| Riding RAGBRAI |
| Day Seven - Tipton to Le Claire Saturday, July 26th 53 miles; 1,835 feet of climbing |
| My parents drove to Le Claire to see me finish. |
| The traditional dipping of tires in the Mississippi. |
| For those on the "regular" RAGBRAI program, this was the end of the line. Find your bags, find your car, and head for home. |
| Team Joyride '08: (standing l-r) Larry Baerveldt, Matt Kavan, me, Ted Frank, Greg Sierra, Ron Schechter, Art Lindo; front row is Darren Van't Hof and Kevin Boyle. Not pictured is our driver, Marlene Bowers, who was everyone's mom during the week. |
| It's something everyone should do at least once. |
After six consecutive days riding my bicycle, the garage floor of
Dr. Mark and Sharon Nile's country home made for some pretty
good sleepy time. We had planned to rise early and be on the
road in time to arrive in Le Claire early enough to get the
rented RV back to St. Louis by 5:00 p.m. This would require a
wheels-on-the-road time of no later than 6:30 a.m., and I
wasn't sure we could pull it off. Each of the past six mornings
I'd spent a lot of time pretending to have something to do while
others in the group readied themselves to ride. On Saturday
morning, it was more of the same. Matt Kavan was usually right
beside me, politely waiting.
There had been talk of loading the bikes into the RV and having
Marlene drive us down the gravel hill to Route 130, where we'd
join the RAGBRAI route to Le Claire. I nixed that idea and led
Matt and Darren down the half-mile of gravel. We joined in
another long, steady line of riders with the same idea - start
early, finish early, and go home.
Saturday's route was the shortest of the week, and the
flattest. Finally, after many days of fighting headwinds, a
gentle breeze from the northwest pushed us toward the
Mississippi. The first two towns passed quickly as we pedaled to
our first planned stop at Maysville, about halfway into the day's
ride. Matt and Darren picked up the pace while I hung back with
Ron Schechter for several miles. During the week I hadn't had a
chance to ride much with Ron, an attorney at the same
Washington D.C. law firm as Ted Frank. Ron has a classic radio
voice, deep and articulate, the type you'd expect from NPR on
the drive to work. After completing his law degree at
Georgetown University in the early 1970's, Ron stuck around
Washington D.C. and has called it home ever since. Art Lindo
recruited Ron to Team Joyride a few years ago, and on this day
he was about to finish his 3rd ride across Iowa.
The Joyriders were making fast progress as we approached
Maysville, where we stopped for some baked goods at the fire
station. Darren was served the beer garden's first beverage of
the day, a Blue Moon at 8:10 a.m. And why not? It was
RAGBRAI, a week of making exceptions.
Just after Maysville, we turned off Route 130 and discovered
just how much of a tailwind had been helping our progress. A
short stretch of county road took us back to the northwest,
straight into the wind, before we headed east on Le Claire
Road. This mile of so of headwind was an unwelcome guest on our
road to the Mississippi, but the route planners didn't make us
suffer very long.
By this time, our climbing legs were tired, but Matt and I
wanted to make a push to Le Claire with enough time to dip our
tires in the Mississippi. This is one of the oldest traditions of
RAGBRAI, and it's usually preceded by dipping tires in the
Missouri River at the start of the ride. Missouri Valley was
several miles east of the Missouri River, so we didn't get a
chance to wet our tires in the Big Muddy, but we wanted to at
least get to touch the water in Le Claire.
Hills increased in frequency as we approached Le Claire. My one
and only mechanical issue, a minor one, came as I flew down a
steep grade at about 35 mph. My chain hopped off the front
chain wheel as I shifted into lower gears for the climb following
our fast descent. Half a minute later, I was back on the road.
From there, we breezed into Le Claire and took a break at the
Pebble Creek golf course. My parents were meeting me at the
finish and I wanted to let them know I was close, but Matt's
iPhone was struggling to find AT&T service, as it had everywhere
across the state. Cell service had been spotty across Iowa,
most likely because of the 15,000 or so RABGRAI'ers and their
entourages overloading just about every rural wireless system we
came across.
Wisconsin Street took us straight to the Mississippi, where I
found my parents sitting along the street near a huge U.S. flag
hung from a fire engine ladder truck. We walked down to the
picturesque, historical riverfront under clear skies, where
crowds were gathering as riders formed a line to dip their
bicycle tires in the river. Matt and I had arrived early enough
to get ourselves in and out of the river quickly. As we headed
for Marlene's location up the road at the Comfort Inn, the rest
of Team Joyride - minus Ted Frank - joined us for one last
climb. Our RV was parked at the hotel parking lot on top of a
bluff overlooking the Mississippi, where Marlene and Larry
Baerveldt were waiting. Ted arrived a few minutes later, and
the RV pulled out at 11:00 a.m., right on schedule. I gave
Marlene a hug, shook hands with the team, and watched the RV
pull away. My RAGBRAI was over.
In the weeks leading up to RAGBRAI, my parents had been
almost as excited as I was about this latest of my adventures.
I didn't have to explain Mr. Porkchop, tire dipping, the big hill
climb up to Boone, or even the weather we'd encountered. During
the week they had logged on to the Des Moines Register website
regularly, viewed the online photos, tracked Doppler radar across
Iowa and read all the news articles.
On our way out of Le Claire, a massive number of support
vehicles was lined up along U.S. 67, in all shapes and sizes,
waiting to pick up their riders. Our early arrival gave us a head
start in navigating our way across the river into Illinois, as well
as a full view of just how RAGBRAI takes over the towns it
passes through. In most of the overnight towns, the motor
homes, cargo vans and buses were spread throughout the
communities, but in Le Claire they were all concentrated along
the river. For riders having their gear hauled from town to town
by RAGBRAI trucks, their stuff was left in huge piles next to
the long term parking lots. I got lucky - I had a personal ride.
Dr. Mark and Sharon Nile's country home made for some pretty
good sleepy time. We had planned to rise early and be on the
road in time to arrive in Le Claire early enough to get the
rented RV back to St. Louis by 5:00 p.m. This would require a
wheels-on-the-road time of no later than 6:30 a.m., and I
wasn't sure we could pull it off. Each of the past six mornings
I'd spent a lot of time pretending to have something to do while
others in the group readied themselves to ride. On Saturday
morning, it was more of the same. Matt Kavan was usually right
beside me, politely waiting.
There had been talk of loading the bikes into the RV and having
Marlene drive us down the gravel hill to Route 130, where we'd
join the RAGBRAI route to Le Claire. I nixed that idea and led
Matt and Darren down the half-mile of gravel. We joined in
another long, steady line of riders with the same idea - start
early, finish early, and go home.
Saturday's route was the shortest of the week, and the
flattest. Finally, after many days of fighting headwinds, a
gentle breeze from the northwest pushed us toward the
Mississippi. The first two towns passed quickly as we pedaled to
our first planned stop at Maysville, about halfway into the day's
ride. Matt and Darren picked up the pace while I hung back with
Ron Schechter for several miles. During the week I hadn't had a
chance to ride much with Ron, an attorney at the same
Washington D.C. law firm as Ted Frank. Ron has a classic radio
voice, deep and articulate, the type you'd expect from NPR on
the drive to work. After completing his law degree at
Georgetown University in the early 1970's, Ron stuck around
Washington D.C. and has called it home ever since. Art Lindo
recruited Ron to Team Joyride a few years ago, and on this day
he was about to finish his 3rd ride across Iowa.
The Joyriders were making fast progress as we approached
Maysville, where we stopped for some baked goods at the fire
station. Darren was served the beer garden's first beverage of
the day, a Blue Moon at 8:10 a.m. And why not? It was
RAGBRAI, a week of making exceptions.
Just after Maysville, we turned off Route 130 and discovered
just how much of a tailwind had been helping our progress. A
short stretch of county road took us back to the northwest,
straight into the wind, before we headed east on Le Claire
Road. This mile of so of headwind was an unwelcome guest on our
road to the Mississippi, but the route planners didn't make us
suffer very long.
By this time, our climbing legs were tired, but Matt and I
wanted to make a push to Le Claire with enough time to dip our
tires in the Mississippi. This is one of the oldest traditions of
RAGBRAI, and it's usually preceded by dipping tires in the
Missouri River at the start of the ride. Missouri Valley was
several miles east of the Missouri River, so we didn't get a
chance to wet our tires in the Big Muddy, but we wanted to at
least get to touch the water in Le Claire.
Hills increased in frequency as we approached Le Claire. My one
and only mechanical issue, a minor one, came as I flew down a
steep grade at about 35 mph. My chain hopped off the front
chain wheel as I shifted into lower gears for the climb following
our fast descent. Half a minute later, I was back on the road.
From there, we breezed into Le Claire and took a break at the
Pebble Creek golf course. My parents were meeting me at the
finish and I wanted to let them know I was close, but Matt's
iPhone was struggling to find AT&T service, as it had everywhere
across the state. Cell service had been spotty across Iowa,
most likely because of the 15,000 or so RABGRAI'ers and their
entourages overloading just about every rural wireless system we
came across.
Wisconsin Street took us straight to the Mississippi, where I
found my parents sitting along the street near a huge U.S. flag
hung from a fire engine ladder truck. We walked down to the
picturesque, historical riverfront under clear skies, where
crowds were gathering as riders formed a line to dip their
bicycle tires in the river. Matt and I had arrived early enough
to get ourselves in and out of the river quickly. As we headed
for Marlene's location up the road at the Comfort Inn, the rest
of Team Joyride - minus Ted Frank - joined us for one last
climb. Our RV was parked at the hotel parking lot on top of a
bluff overlooking the Mississippi, where Marlene and Larry
Baerveldt were waiting. Ted arrived a few minutes later, and
the RV pulled out at 11:00 a.m., right on schedule. I gave
Marlene a hug, shook hands with the team, and watched the RV
pull away. My RAGBRAI was over.
In the weeks leading up to RAGBRAI, my parents had been
almost as excited as I was about this latest of my adventures.
I didn't have to explain Mr. Porkchop, tire dipping, the big hill
climb up to Boone, or even the weather we'd encountered. During
the week they had logged on to the Des Moines Register website
regularly, viewed the online photos, tracked Doppler radar across
Iowa and read all the news articles.
On our way out of Le Claire, a massive number of support
vehicles was lined up along U.S. 67, in all shapes and sizes,
waiting to pick up their riders. Our early arrival gave us a head
start in navigating our way across the river into Illinois, as well
as a full view of just how RAGBRAI takes over the towns it
passes through. In most of the overnight towns, the motor
homes, cargo vans and buses were spread throughout the
communities, but in Le Claire they were all concentrated along
the river. For riders having their gear hauled from town to town
by RAGBRAI trucks, their stuff was left in huge piles next to
the long term parking lots. I got lucky - I had a personal ride.
| In Summary..... 471 miles 21,291 feet of climbing More food than any grown man should consume in 7 days |
Once you get your first taste of RAGBRAI, it's easy to
understand why so many people participate, and why so many
keep coming back for more. Seven days of riding across an
entire state appeals to anyone who's serious about riding
bicycles. Seven days of food, beverages and entertainment
appeals to anyone who likes to eat and drink. This works so well
in Iowa for a variety of reasons, starting with the towns that
welcomed us into their communities. There's no better example
of Midwest hospitality than RAGBRAI, but it wouldn't happen if
the riders were disrespectful or unappreciative. The bikers are
just good folks getting together to relax and have fun. We're
generally harmless to the locals, which helps us get camping
spots in front yards. Plus, we open our wallets. For many of the
small towns the route passed through this year, RAGBRAI will
be their largest single-day revenue opportunity until the next
time 10,000 bikers roll through their communities.
To sum it up, RAGBRAI is something everyone should try
once...at least. Whether you rough it with the general
population of campers or organize a team with a support vehicle,
it will be an experience like no other. Riding 470 miles in a week
was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but it was also
one of the most enjoyable weeks I've had in a long time. So
mark your calendars, folks:
understand why so many people participate, and why so many
keep coming back for more. Seven days of riding across an
entire state appeals to anyone who's serious about riding
bicycles. Seven days of food, beverages and entertainment
appeals to anyone who likes to eat and drink. This works so well
in Iowa for a variety of reasons, starting with the towns that
welcomed us into their communities. There's no better example
of Midwest hospitality than RAGBRAI, but it wouldn't happen if
the riders were disrespectful or unappreciative. The bikers are
just good folks getting together to relax and have fun. We're
generally harmless to the locals, which helps us get camping
spots in front yards. Plus, we open our wallets. For many of the
small towns the route passed through this year, RAGBRAI will
be their largest single-day revenue opportunity until the next
time 10,000 bikers roll through their communities.
To sum it up, RAGBRAI is something everyone should try
once...at least. Whether you rough it with the general
population of campers or organize a team with a support vehicle,
it will be an experience like no other. Riding 470 miles in a week
was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but it was also
one of the most enjoyable weeks I've had in a long time. So
mark your calendars, folks:
| The Mississippi was in sight.... |
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