I  cycled across Iowa last week with RAGBRAI. Sunday, 64 miles from Sioux Center to Cherokee, was one of the best rides I've ever had. The folks along the way were friendly. The hills were rolling and the wind wasn't in our face. It was hot, but not too hot. In fact as the sun came up over the corn field, many of us were already 15 miles toward Cherokee, our ending town for the day. When the temps are in the nineties and higher, it is a very good thing to start as early as possible.


A big part of the adventure of cycling is meeting new people along the way. Of course I do that whether I am cycling or not but cyclists are pretty interesting. At a breakfast stop about 20 miles out I met a philosophy prof from UCLA who was riding. I don't remember how we recognized as pipe smoking, tweed wearing thought thinkers (my BA is in philosophy) but before we knew we were trading quips about Descartes and that pesky Hegel on the edge of an Iowa corn field. Who would have thought? RAGBRAI riders eat whenever and wherever they can. Cornfields, sidewalks, under shade trees...wherever.


Last year I drank a bottle of G2 every hour I was on the road. In addition along the way I drank water and Iowa FFA Blue Lemonade (don't ask, just get a cup if you are lucky enough to find it). Staying hydrated isn't just something your mother told you that can forget as soon as you pedal out the front door. You positively, absolutely, have to do it. If you don't you will experience what I did last week.

Keep rolling on. It feels good.

THE NICEST MAN IN IOWA

Meet Larry, the nicest man in Iowa. He lieves on the family farm 10 miles west of Cherokee. When RAGBRAI announced the 2012 route would pass in front of his home Larry turned his shaded front yard into an unofficial rest stop for hot, tired cyclists headed for Cherokee.

He built a dozen 2x12 benches under the trees in his yard. He put a livestock tank in front of his house where riders could dip their heads or their caps into refreshing, cool water. He filled picnic coolers with ice and bottled water. He stocked home freezers and refrigerators with more ice and water and stayed busy ferrying refills on his farm 4x4 to restock the coolers.

The price for this service? Zero, zilch, nada. No donations accpted. Larry said he did it because he likes to help people and enjoys giving a thirsty person a cold drink of water and a comfortable place to rest.

There are Larrys all over the world. The 12,000 or so riders who passed by this front yard oasis really appreciated finding this one.

As I finish writing this in a Cedar Rapids park a teenager walks up carrying a big tray and asks me if I want a slice of fresh pie. "Do you have rhubarb?" He doesn't but says he will be glad to go get me one. "Is your name Larry?", I ask. "No, Ben Geiger.", he replies. I guess that would have been way too over the top.

Ride on and do something nice for someone even if your name isn't Larry.

THERE'S NO WHINING ON RAGBRAI

But there might be a few teeny tiny exceptions.

1 It is 94F when you get in your tent at 9PM.
2. Thunderstorm hits at 9:15 with 40mph winds. Driving rain crushes tents.
3. Camp portable toilets topple in the wind.
4. Screams emanate from general vicinity of toilet area.
5. Police cruiser drives into park announcing "SEEK SHELTER, SEEK SHELTER" and then speeds away as over 200 riders run from their tents and try to get in his backseat after realizing there's no shelter in this park.

It was a long, long night. But I didn't whine. I was too busy hanging on to my air mattress promising to be good for a long, long time.

Ride on and promise to be good.

ROUGH RIDE IN IOWA

It is 104F in the Iowa shade, if you can find any. That means the temp out on the roads (asphalt with no shade at all) is 120. Six of our 70 riders have thrown in a sweaty towel and left the ride. Two others have spent an overnight in the hospital and one (me) was in the ER for about three hours. Heat related all.

In past years nine-passenger vans filled in as sag wagons. They pull trailers that can hold a dozen bikes. If the the riders are small or willing to sit in laps the sag drivers can cram 12 riders into the vans.

Today, Wednesday, so many riders are dropping out that yellow school busses are replacing the nine passenger vans. Instead of bike trailers at least one 53 foot semi has been pressed into service to haul the bikes to the overnight town.

All in all, a rough day to ride in Iowa.

THAT FUNNY FEELING

You know that funny feeling. Something is not right but can't quite figure out what it is? I had that feeling twice Monday morning. The first time was when I put my bicycle shorts on backwards. It was pitch dark when I got dressed and I didn't want to light up my tent. I kept wanting to sit on my bike facing backwards.

After I turned my shorts around I rode 12 miles to Aurelia for a big plate of Chris Cakes, an Iowa favorite of mine. I felt fine but the moment I swung off my saddle I boinked. That word isn't in my dictionary but it means listless, weak, dizzy and otherwise not fit to crank out another five miles.

Thus boinked I walked slowly to the EMT's at the Aurelia fire house. A blood pressure, a glucose test and an oximeter reading later I was in an ambulance headed to a nearby hospital.

My ride partner and pastor, Fr. Pat Connell, called my wife and told her not to worry. How do you say that and not worry someone?

Two hours later I was discharged with a diagnosis of Inadequate electrolytes and fluids which caused a drop in blood pressure and some irregular heartbeat.

I knew better. Last year on RAGBRAI I drank a bottle of G2 ever hour I rode. Not this year. I cheated. I figured I could get some G2 later, drink some more water later. Actually the ER doc said water wouldn't have done much good. I needed the blue, red, yellow or azure stuff. Don't Like the taste? Tough. Cowboy (or girl) up and drink your electrolytes. No rhubarb pie until you finish your azure stuff.

Don't like rhubarb pie? There's some obscure RAGBRAI rule you have at least one slice. I love it.

Drink and Roll on.

THE NIGHT BEFORE THE NIGHT BEFORE

This is about as exciting as two nights before Chrisistmas. There's nothing remotely bikie to do, nothing to check, clean or adjust. Everyone's bikes are loaded safely in the moving van. We are waiting in a motel for the Iowa bus to arrive at 5:30 AM. At least everyone will be with their own kind on the bus. Conversations will drift back towards great rides of the past. Everyone will pull out their best story ("No kidding, there I was...")and those stories will travel up and down the aisle taking care of our hunger for at least a little while for one more ride.

Before the sun rises on Sunday morning that day will will start it's own story and I think it will be a good one.

Tomorrow: the biggest, baddest bike store in the world.

WHY?

In the spring of 2010 I was scooping up paperwork after a church vestry meeting when I casually asked a fellow vestry member if he wanted to ride his bicycle across Iowa with 12,000 other cyclists. With as litte forethought as I had given the question he answered, "Sure." Thus friendships are sealed and mighty quests are set upon.

All that Peter and I knew about RAGBRAI was a little we learned on the web. It was a long ride, 450 miles or so, but we had a whole week and Iowa was pretty flat, right?
Peter and I rode about 650 miles from April to July preparing for the big ride. That seemed like ample practice, right?

After we had ridden up and down Iowa for five days Peter told me he cursed me under his breath the first two days for tricking him into going on RAGBRAI. Then he spent the rest of the week cursing that he might not be able to finish the ride. I guess that was the quest part kicking in.

NOTICE: Iowa is not flat. Iowa is actually borderline mountainous from the viewpoint of someone sitting on a bicycle seat, AND 650 miles might seem like quite a distance to ride if you are a newbie, but it doesn't even start to be enough for RAGBRAI.

I remember after the first day I hurt all over. I wondered what a rider did who wanted to throw in the towel, tuck his rear wheel between his legs and quietly go home. That's when someone mentioned there is no whining allowed on RAGBRAI. The next morning I found enough energy to ride one more day, and one more and another until I rode my bike into the Mississippi River on the last day. That is the tradition. You dip your rear wheel in the Missouri when you start and your front wheel in the Mississippi when you finish.

This ride is not fun but it is a wonderful adventure. The only thing that is scripted about the ride is where you will spend each night. Somewhere in the next campground there is a tent space with your number on it. In between camp sites there are sites to be seen, people to be met, incredible food to be eaten and ample libations to be libated.

Last year I rode a while with a 76 year old woman who had done 26 rides across Iowa in a row. I rode along with a woman from Chicago who carried her little Terrier in a basket on the back of her bike. If anyone wanted a photo of this cute critter they had to fork over a donation to the Chicago animal shelter. There was an entire team dressed in banana costumes. Really. I met a recently retired preacher, the last circuit riding Methodist minister in the state of Iowa. He rode the last few years of his circuit on his bicycle. Susan Farago was staying in our campground. She is one of the greatest cycling athletes in the US. Check her training site online.

This is Thursday night. Early on Sunday morning another adventure begins.

That's why. That's why I do it.

Roll on.

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