7-15-2006, Saturday - Portland OR to Twin Falls ID

Louie sleeps in and Bec fusses about. We get a late start, but we are on vacation, so who cares. The scenery outside our old RV we call, "The Turtle", zips by as we travel East on Interstate 84. Dust Devils dance about the desert playing tag with the sagebrush. White cotton ball clouds linger over the mountains on each side of us.

The Turtle, after requesting its obligatory quart of oil every two hundred miles, is actually doing well considering our mechanic just told us we are due for a new engine. We keep our speed between 55-60 mph and get an amazing 19 miles to the gallon. We talked about selling it, sending it to the junk heap, or just driving it until it dies. It must have heard us, because it has made a remarkable recovery. However, it still complains up the hills. Bec is happy to have the RV on long drives so she can lie down on the bed when her back gets to bothering her.

We drive on into the night. Before we arrive at Twin Falls we succumb to the call of the sand man and stop at a rest stop to get a bit of rest. The perfume of cattle permeates the air. Local ranchers call it "The smell of money". The rest area is close to the highway but the noise does not bother us. Louie instructs Bec on how to get three earplugs into each ear. He says you have to do it just right or they fall down inside your head.

7-16-2006, Sunday - Twin Falls ID to Moab UT

Bec awakens early. She tries to sneak out before Louie wakes up, but to no avail. Our current fantasy is to make it to Arches National Park today. There is a 40-mile scenic drive we want to ride. It is early morning and it is already 80 degrees. Even the rocks are wilting. In Brigham, Utah the mountains are covered in a yellow haze, possibly from dust or smoke from a grass fire. Stopping for gas we discover our fridge is on the fritz. Apparently it does not like the heat. We have to stock it with ice. Once again we calculate our gas mileage. Bec gets a record gas mileage of 21 mpg. She brags that it is because of her expert driving. Louie notices a truck pulling out of the station without a gas cap. He jumps out of the RV, grabs the cap from on top of the pump and sprints almost a full city block. He catches the guy at a stoplight. The driver sees Louie huffing and puffing at his window and probably thinks he is going to be a victim of road rage. His look of fear turns to that of relief when Louie holds up his gas cap.

Driving through Ogden, Utah traffic is heavy all the way to the turnoff to Moab! The speed limit is 75 but the cars passing us must be doing over 100! They appear to be drafting in groups of four to six vehicles. Now we know what it would be like to drive our old RV in the middle of a NASCAR race. When we get to Moab, the locals tell us it is 108 degrees, but it's a dry heat. Out of fear of being cooked alive we opt for an RV park with 30 amp electrical service so we can plug run the air conditioner. After tripping the circuit breaker a couple of times, it finally starts to cool down. We spend the evening in 74-degree comfort while it sizzles at 100 degrees through the night. We decide that we will drive through Arches National Park instead of ride it.

7-17-2006, Monday - Moab UT to Chamita NM

We get an early start and arrive at Arches just as they open. We want to enjoy the park before it is too hot to even drive. It is absolutely spectacular. The colors of the rocks and the formations take our breath away. Big red rocks stand sentry over the park. A sphinx guards his area. We stop to take several pictures. We still cannot get our new digital camera to work right. Thank goodness we brought our old one along. We spend way too much time driving around in the park, but it is worth it. On the way out, we play tag with some big trucks up and down the hills. The Turtle lives true to it's name as we crawl over the mountains. Bec believes that if we switch off the air conditioner, we can make it up the hills better. Louie knows better than to argue with her and lets her play with the AC switch.

On our way through Moab we stop at a bike shop and buy some Moab bike jerseys. We also score the coveted road bike map for Arches and the Moab area. We plan on coming back when we can spend some more time so we can make use of the maps. The folks in the bike shop tell us that it was 112 degrees yesterday and that today it will only be 107. But it's a dry heat.

It cools off as we enter Colorado. We are almost to Louie's friends house. We have no instructions to his house, but Louie sort of remembers how to get there. We actually drive past it and then call. Lester comes to get us. We just overshot his place by 6 blocks. We have a nice visit with Lester and his parents.

7-8-2006, Tuesday - Chamita NM to Santa Fe 64 miles

Lester has to work today so we head out to Santa Fe, a 62-mile ride with over 3000 feet of climbing in 90-degree heat. We run the dog gauntlet through the San Juan Pueblo. Lucky for us we are traveling down hill so they don't catch us. By the time we get to Santa Fe Louie succumbs to the heat, red face and all, so we take a nap in the shade after stopping at a little café. But we wait too long because we see lightening and hear some thunder. We take off, wanting to beat the storm. The wind starts to blow. Then the rain starts to come down in huge drops that sting our faces. Soon it is coming down so hard that we have to pull off the road under an overpass. A variety of people join us under the bridge, motorcycle riders and those with uncovered loads in pickup trucks filter in. Lightening is striking all around us then pea size hail stones start coming down just as a couple on an Indian motorcycle pull in. The temperature drops from 95 to 65 degrees in 20 minutes. Sheets of water pour under the overpass. What an amazing adventure. We are a strange mix of people. The Crotch Rocket guy is young and daring so he takes off first. The Harley Dude has a meeting so he is next. The furniture guy covers his wares and ventures out. The Guy with the Hay drags out a tarp and semi-covers his load, which must be good enough and takes off. The couple on the Indian drag out a coat and leave us as the last people. We wait a bit more and take off. We see crevasses awash with water and state highway vehicles surveying damage from the flash flood. After we ride only two miles we find the road is dry. The temperature rises as we pedal back to the Turtle. The same dogs that chased us out are there to welcome us back with one extra friend to boot. He is a small critter, but he could sure run. We are going up hill this time so it is a chore to outrun him especially at the end of our ride.

We had spied a restaurant in Espanola that advertises Authentic New Mexican Cuisine, so Lester, Annette, Louie, and Bec all pile in Annette's van and head for a big dinner. We order several plates of food, one of which is sopapias, a cross between and Indian flat bread and a tortilla that is stuffed with chicken and smothered in green chili. Louie's forehead starts to sweat. He remarks, "I am glad I ordered the mild sauce!" We have a wonderful time sharing stories. Lester tells us all about his work. Annette politely listens to all our bike stories. Soon we realize we are the only people left in the restaurant and the staff is cleaning up the place. Halfway out the door, Louie asks for desert! Just kidding.

7-19-2006, Wednesday - Chamita NM to Ogallala NB

We get up early and enjoy making Lester a pancake breakfast in the Turtle. We visit a bit with his Dad. We truly love coming to visit Lester, his family, and Annette and wish we could get this way more often. We all talk about Lester and Annette coming our way sometime. We sure hope they do.

Heading out, we make an amazing discovery. Prairie Dogs like corner lots, especially those with gas stations that have quickie marts. We see them on all the prime corners, and "boy howdy", are they fat. Gas station food must agree with them. The Turtle is much happier today. Louie and Lester fussed over the spark plug wires and we decide to start using higher-octane gas. They must have done something right because it goes right over La Vita pass with no trouble what so ever. The drive seems to last forever, but we both feel that we are getting used to the long days behind the wheel. We take turns driving. Louie wants to try switching places without stopping, but Bec nixes the idea. Outside, the mountains become desert that gives way to grasslands then corn, and then desert again. Entering Nebraska, the rolling hills flatten out. We drive on to Ogallala where we find an oasis with laundry facilities and all. It even has a pool. Back home they call these "RV Resorts". A quick survey of our neighbors reveals that once again we have the oldest RV in the Park. There goes the neighborhood!

7-20-2006, Thursday - Ogallala NB to Council Bluffs IA

Today presents itself to be a long day driving. We have to make it all the way across Nebraska. Again we take turns driving. After spending time going up and down mountains, fussing over the Turtle the long flat drive today feels boring. We have trouble staying awake. We arrive in the early afternoon, pulling into Lake Manawa State Park, taking the last available space with electricity. Bec picks up a state of Iowa bike map that was available at the entrance. We spend the rest of the afternoon tightening down all the screws that have shook loose on the bumpy roads. Louie fusses over the taillights and finally gets them working right. They, too, had vibrated loose. Tomorrow we will investigate the bike trails listed on the map.

7-21-2006, Friday - Council Bluffs Bike Paths 34 miles

We wake up to rain! It is coming down in buckets. We decide to sleep in to wait it out. About 10:00 AM the sun comes out, we get the bike ready and take off around the lake to explore the various bike paths in Council Bluffs. We really like them. They go on forever without crossing roads. One follows the Missouri River. One follows Indian Creek. Another follows the Wabash Trace. We only exit them to go down town to get some food. We wave and smile at other people out riding and walking on trails. We come across an interpretive center, we use their facilities but opt to continue riding rather than take the tour.

It is very green. Corn grows right up to the edge of the path. Bec wants to steal some, but Louie makes her behave. Soybeans grow next to the corn and grass fills in the spaces. The area around the lake is a lush deciduous forest.

Back at camp we get everything ready for tomorrow, the official start of our RAGBRAI odyssey.

Team Blueberry
Rides RAGBRAI 2006

7-22-2006, Saturday - Council Bluffs to Sergeants Bluff

Today we ride to Sergeants Bluff on the bus with the Pottawattamie Pedalers. Pottawattamie is the name of the county and is also the name of an Indian tribe that once inhabited the region.

Bill, the president of the club, has offered to let us store the Turtle, our old RV, in his driveway. His wife, Ann, is not going on the ride so we hope that it won't be in her way. He drives our gear and us to the mal where our charter bus and support vehicle await. We are introduced to Jack and Cheryl, very important people. Cheryl handles all the logistics and Jack is responsible for getting our gear from point A to point B each night. We thought we would have to take our bike apart, but Jack tells us that he has it all figured out.

Once on the bus, we are all told to stop talking so that we can view a video called, "Ride Right", about how to ride a bike safely in RAGBRAI. It explains to the faster riders how to pass and to the slower riders how to stay over to the right. We are wishing that a video of this nature would be shown to riders for other events such as Seattle To Portland. We find out that after watching the video and filling out a form, we will be entered to win a Trek bike.

Everyone on the bus gets to speak into a microphone to tell a little about themselves so we can all get to know each other better. Some people have only ridden a little bit and now they are getting ready to ride over 400 miles. We wonder how they are going to do in the heat and on the hills. Of course, they probably wonder the same about Bec, doing this ride two months out of major back surgery. We are glad that we are riding with a diverse group, a collection of people from all over the US with a variety of skill sets too long to list. It is like a Noah's Ark of cyclists from beginners to ultra marathon runners. One gentleman, Ron, is blind with a sighted captain, Nate, on his tandem. Ron teases that he would be happy to captain his tandem if anyone would like to stoke for him and needs that kind of excitement. Nate said that Ron wanted to help drive here but the rest of the people in the car wouldn't let him.

Many people have family or friends that they visit in Portland. They ask all about our trails and tell us how they love to ride their bikes there. Louie lets everyone know that he is available to fix bikes, his specialty is diagnosing and repairing strange noises, at which point Bec interjects, "I am the strange noise on the back of our bike."

Once in camp, Louie is in heaven as folks queue up to have him adjust their bikes. After working through the line, we take off for town, but only make it as far as the Legionnaire's hall, an air conditioned oasis for hot, hungry cyclists. We are surprised the place is not jammed packed because it is really hot outside. Shortly after that we find that most of the cyclists are busy preparing for the next day's ride or at the big bike expo that has great sales on all the latest gear and RAGBRAI souvenirs. On our first pass through the expo we are subjected to numerous samples of energy products for athletes. We begin to wonder if we are being used as human test subjects for their experimental products. Bec can't keep her hands off all the cute biking outfits that are on sale. Much to Louie's relief we return back to camp with only one small bag of goodies.

Back at camp Cheryl has set up a table overflowing with fruit, cheese, crackers, veggies, and wine for a big pre-ride party. Although we don't drink wine, we make several remarks about the heat so in a way we have our own whine and cheese party!

7-23-2006 Sunday - Sergeant Bluff to Ida Grove 54 miles

Today's ride will start out flat and takes us across the Missouri River valley and end with a flat run along the Maple River into Ida Grove. In between are rolling hills, most of which are quite large. We start out early to beat the heat, which is expected to be around 100 degrees. As we are told church food is the most reasonable and satisfying, we head to the Methodist church for an omelet breakfast.

Out on the road we ride and chat with everyone, so many people from so many places. As we pass riders who are stopped alongside the road, we ask them if everything is okay. Louie hops off to fix a chain, make adjustments, and loan our pump. Not only do we get to meet other riders, we also get the added benefit of a bottom break. Louie does the best he can, but some of the bikes are in such bad condition that there is no fixing them so all he can do is get them back on the road and tell them to check with the bike shop stands in the next town. The ambulance comes and goes carting off the less experienced and most unfortunate. Later we see evidence in the form of bandages and road rash on riders determined to finish no mater what.

We are wearing our Death Valley Double jerseys, which commandeer much respect and conversation about how difficult a ride that is. We talk with a few hard bodies who have done the Furnace 500, an even more grueling ride through Death Valley.

The towns we pass through are a buzz of activity. We have to get off and walk our bikes. We get all kinds of entertainment. The highlight today is a group of singing nuns at Anthon. We think they are real nuns, but find out later they are a professional singing group. In Louie's hand is a huge slice of peach pie with a light golden brown crust. RAGBRAI is famous for the variety of homemade pies. In fact, the De Moines Register stated that if a rider did not gain weight on RAGBRAI they were doing something wrong. "Let the gains begin!" All along the way vendors are giving away a colorful array of sport drinks, hoping to get us hooked. We wonder if anyone has done the whole ride on sport drink, corn, and pie as we stop often to replenish.

The deep raspy cry, "POOORRRKK CHOOPPPPS" from the Pork Chop Man, pulls us in. These chops are thick cut and slow cooked on a specially devised contraption fueled by dried corncobs. Pork Chop Man and his crew crank out chops at break neck speeds to a long line of cyclists. We buy only one and split it, and, Boy Howdy, is it tasty. We wish we had bought two!

All of us are excited about Lance Armstrong's participation in this event. He is here to promote a national focus on curing cancer as well as get in a couple of good rides, some pie, and a beer or two. Everyone wants to ride with him or at least see him go by.

We finish the ride early. Without the breeze from riding the bike, the heat is unbearable for us Oregonians. We make a b-line for the bowling alley for burgers, chips and air conditioning. The waitress comments, "I don't really work here. I work at the bank, but thought it would be fun to help out." The old guys at the table next to us still have the energy to flirt with the cute waitresses, who enjoy all the attention. We don't stay too long because the place is filling up as thousands of riders flood into town. Louie wants to mail some post cards that we have been carrying in the bike bag.

We find out from a local where the post office is and head back out into the heat. By the time we get there, Bec's face is all red. She looks as if she is going to drop. Louie lays down the bike, plops her in the shade of a tree near the door of the post office. Louie comes out right away. "Becky, I have found air-conditioned paradise!" We hang out in the post office, which must be Ida Grove's best kept secret because in this town full of cyclists, street vendors, and beer gardens this one hundred year old building is empty, quiet, and oh so cool. Bec plops down on the cool granite floor, kicks off her shoes and promptly falls asleep while Louie writes his post cards. Louie rouses her long enough to tell her that he is going to forage for food and water.

Turns out that dinner is in the basement of a church, right next door. It is an odd selection of food; stuffed baked potatoes, something else called ham balls, pie, and ice tea. We have no trouble putting away the chow and make several trips back for refills of our drinks. They also give us free hand tied bundles of post cards that have pictures of the different medieval structures in the area. The founder of the town had a penchant for castles so he built many. Even the local pizza hut looks like a castle. We take our free post cards back to the Post Office. Eventually a couple other riders find our secret hiding place and wander in to beat the heat. We exchange stories of the road for almost two hours before deciding to head for camp. When we finally get there, our truck driver, Jack, said he was beginning to wander if we were ever going to make it in. We tell him not to worry, that we are very experienced cyclists. We were just enjoying ourselves, spending time in a cool place until it started to cool off.

At our camp, the "Pott Peds" have set up canopies for shade. Lots of comfortable chairs await along with a truck full of ice cold drinks and snacks. We have three mobile showers and an instant hot water heater so we don't have to wait for the sun to warm the water bags. Since this is our first time, Jack walks us through the process showing us where everything is and how it operates. If we were settlers on the Oregon Trail, Jack would be the guy wearing buckskin clothing, leading our oxen and us to the watering hole. He is quite the trooper, because he loads and unloads that truck and sets up the showers in blistering heat dealing with tired, cranky, bikers with sore butts. Somehow he does this all with a smile and a good sense of humor.

The sun goes down, the sky opens, and the heat of the day is released into space. We retire to our tent and enjoy a good nights sleep.

7-23-2006, Monday - Ida Grove to Audubon 77 miles

Today's ride is 77 miles long and again it is hot. Audubon is famous for its mascot "Albert" a thirty-foot tall 45-ton anatomically correct bull sculpture. We read in the visitors guide that painting the bull's testicles is a major expense for the town. The vulnerable area is a hot spot for graffiti that appears often.

On the way out of Ida Grove, lightening flashes in the distance. A beautiful rainbow appears in front of us. The kids in one town, Arcadia, line the road giving us both high and low fives as we ride past. Kids dowse us with water from hoses, and Louie, in return, squirts them with water from our water bottles which elicits a squeal every time.

The towns we pass are mostly just crossroads. We see corn and soybeans and then soybeans and corn. One town, Manning, has a German theme. The townsfolk really go all out to meet our every need. The road is decorated with flowers and old bikes, some of which are actually collectable. Flowers grow up through bikes mounted on poles inside of larges flowerpots. They have a contest whereby we are to determine the weight of a big cube of compressed bikes. We wander all over taking pictures.

Out on the road we play tag with a guy in a t-shirt that proudly states, "I only do this ride for the rhubarb pie!" Along side us comes another rider dressed in a cow suit complete with cow ears and tail. He lifts his helmet to show us that he even painted cow spots on his head. "Moo!" he says. "Moo," he repeats. We are dressed in our leopard print jerseys today so Louie looks at him and says, "You know, you are prey to us!" "Only if you can catch me!" says the cow as he sprints off up the hill. We bide our time and catch him on the downhill. Bec splashes water on him to let him know that we did catch him. We ride off as fast as we can go. However, soon he catches us on another uphill. He laughs as he says, "You guys can really go on those downhill runs!" We see him off and on during the ride, moseying up next to other riders to give them a good moo.

We stop at Tender Toms turkey drumstick stand for gigantic turkey drumsticks. They are so big that we are able to split one. We also stop at as many local stands as possible for water and experimental sports drinks. Bec finds a new sport drink that has no sugar so we stop to pick up some of them.

All day long we go up and down rolling hills. Today's bonus is an added head wind. The half-bikes suffer terribly while those riding tandems and recumbent bikes are just irritated by it. To stay cool, we pour tap water that we have stored in our water bottles over our heads and jerseys and buy cold bottled water to drink.

Tonight's dinner is at the Methodist church, but it isn't enough for Louie. He bribes one of the church volunteers with a $5 bill for another plate full. She returns with a heaping plate of spaghetti and gives him back his $5.00. Turns out others didn't get enough either, but they were unable to bribe anyone into giving them seconds.

Tonight is very hot. We fuss over getting our small tent fans to work. Louie decides to sleep outside and Bec, who does not like bugs, stays in the tent.

7-25-2006, Tuesday - Audubon to Waukee 68 miles

This morning we break camp before it is light. Louie stops at the first place he finds to eat and buys us a full breakfast served in a large garage that is usually a showroom for paving equipment. Not more than ten miles down the road and Louie has to eat again. This time it's French toast. He reminds Bec that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and veers off the road again for breakfast number three, a burrito filled with sausage and eggs. We call this phenomenon the hundred-mile appetite. It usually occurs after a long ride or consecutive days of riding.

After several stops for fuel we finally start to put some miles behind us. The weather is not as hot as it has been and we don't have the headwind from the day before. We spend the day chatting with other riders and taking pictures of all the characters we meet. Various teams pass us wearing jerseys identifying their group. The Army, Navy, and Air Force are there too. One Air Force guy we talked to said they had over 100 riders and a 30-person support crew. We saw their support trailer. It had an airplane tail on it. We pass a guy who has a BBQ in tow behind his bike. Bec says there is another guy towing a kitchen sink but we never do see him. About 50 miles into the ride we hit Waukee. They are throwing the biggest party of the week. The theme is tropical. As we enter town people wearing grass skirts and leis greet us. We have to walk our bike through the crowds. For many who come to RAGBRIAI the party is what it's all about. For others like ourselves it's about the ride and the people we meet along the way. Today we have an optional route that most folks seem to have missed. It is the Raccoon River Valley Trail. This 20-mile path follows what used to be a railroad track and paralleled the highway route the entire distance to camp. Trees on both sides of the trail give us a welcome break from the sun. We ride slowly and enjoy the peaceful solitude of cycling in the midst of the largest group ride on the planet.

At camp in Elkhart, a church across the road advertises, "Hot showers five dollars". We set up our tent and sign up for the indoor plumbing experience. Since they tell us that there will be a 45 to 60 minute wait, we go upstairs and chow down church food. After taking our time talking to folks, we wander about some. The waiting list for the showers isn't moving so they give us our money back. We return to camp for our shower, but the buzz at camp is all about the potential of a rain shower expected tonight.

It is a dark and stormy night in Elkhart. The first wave of rain hits around 10 PM. We have a three-season tent so we are good to go. Then comes the lightening and thunder. Louie gets a thrill from big storms while Bec becomes nervous. Finally, around midnight state troopers blast a warning of a severe thunderstorm passing through the area. They say schools and churches are open for those who need shelter. That is all Bec needs to hear so off she goes to find shelter, leaving Louie to pack our essentials in the center of the tent, button up the rain fly real tight and head out into the night to meet up with her. We finish the night sleeping in a gymnasium. In the morning many in our group have water inside their tents, but ours is dry.

7-26-2006, Wednesday - Waukee to Newton 70 miles

Today's route is said to have the least amount of climbing of the whole week. We are surprised by a ten percent grade early on the ride. Lance Armstrong is riding today. He probably won't even notice that little bump and probably won't stop for the free watermelon at the top of the hill either. It's a hot and humid day but we manage to stay comfortable by keeping our jerseys wet. Bec uses a pressurized water bottle called a Misty Mate to keep herself cool. Louie hits every water feature provided on the route. We hang on to riders with sound equipment on board their bikes and rock out as we ride. Our lunch stop is at Pasta Fari, a mobile food service that follows RAGBRAI. Our salmon and pasta lunch costs $14 each. Proceeds benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Lance must have known we were there because just as we sat down to eat Lance and a mob of wheel-suckers go streaking by.

We meet a man who is riding with his grandson. He says this is his first RAGBRAI on his own bike. We talk for a while then leave the kid in the dust. Later we are passed like we are standing still by some ten year old on a little road bike, totally bursting our bubble.

Because we have been stopping to help out riders along the way the Pott-Peds give us official RAGBRAI Ride Right Ambassador jerseys. We continued to help folks out today averaging one repair an hour. We are glad we can help.

7-27-2006, Thursday - Newton to Marengo 77 miles

This will be our last long day in the saddle. Because of the heat we decide not to take the optional 100-mile route. Louie only has two breakfasts this morning. The kid we thought was 10 passes us again so we chase him down. His name is Daniel and he is only nine years old. We need to get his autograph because he'll probably turn out to be the next Lance. The heat is really getting to us. We believe it is the experimental sport drinks causing us to make extra stops in the cornfields today. At least we are not dehydrated, and that is a very good thing.

Just about three quarters through the ride we are feeling pretty mellow. Cruising speed is "mosey" around 12 mph. All of a sudden, Lance Armstrong passes us. We actually see his backside before being overrun by a mob of at least 100 riders chasing him. Several riders go off the road into the rough as they try to pass us on the right. Years of commuting in heavy traffic have prepared us for just this moment. These are the things you tell your grandchildren about.

In the town of Marengo we are greeted by giant ants, some of which are riding bikes. It has to do with the towns party theme, Picnic in the Park. Bec and Louie both don't like ants and agree this is a very bad thing. We decide to keep our goodies in the tent tonight.

7-28-2006, Friday - Marengo to Coralville 48 miles

Although the ride today is short there is no shortage of entertainment in the towns we pass through. Whole families line the roadside and marvel at the parade of bikes as they go by. Coralville will be the last big party town. We cruise the bike expo and find some T-Shirts half price. We catch a free shuttle bus that takes us to the local mall. The AC is awesome! We have dinner in a real sit down indoor restaurant. Returning to the fairgrounds we see the party is still going. We however are tired and hit the tent shortly after dark.

7-29-2006, Saturday - Coralville to Muscatine 50 miles

The energy of the ride begins to wane as we pass through Iowa City. Many riders know they have to be in Muscatine on schedule to meet charter busses. We are no exception. Many of the teams regroup so they can ride to the finish together. In Muscatine the local merchants have set up shop on Main Street. Droves of riders pass by on the way to dip their wheels in the mighty Mississippi River. We exchange cameras with a group of men as they dip their wheels. Louie stands on a slippery concrete block and almost winds up in the muck. Above us is a hosing off station for those whose bikes or persons dipped too much and got covered with Mississippi mud. We find our group and clean up for the long bus ride back to Council Bluffs. We are on the road right on schedule. Many heartfelt thanks to The Pottawattamie Pedalers for making our RAGBRAI a wonderful experience.