Ragbrai, Day 4, July 25, 1995

Route- Fort Dodge to Iowa Falls. Weather- Sunny to cloudy, High 80's with a following breeze. 74 Miles

The people we have met have been wonderful. To do our nightly computer work we need a phone line, so we need to walk the streets begging. The first house we approached was owned by a lady named Linda. She invited us in, and we gave her our Internet "pitch". She said, "Sure you can use my phone. I won't be home this evening, but I will leave the back door unlocked. Just go in and make yourself at home". Pretty impressive to us. Dave told this story to another rider this evening and he said that last year in Perry he was scheduled to stay at a private residence and there was a note left with the babysitter that said "The keys are in the car, the tank is full, please have it back by 7AM tomorrow! I've never been around such great folks.

Back to the ride. Webster City went all out with an entrance to main street made from huge hay "bales". The main street was packed with people having a great time. The Team Bad Boys was setting up their portable bar complete with Honda generator and giant cooler. The mayor of Webster posed for a picture with two of his residents in full costume.

Further down the road I approached a rider wearing a pretty pink dress. As I passed, I snuck a glance to see some guy with a full beard! Bit of a shock. Found out this is a Tuesday tradition of one of the teams. Check out the father and son picture. I can't mention what the name of their team is.

Near the end of today's ride there was a neat sculpture you might want to see.

Tomorrow is the 100 mile day. We ate a huge plate of spaghetti in a church basement. Great food served by the ladies of the parish.

By George Pitlik in Linda's basement in Iowa Falls