Part III: RAGBRAI Ride Across Iowa - Heat, Hills and More

Continued..

Day 5: Marshalltown to Cedar Rapids (84 miles)

I didn't set an alarm clock on day 5 - my plan was to 'sleep in' (i.e. get up at 7.30 am), make it to the first town 10 miles away, have a spot of breakfast, and then get picked up by the SAG vehicle to reach the next overnight town.

Checking my phone, I had a text from Rachel, who said her personal trainer highly recommended vaseline as a fix to all my posterior problems.  Well, I thought.  I highly doubted it would work, but there was nothing to be lost, and I did happen to have some, so I slathered myself with an ample amount 'down there', and set off, the last one from our group to leave the campsite.

Delicious watermelon snack

And it worked!  Like a miracle, the pain virtually disappeared, and I was comfortably able to make it to the first town, where I had a celebratory breakfast of chocolate milk, pancakes, coffee, a yoghurt, and an oatmeal bar.  Bouyed by the fact I wasn't in pain, I felt a resurgence of energy and knew I'd be able to make it to the end.

Town reception Committee

Even though the day was still hot, it was about 10 degrees cooler than the day before, plus there was a nice tailwind, gently pushing everyone to Cedar Rapids.  I was able to relax, and enjoy passing through the various towns, enjoying their hospitality, and stuffing my face with all kinds of foods and drinks - smoothies, watermelon slices, sandwiches, energy bars, gatorade, etc etc.  I think this was the most I've ever eaten in a single week.

Family ride

I got to Cedar Rapids by 4.00 pm and had the usual routine of relaxing the Pamper Zone for a bit, chatting with other riders, having a shower, and then going to find some more food - on this day, another church next door to the campsite (riders got there by riding in a trailer pulled by a tractor) was doing a great value 3 course meal for just $10.  After this, more socialising with other riders, before heading for bed around 10.

Reappearance of the Bananaman

Day 6: Cedar Rapids to Anamosa (42 miles)

This was the shortest ride of the day, and after consecutive 70 + mile days, it felt like a piece of cake!  I met up with someone from Denver who I met over the phone at work; we'd both found out that we were both doing RAGBRAI, and agreed to meet up and ride together.

Bananaman disciples

I stopped off in the rest town Mount Vernon and had a delicious breakfast of potatoes and eggs, grated cheese and sour cream, and also saw the Bananaman coming through again. This time he'd seemed to have picked up several Bananaman disciples.

Iowan cats

In the evening, I headed into the small town of Anamosa to forage for some food, and came across a Cat Rescue Centre just around the corner of campsite.  They were doing an amazing Mexican meal of beans, rice and burritos for a 'what you can pay' donation to the Centre.  As a cat lover, I was happy to eat there and support the cause (in their back garden), and got taken inside to meet some of the occupants.  Even the cats in Iowa are really friendly!

Day 7: Anamosa to Cedar Rapids (69 miles)

Puddles the Skunk

Saturday was the coolest day yet, and I took my time, enjoying the last day of cycling, stopping off at all the towns, looking for my favourite smoothie bar, and chatting with other riders.   One local lady supporting the riders along the road had her pet...skunk.  I stopped to take a picture of her with Puddles, who was very sweet.  Her scent glands had been removed, and I was told she was also toilet trained.

Suzy - note her cycle helmet!

I also met an amazing lady from Chicago who must have been in her late 60's/early 70's and was cycling along with Suzy the dog on the back, under a rainbrow umbrella to protect her from the heat, at a very slow and steady pace.  The deal was:  you could take a photo of rider plus Suzy, but in return, at the top of the hill, you'd be asked to make a donation to the dog shelter the rider was raising money for.  This seemed like a great deal, and after making my donation we chatted for a bit before all three of us were on our way.

I finally made it into Clinton, where I'd arrived 7 days earlier, around mid-afternoon.  It was quite a feeling of accomplishment riding down into the last town after 471 miles, especially as there were some points in the week where I wasn't even sure if I'd make it.

The last part of the ride is to symbolically dip your tyres in the Mississippi river, to mark the fact that you've come all the way to the Eastern side of the State (Iowa is bordered my the Missouri river on the West and Mississippi on the East).

After dropping off my bike to be shipped back, I headed back to the casino where we'd pick up our bags.  We'd been advised to hitch a ride with other bikers heading out of town, and I ended up finding a ride with a one-armed cyclist who'd just finished the whole week's ride.  It was interesting swapping notes about how having a different limb missing can throw up unique challenges.

Made it!

The last (unwanted) excitement of the day came when I found there was no public transportation and NO TAXIS whatsoever in Clinton, which to me is completely ludicrous.  It basically means that if you don't have a car, and want to get to the airport, you're scuppered.  I understand some American towns don't have great public transportation (which is why I feel lucky to live in NYC), but to get rid of taxis on top of it seems like complete madness.  Luckily, Bubba, who owned the charter service provider I went with, had by chance seen me wandering along on the side of a busy road, walking to a hotel to see if they could help, and amazingly, he offered to drive me all the way to the airport, over an hour's drive away.  This act of kindness trumped anything over the past week, but also reflected the incredible spirit of goodwill and generosity that I'd felt from both riders and Iowans throughout the ride.

I ended up at the airport by 11.00 pm, and slept there for 5 hours before getting a plane back to New York.  In all, RAGBRAI was an amazing experience, and, as with all endurance events, the sore and uncomfortable bits will probably recede in my memory, as I'll see everything through an increasingly soft and fuzzy lens.  Despite the heat and saddle soreness, I had a fantastic time, seeing some beautiful countryside, testing my biking limits, and most importantly meeting some amazingly warm and friendly people.  These are the main things I will remember from my ride.