Day 4. The short day

RAGBRAI is loaded with traditions. Quirky, fun traditions. I could talk all day about the mystique of RAGBRAI but I won't. I will, however tell you about one of my traditions. When looking at the mileage of the route there is always one "short day" consisting of less than 60 miles. My tradition is to stay up way too late the night before and underestimate the fact I have ridden almost 300 miles so far that week. Our easy little 58 mile day turned out to be a little tougher for most but not for me. I took part in another RAGBRAI tradition,  the SAG. I have talked in years past about the SAG, which is simply put a day off via a car. I was fortunate enough to be near my wife's aunt and uncle Jo and Jerry in Mount Auburn so I stopped in for lunch with aunt Jo, aunt Dyann, cousins Tina and Pam and various children that I am still figuring out who's was who's. When it was mentioned that a ride would be going past the end town of Hiawatha I kicked off my shoes and settled in. I cut 30 miles off my route by the generous ride I was given. It was a great day!

For dinner, which I had plenty of energy for since I only rode 50 miles, we had a cucumber and pineapple salad that may have been a hit of the night, a fresh spring roll with local veggies, a clear noodle with a lemon sauce,  Vietnamese beef dish with hot peppers and peanut sauce on the side and to finish it off we had little individual fresh peach turnovers. The meals keep getting better by the day!! Kudos to our chefs, Dan, Bo & Morgan.

Day 3. Century day

Day 3 for RAGBRAI is always the "Century Loop Day"  what that means is you will have the OPTION to do an extra loop to tack on miles to equal 100 miles in one day. It seems a little silly, but if you do it you get a patch. Yes, a patch!!! The last few years I have done RAGBRAI I have gotten to the town before the loop and decided to skip the loop and take a nap instead. Turns out that was pretty satisfying. This year it was also going to be a game time decision until I started riding with Lynn. Lynn is one of the originals of TEAM CUISINE  from Washington D.C. and she was a whole lot of fun to ride with (amd no, I am not just saying that because she reads this). We laughed so much my stomach hurt when we got back. The tine and the miles just flew by and we were both feeling pretty good so it was a good day for the loop. The town at the halfway point was pretty cool so we stopped for some ice cream and a run down a slip and slide. I do understand that I am too old for that and I deserved the face full of soap I got but it was hot and it felt good.  After my childish behavior we soldiered on and finished the rest of the 100 miles but not before seeing a horse run scared down the middle of the road for about a mile then getting back just in time for dinner. I was relieved to be off the bike and Lynn was thrilled to be rid of me after 11 hours of riding together. It was a great day that's memory will keep me coming back to Iowa over and over.

For the dinner we made by the skin of pur teeth was one I'm glad I didn't miss. First there was a tomato salad similar to a caprese salad but it had watermelons in there. After that we had Johnny cakes along with a history on them and the Cajun influence. Then we had a crawfish boil made with potatoes, andoullie sausage and corn. On top of all that they had a pot of extra crawfish to eat on the side. This one is my favorite of the ride so far but there are still 3 more meals left.

Day 2. Almost as good

I know that I am a day late with this but Tuesday was an interesting day. I will have more on that later.

It will be tough to beat Sunday's ride ever and Monday won't be the one that does it for one main reason, the rain. With some overnight showers beating down on my tent we awoke to heading out at 6:30 am in a steady rain, but at least it was warm. After riding about half the route in the rain the sky cleared up and we had clear skies, no wind and just the right temperature. It turned into just another great day on my bike in Iowa.

The was TEAM CUISINE works is that we travel with a crew of three chefs that prepare meals for ua each day. For that to happen we need housing with a kitchen big enough to cook for 30 people as well as a host that is willing to put up with all of us. Monday nights hosts were friends of my wife's Aunt Diane and Uncle Don and I was lucky enough to see them when they came up for dinner that night. It was an awesome night that seemed like it would be an early night but with our hosts and their guests ready to party, we felt we needed to oblige.

Dinner Monday was Italian. We had a Caesar salad with anchovies, cornbread coated zucchini, a meat and a veggie cavatelli. There was a wine paring that went with it but since I am not a wine guy I have already forgot. As usual, each nights dinner is better than the previous nights and this was no exception.

Day 1. Best. Day. Ever.

Because I want to do a better job of posting the menu this year I will be a day behind with my posts but before I get to tell you about last nights dinner I need to tell you about the Sunday ride.

Go I g I to this year's route I had been a little concerned about day one. It was about 75 miles with 4200 feet of climb. If you think Iowa is flat, I would like to tell you it is not. After riding the first 30 miles I realized it was still early so I laid back and stopped at a bunch of places in the pass through towns as well as side of the road attractions. I saw and rode with a bunch of the members of TEAM CUISINE along the route and we ate, drank and laughed...a lot. It turned out that the hills and miles were eased by hanging out with the great people I have met on this team. Arriving in about 4 I had enough time to set up my tent and take a shower just in time for dinner.

Now, dinner last night had a southern theme to it. We had a homemade cole slaw and a bean salad with a buttermilk biscuit glazed with a honey butter and basil. After that we had vegetarian collared greens with a hickory smoked pork on the side. Paired with it for the wine was a Rose that, from what I was told, was very fruity and the perfect accompanying wine. It was all so delicious that I had several helpings, especially the biscuits.

After dinner a few of us went in to town to see some music. What we did not expect was a very eccentric location in the alley behind a comic book/antique/everything you can imagine store. The band consisted of a single, very talented banjo player that played traditional bluegrass with his own spin. It was worth the extra miles to ride down to cap one of the top 5 days I have ever had on RAGBRAI.

On the bus

Well yesterday was the bus ride and it is amazing how tired you get sitting around all day.

Getting back with the team was very comfortable. It was as if no ti.e passed at all and we were continuing a conversation we just had. The 9 hour ride passed in no time at all.

Last nights dinner was the traditional first night pizza. I ate too much but spent a bug free night in my hammock and slept like a baby, waking up every three hours. I did wake up feeling refreshed and ready for a tough day on the bike.

Training? What does that mean?

Here we are less than a week from the ride and I have less miles ridden than I had hoped.  With the weather and life getting in the way I have not been in the saddle near enough.  So hear's to hoping that ice skating and work is good enough to keep me from driving in a car more than  I ride!