It is hard to believe this was the the
final day of RAGBRAI and Kevin and Theresa's Falls2Fields epic ride!
As usual it was up early to assemble biking and prep the RV which has
become a routine that everyone knows by rote. Joe and Theresa were
off by 6am to face what seemed to be a race to the end. Teams of
cyclists, youngsters on hand-me-down mountain bikes as well as folks
jamming to 60's tunes all streamed by like we were standing still.
Did we miss the memo? The temps were cool, some bikers even dawned
jackets! Wind was minimal. A perfect biking day.
The day had 4
climbs (according to Joe, Theresa counted 6) and a long downhill into
the tire dipping site. The first hill was immediate. Joe was
leading then Theresa ground past in the crowd without Joe noticing.
Theresa slowed at the top waiting to see Joe. Joe stopped and waited
for Theresa, then figured he must have missed her and preceded on the
road to Hale (the first town). Theresa figured she would stop at the
edge of town and look for Joe then make a call if she could. (ATT
reception is very poor in the rural midwest.) As soon as she stopped
and looked back... there was Joe!
Reunited the biking buddies fueled
on grilled pork sandwich and pie for b-fast! The next stop was Lost
Nation and was the meet up town. Bikes had taken over the gas
station and the lines for the portapotties stretched around a
building. There was no need to intake any additional fuel so on to
the next town. With over 40 miles done Theresa was looking for some
fuel in Delmar. Last chance for Corn on the cob and more pork!
As
we exited the town they were enticed with a sign for Brats in 9
miles! That is just what they were wanting today, in addition, Joe
had gotten a message from Kevin that he left at 9 with Zin in tow so
that may be the place we meet him.
They cleared hill 3 when they
arrived into Charlotte and Brats! Joe called Kevin (Theresa still
had no service) and he was just 2 miles out. All feasted on Brats
and drank soda while folks passed by to give Zin some love. The ride
into Clinton had the last of the climbs in several chunks.
Zin
entertained the cyclist as well as spectators as she was the only dog
in a trailer that we knew of on the route. We were greeted like
champions as we entered Clinton, as folks cheered and congratulated
us as we rolled to the Mississippi river to do the ceremonial dip of
the tire. Pictures were taken quickly as the crowds of cyclist
captured the moments.
After the dipping photo op we rode the
course backwards until we were able to branch off and head to the
Walmart where the RV was parked. Kevin pulled Zin 46 miles and felt
like he could just keep biking. Theresa and Joe clocked 75 glorious
miles to conclude their journey across Iowa! What a great way to
spend Theresa's b-day!
We showered and returned to Moline, IL
where Joe picked up his car and started his long trip back to NC.
Theresa and Kevin will head on to a family reunion just outside of
Chicago for a family reunion next weekend and then head back to NC.
This has been a trip of a lifetime and lots of lessons learned for
future trips.
We thank you for reading about our adventures and hope you have enjoyed the fun! Stay tuned for what ever we come up with next!
Theresa, thanks again for keeping all of us at home updated on the trip. Not being there, it's hard to judge, but you seemed to have captured quite well what must have been both glorious and arduous all at the same time. :-) Thanks so much for bringing us the pleasure and the pain. Hope to meet you both soon.
ReplyDelete~Leigh