Highlights from RAGBRAI

I completely meant to journal at the end of each day, but just was too wiped out most days, especially after getting the tent set up, having dinner and a beer after the rides. In lieu of this, I'll give you some of the higlights that still make me smile.

1. Iowans are probably the nicest people in the country. I don't think there is such a thing as a mean one. They were always over the top willing to open up their town to 10,000+ crazy riders and help them out. They were on the sides of the roads watching the chaos from their lawns. It was priceless.

2. The roads are fan-freakin'-tastic, especially when compared to the chip-seal hell in Texas.

3. Pie. Homemade pie just rocks. We ate it nearly every day at one of our morning stops. I had rhubarb, strawberry-rhubarb, peanut butter, cherry (twice) and one other. Kelly's pies, which are usually located alongside the Porkchop Guy, are the best, though a lot of credit has to go to the church ladies who take the time to bake all week.

4. Taking the time to walk through all the towns. Each had their own little character.

5. Skillet tossing is a great way to vent some frustration and have a few laughs! One town charged a buck for two chances to throw a skillet at a dummy with a basketball head. Fortunately there was a large wire cage to separate the iron skillets from the spectators, though Deeann nearly got it over the fence on one toss.

6. Crazy cyclists in outfits. It's a cacophany of color and sights. There was one guy riding in a banana costume, a team of guys in kilts (worn like true Scotsmen), a group of guys in the worst dresses ever, a team of superheros, and supposedly a guy in a diaper. Just a diaper.

7. Iowa is just gorgeous. The cornfields swayed in the breezes and brought the best sweet corn for dinner.

8. Bringing together people from all over the country is a delight. Small "licence plates" on the back of each rider's bikes showed their names, where they were from, and even how many RAGBRAIs they'd done in the past. Surprisingly enough many were first year riders.

9. Riding with one of my closest friends made the whole ride better. We laughed, talked about life, sang to anyone within earshot about mullets and made up a few songs about the damn hills. Coming back to a super camp to a specially prepared dinner each night was the highlight of the day.

10. Speaking of damn hills, Iowa is not flat, contrary to popular belief. We did about 25,000+ feet of climb over the course of the week. To top it off, we never got off and walked the bikes!

11. Finding a swimming hole on a hot afternoon is a treat. We spied the cold pond with a dock on it and jumped in...along with about 200 other people. At that point, we didn't care about the cow shit or chemicals in it, it felt great!

12. Accomplishing a 100 miler for the first time is an adventure in itself. Thankfully, the route had a lot of flats that day.

13. Friends push you to go. Luckily on one rainy morning, Deeann pushed me to not give up on the first part of the morning, while Dianna and Maribel were in my head to get going as well. I'm glad they all did, as this turned out to be one of the most fun mornings of the trip.

14. Rain, fog, thunderstorms, heat, cool, and even hail were a part of the trip. At least we didn't get snowed on.

15. The Iowan version of "thank you" is "you bet". It cracks me up.

16. Spotting the Mississippi River after riding towards it for seven days is the most heart-wrenching sight ever. I was overcome with a sense of accomplishment and disappointment that it was over.

17. After 490 miles, I'm going to invest stock in Chamois Butt'r and Boudreaux's Butt Patste. 'Nuf said.