August 18, 2008:  Dan the mechanic sent my skewers back to me.  They arrived today.  Guess that's the last little RAGBRAI detail for 2008... 

August 10, 2008:  Got my bike put back together, found out my quick-release skewers are back in Iowa.  Thought it was funny till I went to the bike shop to get new ones and learned they are $60.   Not quite as funny now... 

(Titanium skewers, $65 per axle...  http://www.excelsports.com/new.asp?page=8&description=Skewer+Titanium+RWS+Front&vendorCode=DT&major=1&minor=21 ) (Bob)

August 5, 2008:  Decided to finish my memoirs before I forget I even went to Iowa.

August 4, 2008:  My bike arrives.  On my doorstep when I get home from work.  Which is odd because I had given my office address.  But happy to see it, no matter where it shows up. 

August 3, 2008:  Finally had a chance to look at my cookbook.  Rhubarb is practically the only fresh ingredient called for in the recipes.  Everything else is out of a can or out of a box.  If anyone is nostalgic for hotdish, there are about two dozen recipes--all a varation of the same basic premise.  Is this really how the heartland cooks?!  

July 31, 2008:   No word on my bike but my Bennett, Iowa cookbook arrived today.  My secretary had a good time looking at the recipes.  She marked two for me, which I am now sharing with you.  Note the use of a can of mushrooms with the second recipe.  Kent and Stuart, let us know how these turn out.

July 30, 2008:   I'm in my office when my cell phone rings.  It's Tammy of PBV.  She asked me what bike box I used to ship my box.  I tell her I used a hard case.  She informs me that my bike has been delivered back to the Fed Ex warehouse in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  No word on why it didn't go to Austin, Texas.  No word on when it will go to Austin, Texas...

July 27, 2008:  Rise and shine at 5 a.m. for my flight to Austin.  Omaha-St Louis-Dallas-Austin on SWA.  I'm so tired I can hardly read the newspaper and very jealous of Bob's purported ability to sleep on planes.  Got back to Austin around 2 pm, took a nap.  Started unpacking and doing laundry.  Took another nap.  Finally gave up the napping and went to bed in earnest around 8:30 p.m.   Completely worthless day though at least I got the worst of the laundry and the unpacking done.  Couldn't find the Pastafari tatoos I brought back as gifts.  Still hoping they turn up.

July 26, 2008:  The final day.  Tipton to Le Claire.  Sort of sad to leave my tent but not really.  All-in-all it was suprisingly comfortable and it was great to have someone else drag my luggage around and set up the tent for me.  I don't think there's any going back to the manual labor now...  The ride on Saturday was hillier than I expected (though why was I surprised?).  Weather was good, crowds friendly, though no one came along to drag me in behind them.  Started off with Marcus and Bob but lost them in the crowd five minutes into the morning ride.  Saw them again when I was hanging out and saying goodby to the Medicine Man and his daughter--but they blew right past me!  Just as well, I was having fun just puttering along. 

 Iowa Cookbook.pdf 

Got an Iowa cookebook in the first little town.  Stopped at a roadside stand that looked interesting.  Discovered it was the Freewill Lutheran Congregation from Big Rock, Iowa (about 12 miles away) that had decided to participate in RAGBRAI.  They had the most awesome array of baked goods I saw on the entire trip, though sparse attendence from RAGBRAI riders.  Bought and ate a cinnamon roll.  Then went back and bought another for breakfast on Saturday because it was so incredibly good.  Actually made it 30 more miles (to the Medicine Man's tent) before it starting calling to me.  Washed it down with a tasty red Gatorade.   The cinnamon rolls get the "best thing about my day" nod.  Skipped the dip in the Mississippi and in fact, the whole end of ride town.  Went directly to PBV pick up spot.  Much better organized than last year!  Got my bike packed up (and supposedly shipped), got me showered and fed--all with plenty of time to sit and wait for the bus.  Hung out in the shade with the other TT's, watching Marcus and Bob amuse themselves by throwing water bottles at their hats.  "Boredom is a state of mind."   Boarded the bus, tried to expand Bob's musical horizons with Ozomatli and a Cambodian pop singer.  Not sure it worked.  Checked into my palatial suite at the Holiday Inn Express (noting the correctness of Kent's comment that I should just sleep on the bathroom floor with the water running to feel at home).  Joined the TTs for a last beer at Mr. Toad's.  Took the Omaha closing pictures of the original non-Austin portion of the TTs at Mr. Toad's for posterity.  Or something like that.  Got to bed around 1 a.m.                           

July 25, 2008:  North Liberty to Tipton.  Much better day than day 5.  Rode with Don from Albequerque.  Decent weather, relatively flat, shorter distance, nice to have company.  The college in Mount Vernon was very pretty.  Tried to imagine what it would be like to go to college there.  Got my only bracelet of the trip.  Best thing about the day was the salmon at Pastafari.  And the piglets in the barnyard.  Ran into Bob, Marcus, and Stuart in Mechanicsville.  Bob and Marcus were sitting on a corner drinking a beer, completely in everyone's way.  So we joined them.  Learned that the large pink thing walking around was actually a shrimp.  Joined the crowd again for the pale ale festivities--the elephant knock-knock joke really is much funnier the second time around.  Dinner by the 4-H'ers.  Potatoes and pie.  

July 24, 2008:  Toledo/Tama to North Liberty.  Day 5; my least favorite cycling day ever. Cold, wet, windy. And still hilly.  Vining was cute and I had great french toast, eggs, and sausage.  Which was a total mistake.  By the time I got to Blairstown (maybe 40 miles in), I felt awful and wanted to stop.  If I could have sagged, I would have.  But that didn't appear to be an option so I went by the little local ambulance.  They didn't have much going on so they were very pleased to have the chance to take my vital signs and give me some medicine.  After about an hour of hanging out in Blairsville, I started out towards West Amana, still feeling awful.  Food still sounded bad to me, but for some reason, I thought that ice cream might help.  So stopped at the Beekerman's steam-driven ice cream place for some peach ice cream.  Given the weather, there was no line at all.  Made it just a little further up the road and pulled off to reflect on what an awful day it was and what my options were.  I so badly wanted to sag in... As I was sitting there, a guy from Boise came up, looking for a pump.  He had blown 2 tubes in 3 miles.  He offered to let me draft off him into Amana.   That took me  5 more miles, then the sugar from the ice cream kicked in, and I was okay for the remainder of the day.  Still moved extremely slowly and, for the first time, saw the parties going on the towns later in the day.  Homestead was getting lively and there was a place called the Oasis near the airport that had a band and people hanging out.  And a little remote-controlled plane that kept buzzing cyclists.  I stopped at them all.  Got to camp around 6--so almost 11 hours on the road.  Saw Kent, who summed up the day perfectly ("remarkably unpleasant").   Had lost my beer mug the day before but I didn't care.  I didn't want beer.  Ate, went to sleep.  RABRAI was no fun at all.  Hard to find a "best thing" about Day 5.  I think it has to be the guy from Boise who saved me from sagging.  Or maybe Kent's comment.   

July 23, 2008:  I'm working backwards and I'm starting to forget.  Ames to Toledo/Tama.  Day 4.  Good day but I can't remember anything special.  Maybe that's a good thing.  The whole point of RAGBRAI is to have one day run into the next into the next...

Oh wait, I do remember the State Center photo debacle and Marcus letting me draft behind him for approximately 40 miles.  As I recall, I put that at the top of my "best things about the day" list.  I hate wind.  I also remember I didn't get the elephant knock-knock joke, though at least I got "piig."    

July 22, 2008: Jefferson to Ames.  Day 3 aka "the easy day."  Perfect weather, flat, short, pretty.  Just an amazing day.  Stopped at the University and saw the Grant Wood murals at the library, the purported world's first digital computer, the tornado simulator (as big as the real thing), and the aircraft engine collection.  Ecletic stuff but all interesting.  Ate the very odd sandwich.  Marble rye bread with something and cranberries.  I think this is the day where I met the guy who had grown up in an Iowa town of 500. He told me he had been on the football team and in the marching band; he would change pants at halftime...  Went to Styx just to be able to say I did, lasted 3 songs.  But I keep forgetting to tell anyone I went to Styx...  Only night I ate fair food.  Very drippy.     

July 21, 2008:  Harlan to Jefferson.  Day 2.  "The hardest RAGBRAI day EVER" according to the Little Rock guys.  It was long, it was hilly, but it was a much nicer day than Day 5.  Heartland Tower was cool--just this giant tower that looked like a fire watch tower out in the middle of nowhere.  Coon Rapids was great and Kimballton was full of vikings.  Bob saved me that day; I had stopped by the road to munch a power bar and he kindly joined me, then let me draft into Jefferson.  The sky turned black and lightening was everywhere.  I kept telling myself that the odds were slim that the lightening would pick MY bike out of all the thousands on the road.  But still, I was happy to get to camp.  And, I reached my tent just as the first drops started falling.   (This trip does seem to be about me drafting off of other people, doesn't it?  I swear I spent the majority of the time doing the work myself...)  After day 2 ended, everyone was happy and Jefferson was a happening place.

July 20, 2008:  Missouri Valley to Harlen.  Day 1.  Almost immediately I knew that RAGBRAI 2008 was not the same as RAGBRAI 2007.  For one thing it wasn't flat.  And for another, there was no wind.  Underwood was cute and I got a star.  Elvis and his white suede shoes were in one of the towns.  He had a bright blue belt and was really working on his moves.  Shelby went all out.  Harlan tried.  They had a great downtown, a cool courthouse, a nice beer garden, and absolutely no one went.  Me, the Little Rock guys, and Don from Albequerque were about the only people there.  Everyone else was too worried about Day 2.  Slept great until the 2 am mandatory evacuation.  In a total stupor, I grabed my (very thin) silk sleeping bag liner and my little down pillow.  Went into the church where some nice lady told me to go sleep on a pew.  Which was great except it was about 40 degrees in there.  I was freezing.  But there was a nice down sleeping bag all rolled up right next to me in the pew.  I resisted as long as I could, then "appropriated it."  Actuallly slept for an hour or two, except I kept having bad dreams about the fact that I had stolen someone's sleeping bag in a church.  Finally stuffed it back into its stuff sack and slunk out around 4:30 a.m...                 

July 19, 2008.  Austin to Missouri Valley.  Day 0.  I head out, Austin to Chicago to Omaha.  Not sure what RAGBRAI 2008 is going to be like without the people I went with last year.  Ran into a friend on the flight to Chicago so that was fun, then met some RAGBRAI'ers on the Chicago-Omaha leg.  Two of them I never see again, one guy from Little Rock was with PBV so saw him all week.  Bus ride fun but uneventful.  Get my bike, stand in line to get it set up.  Chat with the nice woman in front of me.  She introduces me to her husband.  Chat with both of them.  Get my bike set up, get my tent number, drag my stuff to my tent, grab my beer mug, get a beer, and head to the stripey tents.  Look around feeling a little lost without my people, see the nice woman from the bike line.  She motions me over to join her and her crowd.  It's the Thundering Texans.  Thanks Marcia!   You guys all made for a very fun week.