Roadside Mysteries

As if Five Island Lake was not enough, back in town there was a FREE WASH STATION:

The Diamondback Roadbike gets it’s chainring cleaned!

Good timing on this one. There was caked on dirt on the cassette from riding just a few miles of gravel road when I took a slight detour around the lake. I played banjo while waiting in the line…

The WD 40 Team asked me to play in the lube area

I’ve never been requested to work the lube area before! A Ragbrai first if there ever was one. I think they felt sorry for me and my old bike; they gave me a bunch of free WD40 chain lube applicators and a WD40Bike hat.

It’s what’s for dinner?

One of Mike and Tricia’s kids found this bison scull in the lake and brought it in for us to take a look.

Time for some jammin with the neighbors in town

We had heard some Irish bagpipes and saw that some musicians were riding around in a gold cart so we tried to flag them down. Nope, too old and tired at this point. Anyhow, we found some people just sitting around looking for to jam, so there we are!

Tonight we camp on the front yard of Mike and Tricia’s in Emmetsburg. And it’s near Five Island Lake so we had more fun in the water.

In fairly early for the in-town festivities

The route was only 40 miles and it gave us plenty of time to set up camp and check out the town. Emmetsburg was named after the Irish nationalist Robert Emmet and was settled by potato famine immigrants from Ireland around 1852.

Yet another Bike Club?

The Psycho Bikers may be a club or it basically sums up the whole damn group of 10K+ cyclists who invade Iowa every year at this time.

Not everyone has the luck of the Irish

On can only assume that her bike wheel needed fixing and she had to walk into the town to find one of the bike mechanics on tour with the Ragbrai. Note: The people who fix bikes on this ride are the Best In The World!

Today is a reported 69.2 mile route through Hull, Boyden, Sheldon, Melvin and May City.

First day: Nice day: not too hot at least

A Stop in Melvin for the Moose shot

Apparently a moose once walked into the town of Melvin and the town has made an event out of it, not just for Ragbrai. The locals ask if you want your picture taken with the “moose” on the wagon, so here it is. Our group camped out at the Emerson Bay campground instead of in the town of Okoboji and I didn’t ride into town to see what was going on because the bay was ideal for an afternoon dip. Then there were mosquitoes! Tons of them!

Silly and Goofy were there

A number of Ragbrai ‘virgins’ were reminded on this trip that they will have to get up the next morning and do it all over again. And it is true, you are either silly or goofy to do this one time in your life.

Day one of Ragbrai started in Rock Valley, but our Denver team ‘Fly Girl and Tag-alongs’ actually started in Sioux Center to avoid the crowds (possibly):

A family’s land provided the Tent City

All the similar looking tents on the left are provided by a Ragbrai charter service called ‘Pork Belly Ventures’. It looks quite tidy to have all those tents lined up in neat little rows, all looking the same. I’ve never used a charter service and I’m not sure if I would be able to find my tent especially at night (which is usually when I roll into town). The owners of the land called it McGillville.

The McGillville Family

Well, most of it.  Although we were spending the night in a hotel in Sioux Center, we rode down to Rock Valley to check out the bike expo.

Someone with pink hair

I think she was there to do some face painting or something like that mostly for the local children in the area as these parties tend to draw plenty of the non-cyclist crowd. The ones on the ride have to get up early the next morning and ride!

Ragbrai Bike Expo

We arrived fairly early and found out that helicopter rides were available near the ball field. So I tagged along with the ‘Fly Girls’ and shared a ride with them. This was some money making scheme for the ‘copter pilot and his friends. It was a quick in and out, no waiver required, just a fast 5 minutes in the air and then on to the next one. No incidents this time.

Tent city in Rock Valley

So maybe around 10,000 riders came into Rock Valley for the start of the great feast of the Ragbrai. They spent the night, got up around 5:30 the next morning, packed up and most of the hoard was gone by 10:30. The ride has begun!

On the last day:

Eugene, the Piano Peddler

I may have also heard Alicia Rau playing her little trumpet at the tire dip near the re-created Fort Madison fort.

Inside the fort, some banjo music

Interviewed by Tiny Circus, the last on the list. What a strange trip it has been.