Archive for July 28th, 2010

A rainstorm blew through Clear Lake last night, so we woke this morning to wet tents, soggy camp chairs, and everything else (see our photos on flickr).

Today I traded places with my co-worker so she could ride with her husband. It’s actually a relief since I am pretty fried from yesterday. A day of rest will give me a whole new attitude and fresh start tomorrow. Instead, I have photo duty and am catching up on editing the video I’ve been taking for my blog, AND I also volunteered to do the laundry!

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To say RAGBRAI is interesting is an understatement.

OMG, the pile of laundry was so heavy with water–towels, jerseys, sheets, pillowcases, clothes, and a sleeping bag–that Jess and I had to split it up into trash bags just to get it to the car. I utilized two 5-load washers, a 4-load, and a 2-load.

The funny part is I had it all sorted and loaded it into the machines but could not figure out where to put the soap. When I asked a woman next to me, she looked at me odd and said, “These are dryers!” Obviously, it’s been awhile since I’ve been to a laundromat.

Everyone else riding RAGBRAI was having the same problem, because a man came in and asked if all the machines were taken. He had just been over to Mason City and couldn’t find an available machine in their laundromats.

A side note: While doing the team’s laundry, I visited with Joyce Baker, who was doing laundry for her team of ten–her husband and family. It was fun comparing notes! Hi, Joyce. Enjoy the rest of the week!

I also thought I lost my phone to the rain when I woke to my purse sitting in a pool of water. However, a woman in the laundromat gave me a tip–said put it in rice and it will dry out nicely and work again. Since I didn’t want to go buy rice, I took it apart and laid it in the sun on my dashboard while I finished the wash. Wahlaa! It started working! Phew!

One of the really great side benefits of RAGBRAI is that it showcases our state. Yes, there are miles and miles of beautiful tall corn and perfectly laid out soybean fields, but I have now visited two beautiful lakes that I have never been to before.

Both Storm Lake and Clear Lake are enormous bodies of water, and the towns have a lake resort feel to them. I have taken flip video of a grotto in one of the meeting towns but the library I’m using the Internet in is closing in about 10 minutes, so will post it tomorrow.

I left later for the ride this morning (about an hour) and found that the riders are a whole different type of rider–the slower riders and the late night partyers so it’s not so hard core. Translation: I didn’t get passed as much on the road and felt like I was keeping up! Ha!

The ride was also only 60 miles today; and the distance between towns was very short, so it went fast. Except for the last 20 miles, which consisted of a lot of headwinds and no shade. People were fading fast on the side of the road. The Smoothy Guy had the perfect location and lots of shade trees and was so popular, they ran out of smoothies! We got ours though!

Btw, thank you — a big thank you — to alumna Pam Whitmore who pays for smoothies at the Smoothie Guy for the entire week of RAGBRAI! What a welcome treat, and such a generous thing to do for the Team. We appreciate it, Pam!

I’ll post more tomorrow, but one last thing, I’m sunburned from leaving later in the day…Stick a fork in me, I’m done! But it’s much more fun because I see my fellow teammates, and the slower riders talk to you on the road.

Have a good evening, and I’ll post more tomorrow! Cheers!

T-shirt — It smells like Iowa!