We ceremonially dipped our wheels in water from the Missouri River to signify the start of the trek across Iowa. Because of the flooding in Western Iowa the water was contained in a pool at the entrance to our "campground". Very convenient. The photo is a bit blurry as the photographer was a 12 year old boy.
Sunday morning we were up at 0500 to break camp and get the riders on their way. I was the designated driver for Sunday. It was part of my plan to avoid the worst of the hills out the of the Loess Hills. After the riders were off, I drove to the "meeting town" of Carson, Iowa. We quickly found out that AT&T has ZERO coverage in Southwest Iowa. I met up with the first four riders easily in Carson and sent them off to meet up with them in Atlantic. It was my task to find and set up our campsite for the night. Unfortunately, I was unable to stay in contact with Ann and ended up waiting 4 1/2 hours in Carson for her to arrive. Being unable to know where she was or to pick her up, I sat by myself in Carson and she sat by herself on the road. We finally met up and the sporadic communication with the rest of the team meant that I had all the gear and they arrived in Atlantic and tried to save our spot for our tents. It was an excruciating day, hot, humid and very frustrating.
We took advantage of the YMCA pool to clean off the sweat and road grime. It was some of the best money ever spent. Super refreshing. Our dinner at the Church of Christ was delicious! We were all exhausted and hit the tents around dark.
Monday morning found us rising before dawn to get ready for the ride to Carroll. Ann was driving and I was riding. Sadly, my plan to avoid the worst of the hill came back to bite me..... It was agonizing. I compared it to being in labor.... Hill after hill looked a lot like contractions on a "strip" on the map that showed the route. Scott stayed with me and was really a great buddy, encouraging me to keep going. I tried my first smoothie and found them to be the only nourishment I would need the rest of the week. I was so tired by the time I made it into Carroll. Only an hour after the rest of the team. It was our 19th wedding anniversary and may be one of the more memorable. Or at least one I will not soon forget how we celebrated, tent camping and all. We went to swim, again and then hit Godfather's Pizza for dinner. The buffet was delightful. We even "dog sat" for a sweet puppy named Lady for our tent neighbors who were in to ride from San Diego.
Tuesday, Scott was the designated driver so he could complete a phone deposition. Ann and I rode together and planned to ride to the meeting town of Churdan and re-evaluate whether or not to ride the rest of the way to Boone. It was a fun ride, not too many hills and we wished it would have been longer, but "Twister Hill" just outside of Boone made us decide to stop. Really, the wisest decision we ever made. We had a great ride in the morning and we were pretty sure we would have wept openly if we got to the ginormous hill in Pilot Mound. Granted, we might have seen Lance Armstrong zoom past as we pushed our bikes up the hill if we'd kept going, but we opted for a happy ending to the day. Again, we rode on smoothies and sweat. We saw guys from Adaptive Sports pull in. Their coordinator is Mike Boone, Sam's XC from 7th grade. They are truly an inspiration. There were 24 members on their team, some pedaled with their arms, one girl was blind on a tandem, I was truly amazed! We all pulled into Boone and then had the luxury of staying in A/C at Scott's cousin Julie's home. A real shower, laundry and dinner out at a yummy Mexican cafe in Perry. So wonderful and generous!
Wednesday, Boone to Altoona! Definitely the MOST FUN day of riding! We finally had AT&T coverage, so my photos were taken with my phone. (see facebook) Ann and I rode together and took our time, enjoyed the day and took lots of pictures. We had smoothies, cupcakes and more smoothies. Not too many hills, it did get hot in the afternoon, but it was so much fun. It was "africa hot" that night, so we were very blessed to be able to sleep in our own beds and enjoy the A/C, again. Dinner in the park was fun. Altoona did an amazing job of hosting R.A.G.B.R.A.I. overnight.
Thursday we were off to ride to Grinnell. Scott was my riding buddy, again. As we rode out of town, Altoona had posted a sign stating "66 hills to Grinnell". I threw up a little in my mouth. I really did NOT need to know that. I didn't think it was going to be that "hilly" of a day. I was so wrong. We rode through Mitchellville, first. So fun! SEP marching band and a "banana tree" super creative! Mount Colfax was the first of many intimidating hills. My bike didn't want to shift well, so I had to walk up Mt. Colfax. Scott adjusted the gear thingy and made it possible to shift to my lowest gears. I would come to need them desperately later in the day. I equated Thursday riding with labor, again. It was super hard, I didn't want to talk to my unusually chatty husband as we rode and it seemed to never end. I did make it to Grinnell, though. I felt a sense of accomplishment, but I was completely exhausted. I did feel better than the day I rode into Carroll. We decided to ride back home to sleep, again. The idea of camping wasn't appealing, at all. I was very thankful that Scott decided to ride with me. I know he likes to jump on "trains" with fast riders, but he stayed with the slow people all day.
Friday, I was the designated driver, again. The ride to Grinnell and the fact that we didn't have room for all the bikes made me thankful to be the driver. I met up with Team Lutefisk in Merango and Ann decided to ride the rest of the way to Coralville, so I was on my own to find our campsite. I found one of the few shaded spots at Northwest Jr. High, I set up the tents and met my team all by myself. I felt another sense of accomplishment that it was all done when the riders arrived. We went swimming, again to cool off then headed for the mall to sit in a/c and have dinner at the food court. 38 Special was the evening entertainment, so Ann and I went over to hear a few songs. It reminded me of 1982. We were still tired, so we were in bed at 9pm.
Saturday, I had to head back as the riders took off so I could be back in Des Moines so I could be at work at 3pm. Ann and I did go get breakfast at Village Inn, I dropped her and some gear at McD's for her to meet Jim and I headed West. It was bittersweet for me not to ride into Davenport. I really think it would have been fun to complete the last day of the ride. Scott said it was fun and he dipped his tires in the overfilled Mississippi River for me. He and Amy rode home together and then Ann, Jim and Eric kept heading back to Ohio and Sara, Karen and Ben were off to Chicago to take Karen home and to help Drew and Alison move. Life never completely stops.
Uncle Jim took great care of our boys. They enjoyed Adventureland and going to Taco John's more times than usual. I am glad they had a good week. I am convinced I was not hill ready for the ride, but in retrospect, I am glad I stretched myself and rode the days I did. Scott is already looking into renting a RV so we can ride, again.
1 comment:
Loved the update. :)
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