RAGBRAI XXXVII - What the Hell Was I Thinking?

Last night my sister, two friends of hers, and I went to Rib Fest in Council Bluffs for dinner. After eating we stayed to see the Barenaked Ladies perform. Their performance did not begin until after 9:30. We stayed to watch them until around 10:30, but most of the songs they were singing were not songs with which we were familiar, and we were getting tired, so we left before the show was over.

Our first day of the bike ride began by riding through Council Bluffs until we got out of town. On our route, we passed by the condominium that my grandmother used to live in before she moved to Minnesota. Once we left the city, we were greeted with a sign informing us that Pottawattamie County was not responsible for any accident we had due to the condition of the road. I wondered if this sign really did release them from any liability.

Shortly after leaving Council Bluffs, we encountered a really long hill. This hill wasn't too bad, but the hills just kept coming and coming. It was while riding up these apparently never-ending hills that I wondered what the hell I had gotten myself into. We took frequent breaks to recover from the hills though, and that made things go much better. Fortunately the temperature was nice, and it wasn't too windy. If either of those conditions were different, today could have been much worse.

Among the stops we made today was a rather late lunch stop at Pastafari. The pasta was pretty good, although a bit pricey. I would have liked to add the salmon to my pasta, but I didn't want to spend the additional seven dollars. If we stop later in the week, maybe I can get someone to split the salmon with me.

We eventually made it to Red Oak, although it took longer than I had anticipated. The Superior Hawgs have a good camping location tonight, not to far from food vendors and Internet access. There was a long like to get on the computers tonight, so I should probably go. I will add more details about my trip as the week progresses and once I get home.