Wednesday, July 23

This is a 1-4 day update.

We started on Sunday with a crazy crowd of people.  

We met Helen who is 91 years old.  She was a wonderful greeter for city.

Monday we had some real excitement. Cyndy our riding partner suffered heat exhaustion and was taken by ambulance to the hospital.  She was released the same night. We chose as a group to all take the bus to the next town. We enjoyed a nice afternoon in Forest City.  Forest City is the county seat of Winnebego County.  Yes that Winnebego!

  In Winnebego,  we  went to the Baptist church looking for pie. We were told that pie wasn't to be served for two hours. I explained that we were from California we never get strawberry rhubarb pie. They told me to wait and brought us some wonderful pie!

It was the dinner time!  You have to love ragbrai!!

Today was amazing. It was actually chilly when we started riding! Cyndy needed not to ride, but Chuck (her husband), Jeanne and I went.

Stop one was with the Lions Club--beakfast burritos and chocolate milk. (Yummy)

Then it was to Mr. Porkchop. Amazing chops cooked over burning corn cobs. 

Then it was to Clear Lake. This city is perfect!  It felt like we were in a parade with all the locals clapping and cheering. Kids giving high fives as you road by. I met Milt who is 83 and talked with him about his life. Then, in passing, someone else mentioned the Surf Ballroom. This was the place Buddy Holly played in before the music died.  It was really cool. I stood on the stage and took it all in.

We then headed for our overnight city, Mason City. It is the home of a Frank Lloyd Wright designed hotel. It is also the home of Lutheran Church. We talked with the Pastor and enjoyed more pie!! Best of all I was preveliged to meet Betty. She was 92 and cleaning tables. Her smile and servant heart were fun to see.

 Now it is off to bed. No Bret Michaels for us tonight. 70 plus miles to ride tomorrow.

Bonus: Can you identify this costume?

This was written on an IPhone and not proofed. I apologize for the errors!

Fireflies

It is fun to be mystified by what others find mondain. We spent the evening watching the beauty of lightning bugs. Joy and amazement of God's creation. 

Heading to Rock Valley, Iowa

The ride to Iowa has been wonderful.  Jeanne is the best copilot anyone could ask for. We left home early Wednesday morning heading for Grand Juction, CO. We listened to a book on tape and enjoyed our time together.

Our hotel in Grand Junction was very nice. We had dinner at a local brew pub. The beer was cold and the food was hot... a perfect meal.

Thursday we headed for Denver and a meet-up with Nathaniel. We picked Nathaniel in Sedalia, CO. He looked great. It had been three months and he was looking svelt and smiling. I am very proud of what he has done. We headed to our hotel in Denver.  We were treated to an awesome 2 room suite (thank you Laura). We headed to the art district for dinner. After dinner was a trip to REI for a replacement tent. Nathaniel's tent had seen better days. It was time now to sit and enjoy Nathaniel. We talked at the hotel and then headed over to World of Beers.  Stories were shared, laughs heard, and love felt. Sadly we had to go to bed for our adventure to continue the next day. 

Friday started with breakfast with Nathaniel. We offered him a ride as long as he wished. He passed. His walk is his. We bid Nathaniel a fond farewell and headed toward Omaha.

In Omaha we met up with our friends, Cyndy and Chuck Gamache, and enjoyed a dinner next to stadium that hosts the College World Series.

Friday met us with the expectation and excitement of a new adventure.  We boarded then bus to the starting city. I am writing this while traveling to Rock Valley.

PRE-RAGBRAI POST

Our 2014 RAGBRAI trip starts tomorrow.  You can follow our trip on this blog.