RAGBRAI in the Rear View Mirror

As I write this, RAGBRAI has been over for two days. Overall, I had a good experience. There were some things that made it more difficult on this, my second trip, but the feeling of riding down to the Mississippi river front with thousands of others to dip my front tire in the water is amazing.

I am posting this entry now, but my plan is to do retroactive entries for the different days. I was SORELY disappointed that there were not computers along the way so that I could update this blog everyday. Evidently the trusty Iowa Telecom laptop trailer stopped coming to ragbrai in 2011. It was only the Iowa Lakes Community College that had computers open for use, probably my favorite overnight experience on the route. So I resorted to old-fashioned note taking with paper and pencil.

So watch for more updates soon, if you care to read, starting with Day 2. I think I'll summarize each day with a BUST or BEST rating, because the days kind of either went really good, or really difficult.

I've shared a short clip shot by my friend Mark. Just proof that I was there.

Day 1: Rough Start -- Rating: BUST

Here it is Monday and this is the first opportunity I have had to get onto a computer to make an entry! I am at Iowa Lakes Community College in Emmetsburg, Iowa. They have opened up everything to use in this building.

Today's ride was about 42 miles, a short day. It was also a much better day for me. Sunday was not my best experience on a bike. I slept really poorly Saturday night. I think I woke up every hour on the hour. Just when I was settling down at about 10 or 10:30, they started a fireworks display that felt like it went on for an hour! Not easy to sleep when you have BOOM, BOOM, every 10 seconds.

Combine the lack of sleep with worries about my rear wheel, which proved to be warranted. Maybe 20-30 miles into the ride, I heard a sharp snap and knew something was up. I rolled into the overnight town with a wobble in the wheel and despairing. As soon as we could get settled, I went off on my bike to see about maybe getting a new wheel. I'd given up on replacing spokes, since I'd now had 4 break in a few months' time.

About a 1/4 mile from the tents, I came upon a shop set up on a corner all by itself. I have to tell you, the repairman, Dave, who was there with his son, was sent by God himself, I'm convinced. It was called Connecticut Yankee repairs. The guy was laid back, funny, and capable. I ended up getting a new wheel, albeit more than I wanted to spend. But now I have peace of mind and today the wheel was magnificent. I didn't realize how much that was bothering me.

Yesterday was also hard because food was not agreeing with me. I was getting fatigued and didn't know why. Even though I drank water, I think I may have been dehydrating.

There were times yesterday when I thought I wasn't going to be able to keep going. I couldn't imagine how much else could go wrong. However, I guess you keep going. I made some adjustments, got the new wheel, abandoned my cot, which was severely sagging, and slept on the ground on a sleeping bag. A shower and a good meal helped me feel a lot better. I slept really well in a very quiet campground, and today went much better.

At breakfast this morning, a guy came up to me and asked me if I lived in the Geneva area. Then he asked if I went to First Baptist and if I led worship on the stage. He had me nailed. We met Kurt and his brother Kevin and ate pancakes and sausage with them. By the way, pancakes will NOT be on my list for breakfast tomorrow. They expand!

Today was shorter mileage, but it was hot. I drank water like a fish. I think I went through my two bottles at least three times, counting on full bottle of gatorade.

I am a little encouraged, after thinking yesterday that I would never do Ragbrai ever again. Maybe there's still hope. However, it has become MUCH more expensive than when I did it 6 years ago! Every stop charges $5 or 6 for showers! The running joke between Mark and I is that everything costs $5. Do you want public water from a hose? $5 (actually that's not true, just for effect).

Well, I need to get some food into me, and it is right next door. I think the crowd is getting bigger. I'll probably have to stand in line. Again. Lines everywhere.

Faith and Spokes

If I count today, there are three days until we leave for the west coast of Iowa. With a wince on my face, I state that I am all ready to go. (???) At least I hope I'm all ready to go.

A friend we sometimes ride with had offered some energy bars, called RxBars, to us for our ride. That will be really nice to have along as a snack as we go. He had them donated to him from a charity ride he did recently. Justin and some others rode from Boston to Lake Michigan to raise funds for Wheels for Water, an organization that provides clean water for communities in Uganda. 

So that is one nice thing to have along. I have also sealed the seams of my new tent and made sure my cot fits inside. My bag is now quite distinctive with my CRAIGO logo spray painted on both sides and neon orange duct tape on the ends.

But one worry that I is related to the spokes in my rear wheel. And though it may seem silly, and if you are a person who prays to God, I would appreciate it if you would pray for my spokes. Just this year (2014), I have had 3 broken spokes. Granted, I carry a lot of weight on my bike wheel. I think there may be a dent in the frame from who knows what that is making the spokes lose their tension and either fly off or break.At this point, I don't have the time or money to replace my back wheel, so I am trying to exercise my feeble faith and trust that they will hold out. If they don't, I know there are a lot of repair resources available along the way, but you have to wait for a sag and lose miles and such, so I really don't want that to happen.

I've had more anxiety about this than is normal for me (the spoke issue, I mean). I'm trying to let go of it and just have fun, but I really don't want to break down.

Watch here for entries once we arrive in Rock Valley, Iowa!

Ready

I hope to write in this blog every day when I begin RAGBRAI, incidentally being less than 2 weeks away.

Today I feel good enough to report that I am ready for the ride. I went out with 3 other riders Saturday. We rode 67 miles.Yes, I was tired when we finished, but the soreness in my knees was more from the softball game three days before than the riding. Probably the best indicator of readiness for me is the next morning I felt like I could easily get back on the bike and go another 50, 60 or 70.

I've been frustrated with myself on the weekend rides. I have been having a hard time keeping up with the other guys. Then I realized they are averaging 16 to 17 mph over 60+ miles! There will be no need for me to do that on Ragbrai. I have always been more of a endurance athlete than anything shorter. We did our 67 mile ride in 4 hours. If I were to do that on Ragbrai, leaving at 6am, we'd be finished for the day at 10am! Ridiculous. I feel better now.

The Hazards of Packing

Ragbrai is now 26 days away (I got tired of typing Ragbrai in all caps). I have a small pile of things on my garage floor. I also have a checklist with a whole bunch of unchecked boxes. The hazard I have run into is that it is hard to pack everything that I will need until I get close to the event. I still need my cycling clothes, for instance. It feels like I am not ready, though I think I am closer than I realize.

Today I got up and looked outside. The ground was wet, but it was not raining. The air still felt like it could rain at any moment. I decided to break out my rain gear and go for it, figuring that it would be good to know how to deal with the rain in case that happens on Ragbrai. I remember the weather varied from a pretty powerful thunderstorm to intensely hot and dry when I did this before.

So, just as your car never makes that irritating sound as soon as you pull into the mechanic's lot, after donning all of my gear, it barely sprinkled on me. I was more soaked from perspiring under the non-breathing material than from precipitation.

I feel the excitement building for the trip. We did a 50+ mile outing last Saturday, and it felt good. I need to pull off a few more long trips, even up into the 60 and 70 mile range. But overall, I am pleased with my progress.

Two by Two

The last time I did RAGBRAI in 2008, I ventured out on my own. This time around, I will have company. My friend Mark from my church will be literally along for the ride. It's kind of fun, since I feel like I contributed a lot to his interest in riding. Or you might say that I'm to blame!

I'm looking forward to having someone along to ride this time around. There are so many unique and fun experiences to this trip that will be fun to share.

The ride is now 30 days away. I have printed out a checklist of things that I had from 2008 and have started to amass a pile of stuff in my garage that I will need to take along. It is nice to have done this before and realize that I really don't need to bring a bike lock, but I would benefit from bringing some sort of chair. For the former, you really feel secure the whole time, even though there are people riding from all over the country and world. I never had reason to think that my bike would be stolen. It must happen, but being in the heart of Iowa is a pretty safe. The values are different. I do want to bring along a chair. I can remember having time to read and such, but not having a place to sit with a back on it. That becomes important, especially as you have spent so much time riding and need some comfort.

We've had some really hot days this week, and I'm grateful for them. RAGBRAI is usually very hot, being in July. I want to be conditioned for the weather as much as I can.

I've more to write, and hopefully I will be back here a few times before the ride commences. I hope you can follow my progress!

This is the year...finally!

It's really hard to believe that the last event that inspired me to blog, that of RAGBRAI, was six years ago! But now after all this time, I find myself about 50 or so days away from doing this again.

If you don't know, RAGBRAI is the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. You pack up your clothes, a tent, and jump on your bike for between 400 and 600 miles over 7 days. You do so with somewhere around 20,000 other lycra-clad pedalers. My inaugural participation in this took place in July of 2008, and it was a blast.

My intention is to write down some thoughts in this blog leading up to the ride that begins July 20. Then, while I'm out there in the wilds of Iowa, I hope I can make entries as well, with pictures and pithy comments about anything and everything that happens. You may also be subjected to my observations on God's creation, the hospitality of small town people, and how many slices of cherry pie in which I indulge myself.

So I hope you read on with me.