards a professional sports dominated paper. Even during the recent financial crisis, the Rays and the Bucs frequently dominated their front page.

What that means to you is that media coverage of your local events is declining. Getting advance publicity is getting tougher. Tampa is fortunate to have a lot of great volunteers reaching into their available time and into their wallets to do some great things, but these changes in media coverage are making your efforts tougher to accomplish.

What this means to us is that we are now receiving more and more requests for our promotional efforts. We do our best, but sometimes it is just impossible to promote and cover all the events taking place in this large city. Especially if we do not receive the amount of advertising support that would help us to accomplish this. I have covered as many as 10 events in one day.

Our newspaper, Tampa's Davis Islands Community News is doing well. We now are printing 19,000 each month. Traffic to our websites - TampaGold.com, SOHOTampa.com and others continue to grow.

We want to do even more to talk about and promote your business and non-profit groups, events, and efforts. But we are being flooded with public relations requests, that want our services, they are being paid, but we are not. (We just got one about "making it easier to replace windows")

You have probably watched our efforts for sometime. Your thoughts and comments are very important to us.
How do you think we can take the next step to provide even more benefits for your community efforts ? Please email bill@tampagold.com with your ideas.

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.

Day 6 - Biking Iowa - Big City Change

Riding into Coralville was a difference experience than all of the rest of 2006 RAGBRAI. Yes it was hilly and the heat persisted,
But it was the atmostphere that changed. It was a relatively short ride, only about 50 miles. The last stretch of about 2 miles was
on a soon to be completed interstate approach that gave us plenty of room for travel with no vehicle traffic. No landscaping and one side of
the road still had a long way to go, but it was mostly downhill. Downhills are most enjoyable after the tough hills earlier in the week.

Earlier in the day we had encountered the steepest hill of the trip. The Hill from Hell. 120 feet climb - equivalent to about a 12 floor building - in less than a
half mile. Admittedly, I couldn't ride it and walked probably half the hill along with many other riders. Of course, the hill came up just past another beer garden
stop where I had seen Tammy and New John. That stop was in a very mushy field. While the tent had been quite large (providing plenty of shade) it was the 2 Jello Shot girls
that had gotten my attention. And it seemed that New John and Tammy and I should have one. And a few beers too.

About a mile later when I hit the Hill from Hell, I was wondering if the jello shot and the beers had been a good idea.
Once the hill was done we evened out to a more rolling hill pattern again. Longer coasting and not as strenuous ups. The town of Cosgrove seemed to actually be
the highest point of the days ride.
Cosgrove is one of the smallest towns you can visit. A very beautiful old church with an active youth program. I have several pictures of the inside and
out of the church. Plus I met the Mayor of Cosgrove. The town has a total of about a dozen houses. Temperatures were near 100 by this time so I hung out in the
shade and had another Gatorade and relaxed to some pretty good music from a live band at another beer garden. It also gave me some time to catch up on some phone calls back home.

You could see a large panorama of the ride yet to come and while rolling, it didn't look too steep.

Coralville is on the edge of Iowa City. This is a very progressive city. Lots of chain restaurants which we had not seen for days.
This is also the home of the University of Iowa (we rode through the campus on leaving the next day.) While all of our other stops had been large or small towns, this was a City. The campground area was huge and had a large stage
and tent area and well as a very large pool with waterslide.

Once I found our gear drop and camp area I set things up and headed for the pool. The water felt great, but some rider decided to overcome his odors in the
shower with about 5 gallons of spray Right Guard. Sort of like a mustard gas attack.

I left the pool and headed for the Methodist Church Lasagna dinner, only to find it sold out already.

Hunger had overtaken me and I almost thought I would black out. The energy exertion required for RAGBRAI is tremendous so keeping fueled is pretty important.

Catching a shuttle bus, I headed to get away from the crowds and found myself in front of an Outback Steak house. The secret at Outback is to always eat in the bar
area so that you don't have a long wait. Sure enough- a table - all to myself. A cute University Student - Sandy - was my server and asked what I wanted to drink, to which
I replied - "A pitcher of water". she explained she couldn't bring me a pitcher, but brought me 3 glasses of water, I drank them quickly. 7 large glasses of water in total.
She kept checking on me - I think to see if I was going to explode or something.

When I returned to the RAGBRAI village, it was starting to happen. Lots of food booths, 4 bands, firedancers, and of course, another beer tent.

The locals were out in force. Riders are pretty well exhausted. Today it was more heat than the ride itself.

Day 5 - Biking Iowa - The Scenery & People

The ride today was near 80 miles and fortunately not so hilly. As I take pictures when I stop, that is usually in towns. So today I decided to take a few more to show you some of Iowa's countryside. Starting riding abou 6 AM so a few will have some nice mist still rising from fields.

While it was a long day, it stayed overcast most of the day, keeping temperatures in the high 80's, maybe low 90's later in the day. Not so bad in comparison.

Met Josie and Natalie from Marengo where we are staying the night. They are sophomores at two different colleges. They have known each other a long time and have grown up in this town of less than 5,000. I asked them if they ever wanted to live anywhere else ? They said they were happy here. Small town or not.

I saw a building in a small town for sale. It had two commercial spaces on the bottom floor and one loft space on the top. They all needed to be built out with walls, electrical, and more. However, the total cost was less than $45,000. Total square footage of over 10,000. And a basement.



Not quite Tampa prices, huh ?

Day 5 - Biking Across Iowa - Unique Words/Terms

Several phrases/words are uniqe to Iowa:

RUMBLES - those are the cuts in the road that cause rumbles to your cars as you approach an intersection.

KYBOS - from the name of a company that supplied portable toilets. Looking for a toilet ? Where are the kybos ?

MAID RITE - or MAID RIGHT - or TAVERNS - these sandwiches are usually called sloppy joes in Florida.

More bike team names: Team Bastards, Barking Spyders, Spam, Huff n Puff, - more coming

Day 4 - Biking Iowa - Lance Speaks

In Newton Iowa, Lance Armstrong with the wife of Iowa Governor Vilsack at his side called for the end of cancer by declaring war on the disease that kills thousands. Speaking to almost 20,000 RAGBRAI bike riders and Newton residents, he received cheers from enthusiastic fans, but it was his serious tone about his personal war with cancer and as he said "we have 9/11's every three days" with the amount of people killed by cancer.

He acknowledged his public hearing with Senator Harkin on Friday as the start of a significant effort by him to put pressure on the 2008 Presidential Candidates as a result of Iowa's prominence in the Presidential Selection process.

TV crews were eagerly catching his every word, and TAMPAGOLD.com will have his entire speech available for our readers by early next week.



It was clearly a love fest from his bike riding fans but it was mostly his personal challenge to make increasing funding for research for cancer solutions through the Iowa caucuses a significant issue in the elections that was the message of the day.

It was not missed by the many riders that had seen Lance ride with this part of the day, that he would ride again on Day 5 - and he did. Additionally, he promised to be at next year's RAGBRAI as a rider too.

Lance Armstrong for President ? While that does not seem to be the plan, the speech and tone of his priority to increased funding to eliminate cancer almost sounded like it.

Day 4 - Biking Iowa - Lance Arrives

Just as I had entered Mitchellville, I heard a commotion behind me. Lance Armstrong and Matthew McConaghey were riding in with a large contingent of other riders. The streets were lined with well wishers from town and of course, from RAGBRAI. It happened so fast I was unprepared for a picture. Will have to do better later tonight. The excitement has been building for the day in anticipation of his arrival.

It has been a long day, fortunattely with less hills, but lots of heat. Clearly in the low-mid 90's. The Town of Bondurant turned out a young girls dance team to put on a show of modern dance. Lots of fun.

So far today I have had: half an ear of corn, a small bowl of pasta salad, one beef jerky, one breakfast burrio, two cups of coffee, one beer, one lemonade and lots of water. Still about 20 miles to go for the day. But with the land being more flat my speed is picking up. That is a good thing.

Supposed to be a foam party here. Lots of fun, will try to have a beer there before I hit the road again.

Day 3 - Biking Iowa - late at night

It started as a few rain drops when I arrived in Waukekee. About 15,000 were at a large outdoor beer and music venue when the rain started to pick up. The best band was just setting up - the Nadas - when it started to rain a little harder. Since I had a half mile walk back to the tent, i decided to head back. Good Thing !

If you have ever heard Tampa/Zephyrhills called the Lightning capital of the US, that is bunk . The lightning and intensity of rain that started about 10 and went almost all night was incredible. Loud speakers announced approaching storm fronts and suggested evacuating to the high school buildings where we were camping. I hung in with the tent.

Rain probably totalled about 5 inches. Wind gusts of over 40 mph. My tent leaked at rapid rates. It is a dome tent, but it leaned about 30 degrees. It seemed to never quit. I finally just fell asleep in my wet sleeping bag. The thunder and lightning seemed just feet away. Incredible.

As intense as it all was, the Iowan riders actually got up and were on the road earlier than normal. About 6 AM.

Am in Granger now at the Assumption Church. 30 computers and all internet connected. Getting closer to heaven.

I hope to post again tonight, but if not, it will be due to drying out gear and to the planned speech by Lance later today.

See you soon.

Day 3 - Biking Iowa

Yesterday was such a bear of a day that it spilled over to today. The hills continued today until about noon and a head wind kicked in too. But as the day wore on the hills became more tame and gentle.

A hundred or more riders gave up today due to yesterdays efforts. I moaned and groaned and thought I might too. But as the day wore on I got better. Of course, taking two naps on soft grass in the shade helped me make it through the day.

Guthrie Center welcomed us with a park loaded with music, beer garden, and lots of food vendors. PLUS a large swimming pool that had a big slide that helped to cool me off. Event met a guy with the same last name as mine from North Carolina, we might be relatives.

Many of the riders particpate as teams. They have taken old school buses and rigged them with showers, platforms, beer kegs, bunks and more. RAGBRAI is serious in Iowa.

Some of the team names are most enjoyable. The Black Sheep, The Whiners, Team Gourmet (Eating Our Way Across Iowa), and lots more I will give as I go. The buses and team shirts add a lot of comradrerie.

I thought I was pretty slow today until I notice that 3 from the Army Team were going at the same pace as me. Not sure how many they have participating, but the Air Force has just over 100.

Seemed to be watermelon everywhere today. Great ! Food and drink at the same time.
Met a husband and wife yesterday that had a daughter that raised the Number One Sheep at the Iowa State Fair, they got the use of a new livestock trailer from Featherlite for a year. Today, I stopped at a farm for breakfast with a lot of sheep. Stopping for any meal is a task. Getting on and off the road, plus lines of at least 100.

We arrived in Redfield where the streets were filled with partiers. Redfield is a nice place on the Raccoon River and has a nice paved bike trail. Quite a few of us took a diversionary route to Waukekee on the trail. It saved some hills and was pretty shady. Shade has been scarce on the trip, what a pleasant find.

Waukekee had at least 20 people to greet us with a banner and matching shirts. Considering they had to stand there for over 6 hours as all the riders came in, that is asking a lot. This booming town has construction happening everywhere. I asked someone why that was happening and they didn't know. I am guessing it is their convenience to DesMoines.

A recent national survey I read said that most Americans have only two people they can actually talk to. Down from 3 a few years ago. Iowans have porches and lawn chairs on their shaded, soft grassed yards. Friends stop in and they talk for awhile. What a great premise, huh ?

Started gently raining as soon as I got to town, hopefully it will not be a harbinger of tomorrow. Will post more when possible.

Biking Iowa Day 2 continued

It has been a dy of struggle and of meeting people. Met a girl from Eastern Iowa. She had two words on the back of her legs: Blue Bush. I figured it must be a political commentary - wrong. She is with Team Whiner and it seems that on the first night she drank a few too many beers and then decided to paint her toenails blue. She spilled the entire bottle in her lap. You can figure out the rest.

John got into camp about 11:30, havent seen him yet. I am at a special Iowa Telecom Trailer for communications. Bunches of us trying to get emails etc. I think due to all of these connections it is not letting me upload to the website pictures, so will have to add when I return.

The Arcadia Hospital had made over 100 pies for sale to riders just outside of town. Choices included rhubarb, pecan, apple, cherry, and blueberry. I had a slice of blue berry and pedaled on down the road.

There were two good beer gardens today, one in Arcadia and one in Manning. Shade has been scarce as temperatures are in the low 90's, so the beer gardens with shade are doing the most business. I would guess Arcadia has about 500 residents. Our 10,000 plus riders helped the to buy a new fire truck as we did in Manning also.

I had a Gatorade to support the American Cancer Society, a rootbeer float to help a High School football team, and lots more over the day. Two farmers were talking a lot about the new ethanol plants that are in the area and more being built. As a major corn area, the building is on.

Yesterday stayed very hot all day, I spent a lot of that time at the Ice Skating rink, tryig to get cool.



Most of the people that live here were born here. One of many differences between Iowa and Florida. While the state is growing, it is a very slow growth. You do not see much new construction. In Audobon now, a good sized town. We are outside aways and I still need to finish setting up my tent, take a shower, eat and go to town for the festivities.

More coming tomorrow, I hope.

Day 2 Biking Iowa

It is about 4 here in Manning Iowa. I am running late on the day. The hills have been treacherous for us flat Florida riders plus we have had a significant headwine.. Think I pulled a groin muscle, but still have about 15 miles to go today, so will be bolting pretty quickly. Will try to upload pictures later tonight. but even Cell phones are spotty here. The ride has been highlighted today with extremely friendly towns. Welcoming committees and these towns go all out.

Top speed yesterday for me was 33 mph, never could beat it today, but will keep trying.
Beer and rock and roll seems to help the groin muscles.

John made it in yesterday at 9:30 AM, I got there at about 1:30. We are on different rides - he missed the girls and the bloody marys at the Fireside Steak House and today he has missed the big beer garden in Manning, I am sure he is already at the end stop.

We ate Ida Grove out of food. Only a few places still had food remaing around 730 PM last night. More to come soon. Anyone want to ride next year ? We now have pictures on TAMPAGOLD with more coming when I can upload.

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.