Friday evening in Mount Pleasant was fairly good until late in the evening. Shortly before 10:00, we were told that a storm was approaching which could produce winds up to 40 miles per hour, so we were urged to go to an emergency shelter. Before moving from the campsite though, we had some preparations to make. I made sure my tent was staked into the ground well; On a previous RAGBRAI I had problems when my tent was not secured well. We also had to move the bus as it was located at a location where we feared it may get stuck in the grass if it rained too much. After all of these preparations, nothing happened by some lightning off in the distance and some light rain. I suppose it was better to be prepared though in case something had happened.
Saturday's route wasn't very long, just over 43 miles. As it was the day we had to get down to the Mississippi River, there was a lot more going downhill than up, and to top it off, we had a nice tailwind for most of the ride. Because of these factors, we traveled the first 15 miles to New London in just about an hour. We stopped there for breakfast.
The only other town we passed through on Saturday was Lowell. We didn't stop there for very long, just long enough to refill our water bottles. However the remainder of the ride was so easy, and the temperatures were so nice, that I probably could have made it to the end without the refill.
We took a meal break where Tender Tom's and The Peanut Butter Jam had set up. While we were eating, we saw a Des Moines Sheriff's Department car speeding by in the opposite direction of the bicycle traffic. A minute or so later another law enforcement vehicle sped by as well. After seeing these, I had a suspicion that there may have been an accident at one of the big hills we had gone down earlier. A few minutes later, as we were getting ready to continue on our way to Burlington, an ambulance came by very quickly and it looked like they paramedics were working hard on someone inside. I have a suspicion that this may have been the victim of a fatal accident that took place near Geode State Park.
After our meal break, it didn't take us very long to make it to Burlington. Upon approaching the finish line, we were given the option to go straight down to the river or to ascend Burlington's Snake Alley. I had already gone up enough hills this week, so I decided to skip the optional ascent.
Once Rebecca, Jen, and I all arrived at the finish line, we joined the throng of people waiting to dip their bike tires in the Mississippi River.
After finding the Superior Hawgs bus, which was not far from the finish line, I got my belongings off in anticipation of Mel's arrival. It wasn't long before Mel got there to pick me up. It was good to see her since it had been a week that I had been gone.Mel and I drove to Ankeny that afternoon where we were reunited with Emma who had been staying at Mel's sister's house for the week, playing with her cousins. It was also nice to see her again. We stayed the night in Ankeny Saturday before returning home to Minnesota on Sunday.
While the ride started out with me wondering why I was doing this for a tenth time, as usual, it ended with me ready to go again, after quite a bit of rest. I think the fact that I rode every mile of this year's route, including not walking up any hills, really makes this feeling more intense. Unfortunately, it looks like we won't be able to make it to RAGBRAI next year. Hopefully though, we will be back in 2011.
2 comments:
What is going on next year during RAGBRAI?
We have a wedding to go to in Ohio next summer, so we are thinking our budget won't allow for RAGBRAI as well.
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