Links to other sites on the Web
Hi! This is my chronicle of exploits on the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa ®, better known as RAGBRAI®. I will be updating this as opportunity arises during the ride.
March 2, 1999
New! Galen's photos from RAGBRAI XXVI.
July 28, 1998
Just a note to say I probably won't get a chance to update this page for a week or so. I finished the ride, made it home on schedule, and am hosting my mother and her sister for a week. Four rolls of film are being processed as I write, so with luck, I'll be able to put together an interesting web scrapbook soon.
Reminders to myself for things to write about:
--Galen
July 23, 1998 Cedar Falls, IA
Sheesh! Four days of the ride down and this is the first opportunity I've had to access the web. Sorry for the lack of updates. This update provided courtesy of Duane, Nadine and John Bartak, my distant cousins and hosts here in Cedar Falls.
The ride has been great so far. On Friday, I flew into Moiline, IL and caught a cab to Ross' Restaurant in Bettendorf, IA where the RADPAN bus was to pick me up. The wait staff became increasingly concerned as my visit stretched into its fifth hour but Jim and Pat Clark joined me about 4:00 Saturday morning. The bus finally appeared about 5:30 a.m. and we were off!
The ride Sunday was hilly and very warm, although not quite as hot as recent rides in Texas.
But Monday was a different matter. It was entirely as hot as Texas and a long 82 mile ride to boot. The water at Twin Lakes State Park was the only real relief and it was nearly at the end of the day. Fortunately, it was just before the out-of-town beer garden, so we imbibed a little. Riding the rest of the way to town in the dark was a challenge, but not nearly as challenging as finding the bus hidden in a tree-filled park. It was stiflingly hot Monday night, too.
Tuesday morning, a thunderstorm threatened as we left camp and we sometimes rode in crosswinds so strong we had to lean our bikes over 15 or 20 degrees to compensate. This day was as flat as Iowa gets, that is, except for Pilot Mound hill. This hill was awesome (to use a modern term). I reached a maximum speed of 50 MPH on the 200 foot descent! Of course, in cycling, what goes down must come up. The 300 foot climb was by far the most difficult single incline I've succesfully ascended. My quads felt like fire!
Wednesday was century day. There are stories to tell but I'm out of time! I'll have to write more later. Stay tuned...
--Galen
July 17, 1998
Travel day is here. I'm psyched! (Does that term date me?)
Today is going to be a long day. I'm flying to the Quad Cities (Moline, IL, Bettendorf, IA and a couple of others) this evening. The bus isn't going to pick me up in Bettendorf until early Saturday morning. I hope the folks at Ross' Restaurant make good coffee. I hope they don't mind accomodating my bike and duffels.
The Des Moines Register's map of the full route isn't very easy to read but you can start with Sunday's daily map to see things better.
I've been looking at the amount of climb we have to do. Sunday and Monday look to be the worst, but the valley near Pilot Mound on Tuesday takes you down 200 feet and then back up 300 feet in the space of 1.5 or 2 miles. Yikes! Too bad all that downhill momentum won't be enough to make it up the other side.
Well, I'm off to the airport. Tune in next week to see if I've been able to add an update from the road.
--Galen
July 13, 1998
I will be riding again this year with Team RADPAN. Jeff Dunn's converted school bus is the ultimate RAGBRAI vehicle. It even has a self-contained, hot, shower. The team hails out of Arlington, Virginia (I found them via the Internet), so I don't get to see them except during the ride. I'm looking forward to carousing with the team again.
--Galen
Please come back soon.
--Galen
P.S. Please take a moment to look over my guestbook and perhaps leave a comment of your own.
Links to other sites on the Web
RAGBRAI Home Page
Team RADPAN Home Page
Official RAGBRAI History
R. Bruhn's Unofficial Best and Worst of RAGBRAI (much more informing than the preceding entry)
Dave's RAGBRAI Pages (new photos daily during the ride!)
Galen's photos from RAGBRAI XXV
View Guestbook
Sign Guestbook
Email Galen
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