On the way to Forest City: Bancroft!
Bancroft is where Mr. Pork Chop lives
And Tom and I were there to relive the 2005 ride with Paul Bernhard’s pork chop stand by the side of the road. Paul Bernhard, AKA Mr. Pork Chop is still recovering from a broken hip, but he held his porkchop ‘court’ in the middle of town in a gazebo so he could meet his adoring fans. He even had his own ‘Pork Chop Duet’ as mentioned in the Register.
We didn’t make it into Forest City
Only the bad ass Ragbrai riders ditch the overnight town and party in the town before the main town. We didn’t do this on purpose; We just couldn’t find a camping area in Forest City.
Crystal Lake
Wow! How nice was this! See? Only a few tents next to the lake! What could be better than that? Well, how about an air conditioned cabin near the lake? Yep, no camping for us tonight! That’s the way to do it, you betcha! Note: Yes, we thought that this was yet another opportunity to play in the water as in the two previous nights, but there was a sign that warned us of something called “Swimmers Itch” or cercarial dermatitis that turned us away. Too bad, it would have been a perfect night!