I finally have connectivity and Matt got the website straightened out so I’ll give you a summary of our first 4 days.
Day 0 was the ride to the ride. Peter picked me up at the airport around 11:00 pm Friday night and we dropped my stuff off at the hotel and went out for a quick beer. At 8:00 the next morning the president of Siouxland Cyclists brought me my bike and took my luggage. We left around 9:00. RAGBRAI started in Orange City so we (Peter and I and about 10 others) rode 55-60 very hilly miles- into a moderate headwind. It was a little bit of work…
Day 1 we rode 74 miles from Orange City to Milford. It was a good day- some headwinds, some tailwinds, and some crosswinds. And in the little towns we ate all kinds of things. My practice is to eat a couple of things in each town to support the small businesses and keep me fueled. Peter’s is aspiring to follow my practice and, at this point, he is always full… We had a very good spaghetti dinner at the Catholic church.
Day 2 we rode about 42 miles and started off with a screaming tailwind and light rain for the first 20 miles or so. Once we turned into the wind it was slower going… But, we were back in camp quite early and went to a church for a “roast beef sundae.” The sundae had over a pound of roast beef, two scoops of mashed potatoes, gravy, and a cherry tomato on top. And apple pie with ice cream and caramel sauce. We were stuffed and walked 7 miles after dinner looking for a replacement sleeping bag pad for Peter. We had dinner at Subway and went to bed at 8:00 last night!
Day 3 (today) I was awakened at 4:00 by people taking their tents down. Sheesh. We had coffee and a banana- our usual breakfast- and hit the road by 6:00. We stopped for breakfast after 20 miles and had big breakfast burritos and big cinnamon rolls. In the pass through towns I had a big iced coffee with homemade whipped cream, peach and apple pie, a big lemonade, an acai bowl, and several local beers. Peter has been favoring smoothies and is trying hard to eat more…
We rode about 75 miles with a strong quartering headwind most of the day. And it was hot and humid! Tonight we are in a campground away from
the town center so we ate at a foodtruck. We were not about to get on our bikes again…I brought a bunch of patches from the Greer Fire Department to trade with fire departments in the little towns through which we are riding. So far I have two patches and 3 coozies. It has been very fun talking with the local firemen. I am going to try to add some photos to this post now. We’ll see how that works…
