. . . or is it BRAG-rai??
In any case, the Register (newspaper) Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa has been going on for nearly 40 years now! And it truly is a ride all the way across the state, new route each year, averaging 470-some miles a year! (They do this in one week!)
Sister Karen and hubby Clint have done the ride more than a few times, and this year, along with their friends Bob and Cynthia from Sacramento and another 20,000-plus riders, they did it again!
Harold and I left Oshkosh in plenty of time to meet up with the pedal-pushers at the end of their ride in Davenport yesterday. Our route took us southwest out of Wisconsin, past more of that awesome farmland . . .
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| leaving Wisconsin |
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| Crossing the Mississippi into Dubuque, Iowa |
Friday afternoon, rolled into Davenport and camped for the night in the Isle of Capri Casino parking lot, where the RAGBRAI support vehicles would pull in the next day.
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| The "dip site" on the "Mississip" - the night before! (The RAGBRAI tradition is to dip your wheel in the Missouri at the start & the Mississippi at the finish!) |
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| Some cool RAGBRAI sculpture |
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| Yours truly taking a dip of her own! |
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| Pondering the mighty river as it was steadily rising! (The fireman in the boat there told us the river was expected to crest Sunday, up & over this sidewalk!) |
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| Blondie & Kiwi (see them back there?) brought us to RAGBRAI. (But they did not get dipped!) |
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| Dip site scene at ride's end |
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| Jeanne, Sara, Clint, Barbara, George, Bill, Allison & Coco, riders & support for "our" RAGBRAI team! |
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| Bob, Cynthia, Karen & Clint post-ride ! ! Woohoo - you did it! Don't they look amazingly fresh! WoW! |
Then it was time to pile into the RV and head for Chicago. Hotel and showers waiting for them there, and a flight home to Sacramento the next day.
Harold did a great job of getting us all from Davenport to the windy city. He drank coffee while the rest of us downed a few cold ones. Then we girls realized it was wine time, so we had our own little party at the table! And before we knew it we were there!
Harold was determined to drop them at their hotel, right in the city center! For some weird reason he seemed to relish the challenge of maneuvering our monster (RV towing fully-loaded truck!) through the Chicago city traffic. Well, we made it, but he does not recommend the "adventure" to others! (And he said later HE would NOT do it again!)
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| Cynthia & Clint (co-navigating in the city) & Bob |
Driving through Chicago, amazing, cool architecture - everywhere you look!
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| Wilco Towers Iconic Chicago apartment buildings in the Marina District |
No valet parking for us! And, unfortunately, we could not find a place to park the rig, so we dropped the four at the hotel door and snaked our way out of that big beautiful city. We stopped for the night in Laport, Indiana, where we had a restful night at Camp Walmart.
Fun to meet up with family and friends along our route! It was so great to see Karen & Clint and visit with Cynthia and Bob at the end of RAGBRAI! Bye, you guys - it really was FUN!!
And now - we'll wind our way towards Lexington, Kentucky. Looking forward to a visit with son Paul there!
