Training for RAGBRAI
I decided somewhat at the last minute to ride RAGBRAI, a week long bicycle ride across Iowa. I really had no idea how to go about training for or organizing things for the week of the ride but I went for it anyway!
Day 1: I rode from Minden to Avoca to Oakland and back to Minden for a total of 44 miles, not bad!
Day 2: To McDonald's in Walnut to visit my cousin, where I ran into a former co-worker and his kids. We had a chat and then I was off to the bakery, why else would I ride to Walnut? :P
Got one of my favorites! I then headed back for Minden, completing a 38.12 mile ride.
Day 3: Rode to Arrowhead then on to Portsmouth and back for 43.78 miles. I had a whole windmill and pre-built house on trailers pass me on the highway, which was quite terrifying!
Day 4: Another ride to Walnut with a stop for a turnover and back to Minden, plus Taco Ride for a grand total of 58 miles.
The tacos were even better after 58 miles!
Since Mark and Fred showed up it was a longer night so I got wild with a lemonade :P.
Paul Hart also played which made things much more lively.
And a donut to round out the night.
Day 5: Another ride to Walnut and a plea on Facebook for help getting hooked up with a team proved useful and I became a member of Team Pez :).
Day 6: To complete the first week of training was another ride to Walnut where I saw someone I was sure would have ran me over had she known it was me :P. 260.14 miles in the first week!
Day 7: I took Sunday off and hit it hard on Monday with a ride to Marne and back, totaling 54 miles. The bakery isn't open on Monday's so no treat this time :\.
I liked riding by this car, I love this color blue plus the white!
Day 8: A simple ride to Walnut was sufficient but I was quite sad to find this once I got there, though I couldn't blame them because it was toasty out!
Day 9: To Walnut and the bakery was closed AGAIN!
Day 10: Though it looked like it was going to rain I decided to roll out anyway and make it work because I expected there would be rain that would be unavoidable during the week of the ride. I barely got out of Minden and it started pouring but I kept plugging away! I made it all the way to Walnut and happily found the bakery open! I had to get 2 treats to make up for so many days without :P.
This was what the sky looked like on my way home, it didn't make me feel too confident that I wasn't going to get poured on but I made it back with little to no more rain!
The sun came out and it was time for Taco Ride!
How about I add another sweet treat on top of a cookie and roll earlier in the day? :P
That was the end of my training and it was time for the real thing! 428.5 miles under my belt and ready to go!