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!