Nothing to do in your hometown? Well you sure as hell cant scoot, ride or skate here either
Cedar Rapids to Anamosa 43 Miles
Today started off wonderfully, the cool air seemed to hang through the first fifteen miles. Staying so close to the winding river kept the first stretch of the day’s brief 43 miles considerably more relaxing than expected. We passed a few interesting information booths from local groups passing out information on various human things. Ending corporate personhood table topped my list of things that gave me hope on the ride.
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We sent our co-worker Hershal Walker out to Iowa to ride the annual RAGBRAI ride. If you haven’t heard about RAGBRAI it’s the largest supported ride in the country (RAGBRAI= Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa). Some 7500 participants riding across the state of Iowa and camping each night.
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camp in Marshalltown before the storm rolled in
Marshalltown to Cedar Rapids 85 Miles
Good thing we were prepared for last night’s storm because things were well saturated when Logan threw me out of the tent shortly before 6 am. The rain seemed to cool the ground a bit as the morning started a little later than usual. Forgetting his Fairdale Kit on top of the tent seemed to make it hard to put on, shamed further by changing in the middle of the campsite. A risky move made possible by not tripping.
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There were all types of bikes on this trip. From $17k Specialized builds to some $65.00 huffy mountain bikes. It was nice to see people out on two wheels regardless of how “vintage” “light” “specifically designed” or “custom built” the bike.)
Webster City to Marshalltown 77 Miles
Today was long and straight. There was a lot of time to just sit back and stare at the bikes that seemed to pass on both sides of us all day long. Some of the bikes were pretty wild race machines with aero bars and bladed carbon wheels. Wildly overdone for this type of ride in my opinion, but who am I to judge? I didn’t pedal one time the whole trip.
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the view from camp in Webster city to the north
Lakeview to Webster City 81.2 Miles
Today started early. No alarm clock needed as Logan shoved me out the door at about 5 am. Yesterday’s headwind had made a lot of riders rethink their morning. We packed in a rush and jumped on the bike and hit the road before the sun came up.
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Green machine, Fairdale weekender and out trusty tent.
Cherokee to Lake View 63 Miles
Today started out early with the shuffling of tents and the soothing zipper alarm clock that would become the theme song for me getting tossed out of the tent while things are packed up and loaded onto the semi with everyone else’s gear. Today’s ride will end at a lake, I know I am excited and it seems like Logan is looking forward to a relaxing swim after today’s 63 miles.
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Me surfing and Logan pedaling.
Sioux Center to Cherokee, 55 Miles
The first day started significantly earlier than I thought. The overwhelming sound of zippers proved too difficult to sleep through even tucked soundly under the feet of the sleeping bag. I needed to make sure that Logan had the tent and gear packed up and in the truck by 8 am each morning. One of the benefits of being a registered rider for the event is that they carry your gear in a truck. So you fit all of your camping needs in a duffle bag along with kibble and beef jerky treats and they will carry it to the next camping town where you pick it up and set up camp.
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Making the long drive across Iowa in the back seat of a pick-up truck. What a perfect way to reach the starting point. Thanks to Logan’s parents for the lift.
Day 0-
Today we began our journey from East Moline to Sioux center for the start of RAGBRAI, the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. I was sent out from our office in Austin on a mission to accompany Logan, the gentle human who feeds me and will on occasion take me to fun bike events. He sometimes finds himself in over his head, so I was asked to keep a close eye on him, and document the events of RAGBRAI for this very first Field Trip entry.
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84 miles
In the morning in the hotel I read that heading into SF on the twisty, windy, mountainous and shoulderless highway 1 during evening rush hour was about the worst thing you could do, so that’s exactly what we did.
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109 miles – Raised $1850 for Humane Society so far (today’s the last chance to donate!)
We started our trip out of Fort Bragg in usual fashion. Everyone got spandexed up, stuffed everything back into our bags and then rolled down to the nearest grocery store. Space is huge commodity in my bag so about all I could fit was 4 different energy and nut bars. Refilled my water bottles and took my turn watching the bikes while the other guys did their shopping.
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