Denison to Atlantic
July 24th - 61.1 Miles and 2581 vertical feet of Climbing
Towns Visited-
Denison (overnight town)
Manilla , Irwin,
Prairie Rose State Park, Walnut, Marne, Atlantic (overnight town)
Conditions- Wind- Headwinds to Crosswinds. Temperature- very nice (high 70's and overcast). Rain- yes. Hills- Relentless, including a 3 mile hill. Steeper as ride progressed. Humidity- see below.
We started early today. We don't know why. Perhaps the famous "zipper symphony" started early. Each person's tent and sleeping bag zipper has a unique song. It was a bit unusual striking the tents before sunrise. Before departure, we posed for a group photo, stretched,2 and took off at 6:10 AM. One problem. We forgot about Norm. He should be in soon.
We were given the opportunity to plummet down the hills of Denison to the very bottom of the town. We figure that this was the lowest point in the entire state of Iowa. Next, we climbed out with a 3 mile memorable hill. Nobody was conversing with any full words. There were a few monosyllables uttered and grunted, but these are of course unspellable or perhaps unprintable at this location. We met a recumbent with sides and windows and even a sound system. Tara is becoming a cycling animal and will be hard to catch by the end of the week.
We were talking to Tom Toomey, a member of the team Dairy Aires from Madison, Wisconson, riding a BikeE. We were discussing the tremendous humidity factor of the ride this year and Tom presented his humidity theory. With all these Ragbrai riders riding and sweating so profusely, this stuff's got to go somewhere when it evaporates- right? Well it rises into a mushroom cloud over the overnight town which dissipates during the night. Then it re forms over the next day in our own Ragbrai tropical rain forest. Things will get normal again next week. I believed it wholeheartedly until Tom told me that he is a trumpet player.
Our first town was Manilla. We met two members of Team Loon, from Minnesota. The town folks tied large ropes between tractors to hold the thousands of bikes passing through. Tara and Aaron gave much thought to the prospect of continuing for the rest of the ride. The bowling alley in Manila had a bicycle framed in it's architecture. Many activities were planned for the visitors including a Thunder Mug race. The participants race toilets on wheels propelled by plungers. It doesn't get much better than this!
In our next town, Irwin,2 we met a wonderful family selling lemonade, bananas, and other essentials. These kids are the true entrepreneurs! A team Air Force member give them a year's supply of decorative Air Force pencils to use at school. They promptly put them on the counter and gave them a price. And here again is team Tu-tu. Those things go on your waist, guys!1 Norm spotted a lady in Irwin1 who had her dog with her in the basket. Sure enough! The Wizard of Oz was the theme! It's hard to tell which one is Norm 1and which one is Bob1 until you look at the legs!
Deep in the country, in the middle of all those corn fields was a sculpture in metals of a pool player with dreadlocks. This seemed a bit unusual given the location. Notice, though, the tire tracks leading up to the sculpture. Was this a delivery vehicle? We need to know!
In Walnut, a huge bicycle with a huge rider was in the town.
This was a very unusual and controversial day in the history of Ragbrai. As you recall from the press releases at the main page of this location, there was a route change. The original route, through Marne was changed about two weeks ago. The Des Moines Register stated that due to construction changes, and for safety reasons, the route should go South of Marne and avoid the town. The officials in Marne had made great preparations for the visit. We feel that the official Ragbrai page covered the official route and we did not want you to be left in the dark. Therefore your hosts at Dave's Ragbrai Page chose to give you the full coverage of this ride and visit Marne along with about 1/3 of the other Ragbrai2 participants. We were welcome with open arms. Ooh my! A party was going on and we met Tony and Bill of Team Skunk. Today was formal day for team skunk.
On a sadder note, I learned that fellow hawg Mike is in the hospital tonight, suffering from dehydration and kidney problems. He will apparently be flying home to Seattle as soon as possible. And a special friend of ours from Houston in the INMY (It's not my fault) club is Peggy who we learned was involved in a cycling accident with a truck just three weeks ago. Her club is riding with her picture on their bikes. We wish Mike and Peggy a speedy and complete recovery.
Our hosts tonight in Atlantic has a special treat for us. It's called Air Conditioning, hot showers, and laundry facilities. One would think that we were at the Waldorf Astoria.
Tomorrow's route is more grueling and longer than ever at 80 miles. After that, we have two 90 plus days in succession. Film at 11. Gotta get some sleep!
Your Hosts
Oh yeah, to Cindy, my wife... (the rest of you disregard this)... Cell service is real sparse and I haven't been able to get in a short phone line. I love you, Honey, disregard the picture about the party going on above. See you, (I hope) in Muscatine.
Love,
Your Husband,
Dave
credits 1.Norm Running 2. Aaron Eilers
others are by Bruce and Dave
Email me at plummer_dave@prodigy.net
Links to Towns-
Antique City Inn Bed and Breakfast, Walnut, Iowa
Map of the Facilities of Prairie Rose State Park
AtlanticIowa.com - Gateway to Western Iowa
Chestnut Charm Bed & Breakfast, Atlantic, Iowa 50022
The Atlantic Ragbrai Home Page
