July 29, 2023
#15 of 50 in the bag
So this was the 50th anniversary of RAGBRAI and my 15th. #15of 50…..done. And probably my last as a cyclist. Too many people. I may drive for someone in the future but I think I’m done riding it.
I cheated again today and rode off route. This time I dragged two others with me. One was Glen, a first time RAGBRAI rider from Oklahoma City. I cannot name the other as this is the first time he has skipped an entire RAGBRAI route in 49 RAGBRAIs! 49!!!!!! He is one of the few, the elite, that have ridden that many. He has ridden all but #1. And yesterday he took a short cut for part of that route also. He can blame me for putting fool thoughts in his head.
Todays route went Willy Nilly all over Gods Country just to get in the miles. Of course that added more hills. So we decided on a straight shot from Iowa City to Davenport by using route 6. It was mostly flat and had 10 less miles and half the ascent as the official route. For me it was just the quicker route to get me home. For the other two, it was common sense not to have to go out of our way just to add miles to the ride on the last day.
After last nights storm temps dropped but it was still humid when we left this morning at 0430. About 20 miles in it clouded up quickly and a cool fog blew in. The temp went from low 70s to low 60s and I felt like I was back in Wyoming or Montana where the warmest it got was about 78. Felt great. Of course I was expecting rain, but it never came. It was close to 80 when we finished.
Two nice things happened today. Steve S who rides with us took about 10-12 pounds of my unneeded ( I hope) gear with him to send back to my house. That was a tremendous weight (pun intended) off my shoulders as I had items my wife sent me as well as unneeded items and I did not know where I was going to put all of it so I could get it to a UPS store for shipping. I am most grateful!!!!
I reserved a motel room for two nights so I can recoup and let my AGM heal. On the way I came across a gas station/convenience store called Kwik Star. Steve S and I stopped at one this morning, my first time at one of these. I had a cheese burger and chocolate milk for breakfast. For lunch I had a chicken salad sandwich, tea, and a pear. I really like this place. Good food, fair prices, and a mini grocery that has actual real food like meats/dairy/fruits/veggies. Before leaving I picked up a chicken Alfredo meal to nuke, milk, doughnuts, and a big bag of popcorn. Luckily I had room in my panniers as I sent quite a bit home via Steve. When I shop for food on this trip I always buy too much and have a hard time carrying it. Sometimes I use my backpack that weighs just a few ounces and stuffs into a stuff sac that’s about 3 inches long. It’s been a life saver when my eyes have been bigger than my panniers. If you are touring I would suggest you get one of these.
The other nice thing that happened was a lady wanting to pay for my lunch. I refused of course but that was nice of her. She said someone paid for hers and she wanted to pay it forward. She’ll have to do that elsewhere.
Today's ride: 63 miles (101 km)
Total: 2,507 miles (4,035 km)
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By the time I had lived 2 different places and returned to Savanna in 1979, it had become "The RAGBRAI," a huge annual event!
9 months ago