Back from Iowa

I made it! 477 miles in 7 days. And it seems more fun the longer I have to reflect back on it. Ha. I think the high point was definitely the times my group and I were able to get in the perfect pace lines. Some guy had a trailer on the back of his bike with a big solar-powered stereo on it. He had a friend ride in front and beside him, and then two well formed lines trailed behind him of other riders right on each other's wheels. The end result was that the front people were breaking the wind for all the following riders and we were all able to just fly. And the stereo would be cranking out great music and it felt like I could just go forever. Fabulous.

The riding got harder on subsequent days - my bike weighs a lot more than most road bikes which meant that I had a harder job on hills than my friends. I ended up biking alone quite a bit the last two days, but I didn't really mind. After all I had trained alone.

For my own records, I packed and trained pretty well. If I ever do this again I should remember to start with 45 sunblock, especially on my lips, and apply it twice a day right from the beginning to avoid sunburn. And bring long shirts and pants just in case I get burned anyway. Also, I should bring some kind of camelback so that I can drink while biking. And lemonade or tang powder for when I can't stand the water anymore. The easy to set up tent and pack towels were both excellent choices. I brought tennis shoes and Tevas, and those were great choices of shoes.

Anyway, so now I'm taking this week off and starting work next Monday. I just finished reading Harry Potter 7, but I won't say any more about that except I read it in like 24 hours. I reassembled my bike (which survived well on the planes, I'm happy to say... it fit in a ski back and half a bike box for the wheels...) and I'll have to try it out here and make sure it's tuned up well for riding again. I'm going to be working on thesis revisions pretty soon here, and the paper I submitted for a journal was accepted with only minor revisions (whee!) so I'll be making those this week I imagine. And finally, I may start packing. Chris and I are moving at the end of August to a cute house in Sunnyvale that my friend Steph owns and we're renting from her. Lots of excitement!

Oh, and one more thing, I should mention that my companions in Iowa were really fun. It was great to spend so much time with Jill and her husband and father. They're a really fun (and funny) group. Actually Jill's grandma (who we stayed with in Council Bluffs) is incredibly funny too. So many of the people I knew in high school have changed practically beyond recognition, but Jill knows me as well now as ever. I'm very lucky to have such a fun and adventurous friend.

Uh... what town is this again?

It's hard to keep track of all the towns we pass through. I think we're in Dyersville now - scene of the ball park from Field of Dreams, from what I understand. It stormed last night and then was overcast all day today (and therefore cooler) and so we got in much faster than on previous days and it seemed easier too. We didn't have to stop near as much as on previous days. I can't believe I've biked more than 400 miles in the last 6 days. Whew! I regained some appetite, which is good, and I think I've been drinking pleanty. I managed to rig up some pants and a bandit mask to cover my poor burned lips and legs. So, all in all, things are perking up. Though I have to tell you it is SO HARD to get on that bike in the morning. Surely not as hard for me as for the people on uprights - at least I have a pretty comfy seat. Woo hoo! Almost over!

Apelton

Rest stop just past the half way mark. I'm so hot and tired. The route has gotten more hilly and the towns we pass are much more populated. It's a good thing I'm trying to be so tough for the people I'm traveling with because otherwise I would be whining about how I'm sick of ants and lines and port-a-potties. Jill told me yesterday that she was impressed with how well I had trained on my own. To tell the truth, I'm impressed with me also. I didn't expect to be doing as well as this. That said, this is probably the toughest physical thing I have ever done.

Yesterday at dinner we found a 7th day adventist church serving vegi sloppy joes. That might be the best food I've ever eaten. Time to go find water again... I can't stand the taste of water at all any more. Fortunately I still have lots of lemonade powder.

Sorry for the whining. I'm hot. It's tired. I've biked like 250 miles in the last 4 days. But I'm surviving. It's even pretty fun too... at least that's what I'm feeling the longer I sit in this air conditioned trailer. He he...

Hampton

I'm in Hampton today. It's still hot but I think it's cooler than yesterday. We went 71 miles and I managed to beat two of my team's riders into camp. I'm continually amazed by how much faster it is to bike behind someone else who's breaking the wind for you. Amazingly I'm kind of having to force myself to eat. I don't really feel that hungry a lot of the times we stop but you have to eat to be able to ride more. Well, there's a line for the internet so I'm off for now.

Humboldt

Hello from Humboldt, Iowa. I was told by another RAGBRAI rider that Iowa stands for Idiots Out Wandering Around. I guess me and the 10,000 other bikers are those idiots. I'm hot and burned and I biked just over 77 miles today which is my longest ever ride, which followed yesterday, at just under 77 miles. I've learned the happiness of riding in packs - when you draft off of other people you can go so much faster than alone. For several miles today I averaged 19 mph! I also learned that you have to drink MASSIVE amounts of water. I didn't understand where the water was all going but I think I figured it out today. Whenever I stop the sweat pours off of me. I think while I'm biking the sweat's just evaporating. At a crazy rate. I have trouble choking down the amount of water I need to be ok so I bought some powdered lemonade today and then it went down easier.

I can't even begin to describe the huge numbers of people all biking. It's a constant stream as far as the eye can see. Amazing. Unfortunately there's not much to see. Corn, soybeans and pig farms. (Pew-ee.) But it's fun anyway. Ok. Someone else needs to use the internet. Bye for now!

Howdy from McCall

Hello from McCall, ID. Chris and I have been up here with the rest of Chris's family celebrating his father's birthday. I have a bunch of photos from the past couple of months that you'll get to see if you click on any of these links! So far the excitement here has included lots of eating, biking around, a fabulous massage, and a swim to an island in the middle of Lake Payette to get a geocache. I've been relaxing and proofreading my thesis to get it ready to turn in and reading the 5th and 6th Harry Potter books... very relaxing!

Defense passed!

Hey y'all - I passed my defense! At least that's what I'm assuming since the professors all came downstairs and said congratulations. He he. It went quite well - my moms made some great food and it was a packed house. I thought since it was summer time that not many people would be able to make it, but it was standing room only. The open session went really well, or so I hear from the listeners. The closed session also went pretty well - they only asked me questions for about an hour and then decided that I passed within about 10 minutes. Apparently it wasn't all that debatable. Anyway, I'm glad that's over! Now I just have to write a thesis....

You should know it's your last

My mom and I were sharing a bag of Twizzlers Nibs (mmm... my favorite...) and she saved the last couple for me with the explanation that you should never eat your last one and not know it was your last. It's funny, I've always felt this way but I don't think I ever told anyone about it. Like when Chris eats the last bite of something and I wasn't wanting very much more but I'm always disappointed that I didn't get that one last bite I knew about. Weird.

Anyway, we went and drove Chris's experimental car today, and that was very fun. I about made myself barf doing donuts on the roof of the parking garage. I also bought a ton of produce at the farmers' market this morning and ate crepes there. Yum....

Back from VA

Chris and I went to Lynchburg this weekend to visit my sister and had a really nice and relaxing time. We met the new bebe and I visited with my parents (who were up from TN) and we knitted and read and ate watermelon and chatted and just generally had a lovely time. I'm always surprised by which trips I go on turn out to be the lovely relaxing kind and which turn out to be a big pain. This, luckily, was the former. Now we're back in California and I have a week to get myself ready to defend. Woo hoo!