It’s almost time to say goodbye to RAGBRAI 2010, and I didn’t get to blog nearly as much as I had hoped. But if I did, I really wouldn’t have experienced a true RAGBRAI, am I right?
(Actually, I was dealing a lot with the aftermath of the flood at my house. But I like to sound dangerous.)
Not to worry if you missed out, a full recap of my ride will appear in an upcoming print issue of DRAFT. With that you’ll get to meet the colorful characters and charming situations of Iowa that I’ve grown to love, such as:
Team RoadKill
The guy biking from Montreal to Argentina - who took a detour for RAGBRAI.
Bananaman
Leisure suit dudes
Naked pond dives
Epic flippy cup tournaments
Why one team got banned from RAGBRAI
Day drinking with Team Bad Boy
…And many, many more.
The tweet at the top of this blog comes courtesy of a member of Team Trouser Mouse. And he’s right, some of their antics might best be left unsaid to protect the not-so-innocent.
So I’m sorry you won’t be getting the 100% full story. I guess for some things, you really just had to be there.
§ July 27th, 2010 § Filed under News § Tagged beer, Bikes, Iowa, RAGBRAI, Travels Comments Off
Team Definitely Savage Obviously Not Subtle
First, an apology goes out to the ladies of Team Definitely Savage Obviously Not Subtle. They were gracious enough to do a video interview with me in Pocahontas, Iowa (”The Princess City”). But after two hours of trying to convert the file outside my campground, I gave up.
Suffice to say the interview boiled down to this: 1) Beer is good. 2) Biking across Iowa with beer is even better. 3) You should be here. 4) If you’re not, be jealous.
A few more miles down the road I ran into the Wilson family of six — all on one bike. They were incredibly friendly and talkative when I pulled alongside them, despite the fact that they had to haul a bike, a tagalong and a trailer up hills. Greg Wilson told me that was still easier than trying to coordinate babysitters for all of RAGBRAI. They just passed 1,300 miles of training together when I met them.
The Wilson Family -- all 6 of them
In the tiny town of West Bend we came across the World’s Largest Grotto, a surreal sight in the middle of cornfields. And right next to thousands of cyclists holding beer. The massive structure had petrified wood and $14 million worth of stone. One cyclist remarked that “the priests must have been on acid when they built this.”
West Bend Grotto photo by Jeff Miller
I met a nomadic young engineer named Willy who has bike toured 8,000 miles in the last five months, including a zig-zagging 4,500-mile trip from New Orleans to San Francisco. His buddy, Brett from Denver, was riding with his dog Moxie Crimefighter in the back of his bike. Coincidentally, Willy went to a conference rival of my high school in Wisconsin. Small world.
“I hope I’m not offending you,” Willy said at one of our rest stops, pulling out a paper bag-covered bottle. “But I’m not drinking beer. I’m drinking 40 proof fortified wine.”
Today’s short 60-mile ride was a brutal 103 degrees with no cloud cover or shade, making the beer at the end especially crucial to our survival. Thankfully, we were welcomed into Clear Lake with shouts of “FREE BEER!” Never has those words sounded so sweet. Turns out, a local bought a keg for bikers to entice them to pay $10 for a shower. I think it was working.
Until tomorrow, I leave you with this mobile public service announcement.
