July 28th- Coralville to Muscatine
49.2 Miles- 1848 ft of climbing (most of that, though was on the campus)
Towns Visited-
Coralville (overnight)
Iowa City, West Branch, Springdale, West Liberty, Atalissa, Moscow and-
Muscatine- Dipping and Departure Town (sniff)
Conditions- Well, finally! Some great conditions- Hills- a few of course but this is Iowa! Rain- sprinkly for some farther back. Temp- cool. Winds- No headwinds. Nuff said!
This morning, everything is in slow motion. The entire campground is yawning. The only contrast to the ambient array of color is the military, giving them the opposite effect- immediate attention. We lemmings begin our journey at 6:30. That's right- no more headwinds today. Or at least headwinds that are not debilitating. We are so ready for this. When we get home, we won't know how to ride without headwinds. We are used to them. Bruce and Aaron give me a 6:30 AM tour of the University of Iowa campus. It's huge! How do they even walk up those hills to get to class? Of course, right now we're used to riding up them! The road surface on Ragbrai is often an issue. Over the past days we have had road surfaces that were very coarse, and the seemingly unending little rhythmic cracks in both asphalt and concrete. Ka-thump ka-thump ka-thump. It only varied in tempo- slow on the uphills and very fast on the downhills and somewhat dangerous. I think the state ought to lay off those pavement employees that make thumps and give a blanket pay raise to teachers. But it's not today. It is smooth sailing. I just can't make up my mind .I've been camping for over a week now even though we had a/c inside on a floor last week. I'm real anxious to see my wife pull up in that fancy black pickup in a few hours. I call her on the cell phone to see how her progress is as she comes down from Fairmont, Minnesota. I'm so glad she decided to pick me up and take me home after all that's happened. Now we're supposed to hook up with Tara at the I-80 bridge, but we are 15 minutes late. 2 Darn, you don't think she went on ahead.....There she is.....what a trooper! Walking the wrong way toward us through the rocks on the shoulder. She was waiting on the other side. We start again. I feel like a puppy that just got out of a cage with no restraints now that the headwind is gone. "On your left!" shouts a guy on a tandem with his wife. We're still climbing pretty fast, but not as fast as him. He starts muttering obscenities as he passes...something about us not moving over to the shoulder when he says "on your left". What a jerk, first time that's happened on Ragbrai this year. Hope he gets a flat. He probably has his mind on work, Monday. After all it's coming to a close way too soon. Another constant on Ragbrai is the views in the early morning of the fields and the hills. They have to awaken before their full splendor emerges. Aaron is riding his "bike of the day" after his frame breaks. And Norm finds Maestro Lee and Roxy,1 his wife from the Cherokee Symphony.1 It's like the week in review, isn't it?
As usual, Tara and I push on ahead. There's the charm of stopping at every town and making sure that nothing is missed, but there's also the physical challenge of achieving personal goals. I think the two of us are on that side of the fence and that's just the way it is. Ragbrai is for everybody. Time for a bagel- breakfast part 1- eating our way across Iowa. And then Tara buys me the ritual smoothie while we wait for the others to catch up. They never do, we're been smokin. We don't stop in all the towns. There's a force that pulls us away from the pseudo reality of Ragbrai and gets us closer and closer to that river which keeps flowing. Just like our lives. Back to the reality, back to civilization, back to our jobs. We are in the transition as we pedal along. Faster and faster. We see the display of farm machinery that one man has set up. And back down the road, Bruce takes a picture of Hoover's birthplace. Norm meets princess Atalissa.1 Bruce has a watermelon.2 My, that Princess is fickle! 2
I'm not sure I want this to end. Muscatine2 is only a few miles away. A band's playing.2 The crowd by the road is getting thicker and thicker and cheering loudly. I shout, "her name's Tara, is her first time, she's made it!" The crowds go wild with "Yeah Tara"! Hi five's. Downhill all the way. This is a real rush. My mind tries to remember the whole week, but it's just too much. The rain, the winds, Marne, the fun, the heat, the cold, it's just too much. Was it just a week? Was it a year? A moment. We see the river. We're in the park. We dip our tires and pose for a few shots and it's over.1 Yup, the bus2 made it, too. Although it ends so abruptly, it doesn't really end at all.
Ragbrai is about real friendship. I have to say that many of my real and true friends are in Iowa. We share on the road together and we have lots of time for that. Our likes, our dislikes. Our situations and our dreams. Our strengths, our weaknesses. Our joys, our sorrows. Ragbrai is about so much more than riding a bike. Lance Armstrong said that in his Biography, too, didn't he. Some of us have said from time to time that this is our last Ragbrai. I've said that, too. But there's something that keeps bringing us back again. And I know what that something is.
We've got much still in store for you on this page. Norm and Aaron's photos have recently been posted. What great photos do you have that you will share with us. Email me (Dave) and attach them. I'll have a form where you can vote for your favorite towns. I do want your feedback, good or bad.
Have a great year, my friends.
Dave, Bruce, Tara, Aaron, Norm, and next year Ruie again!
And oh yes, Cindy picked me up after all and we were in Houston again Sunday night.
Credits- 1. Norm Running 2. Aaron Eilers and Dave and Bruce did the rest on the fly.
Town Links-
The Muscatine Ragbrai Home Page
Pictures and text of Saturday's ride will appear here probably late Saturday night since we will be back on our way to Houston and will be uploading from a hotel.
