Last night we stopped at a campground in Coralville, Iowa, outside of Iowa City. We were thinking of going farther, but when we stopped for dinner at the World’s Largest Truck Stop, we were mesmerized by the selection of trucking apparatus and memorabilia. We packed up in the morning, and it was starting to rain. Looking online on our smart phones, we could see a band of weather that seemed to be following I-80 to Chicago. Ron did all the driving, and the rain came and went all day. At one point the traffic was backed up, and we saw a news report that 6 trucks turned over. We thought it might be the wind, which was not especially strong, but we figured it could have been a gust coming through a gap in trees.
We eventually get to Glenwood, Iowa, which is south of Council Bluffs. We can see evidence of the Missouri river flooding, There is a spanking new semi-truck dealership next to the highway, but no tucks, only a 6 foot wall of sandbags next to the building. The effect of RAGBRAI on a small town like Glenwood is phenomenal. They have to recruit every available public building such as the high school, middle school and elementary school to allow tents and campers and have meals available for the riders. We are at middle school, getting one of the last spots in their parking lot. We take a metal grate footbridge across to the high school grounds, where more tents and campers are setup, along with rows and rows of bike supply vendors. After a few hours wandering the aisles and swiping the credit card a few times, there is a ceremonial flyover by a B2 stealth bomber. It really crept on the crowd, and you did not hear it until it past, but only saw it because other people happened to notice the bat winged form against gathering storm clouds. Very impressive American military technology.
In less than an hour, the storm clouds opened up. The rain was not so bad, but the officials sounded the tornado siren, even though there were no funnel clouds. I guess they decided to err on the side of caution, so we all huddled inside the schools until it passed over.
We get a pasta dinner at the elementary school and go back to our trailer. We have a 35 foot Dutchmen, with four separate beds, bathroom, shower, kitchen with microwave, fridge. We have AC, but at the high school, we are limited to running the generator, which is another gas expense. We run the AC to cool off the humidity caused by the short storm, have a beer, and watch a documentary about RAGRAI called ”A Million Spokes” . It tells the story about the founding of RAGBRAI 39 years ago by two Des Moines Register Reporters, and how it grew, first as an Iowa institution, then as a bicycling classic. The movie focuses on 4-5 stories: a guy honoring his deceased wife by getting his friends to memorialize his wife by riding RAGBRAI; a 21 year old “virgin” riding his first RAGBRAI, and a couple whose love of cycling and athletic pursuits brought them together. The movie also shows the character and diversity of people coming over, from all over the country and the world. One of the RGBRAI traditions is the “teams” that people form, like “Team Gnarly”, “Team Slow as Molasses”, “Crank Addicts”. They retrofit old school busses, with metal rails and bike racks on top to hold their bikes and luggage. The busses are painted and decorated with the team colors and slogans, some pretty risqué. These teams, especially, bring the party atmosphere that makes RAGBRAI as much as a rolling party as it is a bike ride. On team Gnarly, the husband, was in the military, and talks about his buddies watching his wife out for his wife on RAGBRAI while he was in Iraq. When he related having his transport overturned by a bomb, he got a little choked up how close he came to leaving his wife a young widow.
When we started watching the movie, my stomach did not feel so good after having seconds of dinner, and the cumulative effect of the heat and the humidity. But after watching the movie, I was so pumped up to be part of the RAGBRAI experience, that I rode the mile and a half to the town square with John. We could feel the energy converging there, and hear the bands on the old-time town square with a courthouse and park. We rode back to look for our friends, and texted them that we would e at the concert.
We laid our bikes down on a hill, not bothering with locks since there were hundreds of other, better bikes to be had, if a thief wanted them. We went through the entrance, our 50 year + old faces saving us getting carded. (It is John’s Birthday today!) We were meandering by a table to buy beer tckets, when I saw a group, one of them in a Team Gnarly jersey, and a buff, dark-haired woman with short hair. That was the wife of the Iraq vet in the “Million Spokes Video”. So wild, seeing her in person after seeing her on screen a half hour ago. But not so surprising, because RAGRAI is annual ritual for a lot of people. We gravitate towards their group, and I convince John that it really is that woman (Angela) on the DVD. So, he asks her, and she confirms it. We compliment her on her candor on the DVD and sharing the experience of herself and her husband. We talk for awhile, and I compare her celebrity to my wife being on the Energizer commercial for the Chicago Marathon. Laura was seen by millions on network TV, but it was only for a minute. Angela’s was a smaller audience, but their story really came out in the movie. That prompts her to tell me that she and her husband ran the Chicago Marathon, and we find out that we have that in common, as well as running the Boston Marathon. It was an interesting encounter, and I think subconsciously it validated my belief that runners can be strong cyclists. We have a few beers to celebrate John's birthday, listen to the band, and head back to camp.
