Day 4 - RAGBRAI - 44.4 miles

Sleeping in a hotel bed and taking a long hot shower makes a huge difference. Yesterday, I wasn't sure I'd be able to ride, but when I woke up today, I wasn't nearly as sore and I knew I was ready to ride...especially since it was only 44 miles. It's funny saying that, considering that I used to think 15 miles was a lot. But after finishing two consecutive 70+ days, 40+ miles is a walk in the park. That's exactly what it was. The weather was perfect, the scenery beautiful, and I had a great time riding. I didn't even feel the 44 miles pass and was actually surprised when we arrived at the final town of Chariton well in advance of what we expected. I think I'm also getting used to riding with Rick on the tandem. We had a good rhythm and communicated effectively, except at the very beginning, where he scraped a layer of skin off my shin when he pedaled before my second foot was up. In a way, that was a smart thing to do. It distracted me from the pain in my rear and quads, and focused it on my shin (which is now sporting a lovely bruise that matches the one on my inner knee).

Speaking of pain, I've seen a surprising number of accidents in the last 4 days of riding, I have seen at least 6 bad ones where people have been placed on stretchers and then whisked away in an ambulance. Some I've seen with neck braces, and others I've been so close as to hear that the guy couldn't move his legs. You just hate to hear someone screaming "rider down!" It's hard to want to get on the bike afterwards, but you have to go on.

Now for the not so serious. At the town Milo, Rick amused the crowd with his karaoke rendition of Neil Diamond's Cracklin' Rosie. It was a riot listening to him sing it. He wasn't too bad, but think, here we are in Iowa, and this Asian guy is singing a Neil Diamond song while a guy dressed up in an 12-ft Army doll suit is bobbing to the rhythm. The karaoke was sponsored by the National Guard. Another rider stopped Rick when we were going to the showers and said she caught him on video too and will include him in her family video!

Now for some miscellaneous items. I found a different type of music these last four days. No, it wasn't someone's stereo blaring out tunes. It was the sound of gears clicking. I noticed it most when I was riding the Trek. I would hear the clicks going up the hill and then down the hill. With so many riders, there are just so many clicks at different times.

Going back to food, I thought cow was the animal of choice, but maybe I'm wrong, maybe it's pig. There's my favorite Mr. Pork Chop (only on the road though), but then there's also pork on a stick, jumbo deep-fried pork loin sandwiches (I think the diameter is close to 0.75 ft), and I'm not sure if this counts, but jumbo foot-long corn dogs. I can't handle that kind of grease, so I laid off and ate pasta and chicken curry with rice. Such a New Yorker! I also saw a team called Ride for Pork with pigs all over their jerseys.

I can't hear myself think anymore sitting in the townsquare listening to a band called Hairball sing 80s rock songs. I'll try to write about the various people I've seen over these past few days...from the large to the small and from the way overdressed to the nearly naked.