Day 4:
All I can think about as I get up is that I only have to ride 60 miles, or 45 miles less than every day thus far. It's raining. I try to spin it positive - you can't spell "rain" without ANI. :) That puts a smile on my face.
I eat at Panera, get the usual egg souffle and cheese pastry. It's got to be good cycling food because it keeps me fat. Leaving Ames, there is a slight mist which becomes heavy rain. I have my rain coat on and rear blinkey going but so many semi-trucks are passing me by that I feel like a fish out of water. A gentleman in Ames tells me to look for a bike trail that leads to Ankeny. 3 mile detour and no trail.
Traveling quickly now, I make it to Indianola by 10:30 am. Pizza Hut is the worst, but I still eat their buffet as if $10 for pig slop is cheap. It fills the void. Meander downtown to find the town square. Met a nice couple that let me shower in their home. Big, hot tile shower. Overall, it was clean. I told her compared to the normal shower bikers are offered on RAGBRAI, I would eat off the floor of her dirty shower.
They offer me a bed to stay in and a dryer for my wet clothes. Don and his wife are top notch. They drop me off downtown with dry clothes. I eat good tonight, it's RAGBRAI and I can finally feel the buzz. 55 miles today, 15 mph average. 4 hours on bike.
1 comment:
You should quit your job and become a creative writer for the Pioneer Press
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