Days 35-36: Resting up then pigging out

Days 35-36
Destination: The road to RAGBRAI
Thursday’s mileage: 50. Total: 1,985

An early-morning Super 8 start (Yay, air conditioning!) and now it’s time for RAGBRAI. Here we go!

It’s hot out here, so after grinding for another 50 miles in the near-100 degree heat on Thursday, Melody and I holed up in a hotel in Omaha (AC!) while we waited for the start of RAGBRAI. Saturday morning, I’ll head off for a 35-mile (or so) trip to Glenwood, Iowa, where I’ll meet up with our awesome team — Sally’s Folly — which is named in honor of my cousin Sally Byrne, who’s making her third appearance in the corn.

My cousin Mike Henderson has been our team leader. He’s been the point person dealing with all the particulars about this ride. And he’s doing his seventh or eighth (I think) RAGBRAI. He says it’s also his last, as he turns 70 this year. The man is a bike riding monster, though. He’ll be out there riding until his wheels don’t spin anymore.

Sally’s daughter Shannon will be back for her second run and she’ll be joined by our daughter, Jenna, her boyfriend, Alex, Jenna’s friend Dana and her dad, Greg. I’m sure we’ll have a great time, even though it’s going to be a little steamy, especially at the start. Melody will get to take a break from dealing with me, but she’s adding video-making duties for our charter company, Pork Belly Ventures, to her list of tasks this week. The woman loves to tell stories and I’m sure she’ll find plenty this week.

As I mentioned in the last post, it’ll be a little tricky to blog while we’re biking and camping across Iowa. We’ll certainly do some social media stuff on Facebook, Instagram, etc., but blogging might have to wait for a week or so. The trip across Iowa, though, is special. If you’re a biker, I highly recommend putting this on your to-do list at some point in the future. The people of Iowa are sweethearts and sharing the road with 10,000-15,000 other bike riders is a spectacle you don’t see every day.

I’m sure I’ll be eating plenty of pie, so keep an eye peeled for that on our social media channels. But pie will not be the only thing I eat. I’m expecting to go big on Mr. Pork Chop, root beer floats, sweet corn, and lots and lots of chocolate milk. As my good buddy David Braunger once told me during my first RAGBRAI: “If you lose weight during the RAGBRAI, you’re doing it wrong.” I’m all about doing things the right way, so gluttony it is.

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Oh, and one more thing: I’ll cross the 2,000-mile threshold when I arrive in Glenwood tomorrow morning. I think I’m pretty well trained for this cross-Iowa ride.