DAY 4 - Rest Day (should have been 51.8 miles, 1,180 elevation)

After much discussion, Rick and I decided to just drive the support vehicle to the next overnight town of Charles City. We figured, let Dean, Carol, Pete and Mary ride the entire day and get the full RAGBRAI experience. It's the first time for all of them except Pete. If they like it enough, they'll join us the next time. I was also looking forward to a day off. I was sunburnt, my rear hurt, my legs had a dull ache, and quite frankly, I was just exhausted. We ended up staying at the hotel until just a little before check out time. I took another shower just for good measure. I was enjoying the indoor plumbing as much as possible. When we finally got to Charles City, we picked a perfect little place to camp, set up our little lawn chairs and just hung out waiting for the others. It was fun and relaxing. During that time, I was also mapping out how to drop our bags off on the baggage truck in the morning. I carefully read the RAGBRAI papers to make sure I knew when and where to drop off the bags. It was going to be a relief not to lug 60 lb of gear. The day was a perfectly crisp and warm day. The humidity had dropped after a rough overnight thunderstorm that included lightning touching nearby the campground. I'm glad we were in a hotel that night. While we were waiting for the others to arrive, Rick and I went to the HyVee to buy chips, sweets and beer for everyone. The group finished up around 2:30pm and stuck around talking about the ride and enjoying Shinerbocks and snacks until about 3:30pm. I was kind of sad to see them go. It was so nice to relax in a group setting and just talk about the days events. I really hope that if there is a next time, they will join in on the entire ride.