RAGBRAI

I’m sorry we haven’t updated the blogs for a while. We have been at RAGBRAI, a collection of cyclists who wanted to ride bicycles across Iowa. There were so many of us that we overloaded cell phone towers and internet service. We are done now and able to report our tale of adventure.
This acronym stands for (Des Moines) Register Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. That is the official name. THE RIDE, THE PARTY, there are many ways the participants refer to this event. I have heard of this for years (this was the 35th). My friends in Texas have been doing this for about 10 years and they have been telling me what a great time this was. They were right.
We arrived last Saturday to Rock Rapids, IA, in Northwest Iowa. The town is small about 2700 people that was overrun by over 10,000 bikers and another 15,000 support people that are along for the party. When we arrived, we saw an amazing sight. The high school lawn was wall-to-wall tents. There was an excitement and anticipation that was thick enough to cut with a knife. You have to understand, we have just been biking for 6 weeks as a solitary pursuit, often to the scorn of truckers and disbelief of the local people. Here we had found our fellow compatriots who understood us completely. Everyone there either has ridden across the country or has it as their goal in the future. The people appreciated my equipment. For instance, no one has commented on my bicycle till Iowa. I got probably a dozen comments about how much they liked the bike. One woman even hopped on the seat and wanted to take a ride. The whole atmosphere was electric.
Our team, Cobra 39, arranged to stay at people’s homes along the way. We pitched our tents in their yards and used the bathroom/shower facilities as needed. Some hosts fixed us huge breakfasts and everyone of them wanted to hear our stories of our journey. They were proud of their state and very gracious to host such a collection of crazy people. Here is the backyard view from one house.
We bike through some really pretty countryside. The Amish were out with their good eats along the way. They don’t like their picture taken, so I didn’t get but one picture of them in the hay fields. Boy was that primitive. Machines do the task now with hay bales that are about the size of the Amish’s whole wagon.

We biked almost 500 miles that week. If you have been keeping up with the math, you know that that is a lot more than I have been doing on a daily basis. There were two days when I biked 80 miles. My biggest day prior to RAGBRAI was 62 miles, so I was pushed to do better. I was exhausted at the end of every day. It was a different type of weather than I had been biking in too. The humidity caused me to be more aware of how much I sweat. In the desert, the white salt marks would be on my clothes by the end of the day, but I would not be sure how much I sweat. Well, in Iowa, I knew I was sweating because I sat in it all day. The moisture caused new rash problems and I was back to using vast quantities of Butt Butter to keep things fine down there. I haven’t really had a sore butt since Idaho. The dew in the morning soaked shoes and everything before I even got on the bike. I guess we’ll have to get used to it because that will be the way it is all across the Midwest.

So, it was hot, muggy, long and arduous. That is not to say that I lost any weight in Iowa. Every 10 miles or so, there would be a town that catered to the riders. Every morning there would be breakfast burritos, homemade cinnamon rolls, pancakes and sausage or waffles. Lunches were barbecue or some local delight. For instance, every day we would pass the Pork Chop Man. His call can’t be described, but it is on U Tube if you want to listen. For $6 you would get about a pound of pork, a chop about an inch thick. He retired the last day, so I finally got one. I had to wait in line for an hour, but it was worth it. The locals had homemade pies and cookies at every stop and if you got thirsty, there were smoothies or root beer floats. It was a gourmand’s heaven.

When the boys said that they now expect me to make 80 miles per day going forward, I said OK as long as they had my breakfast burrito at 20 miles, a pork chop at 50 miles and a root beer float at 70 miles. Their response is unprintable, but it starts with ‘Bull”
The parties at night were huge too. I wish I knew how much beer was consumed there during the week. I even drank some (OK, more than some) and I haven’t had beer in years. It just tasted soooo good after sweating so hard all day. My sons went out a couple times with the youngest member of team Cobra 39, The Hammer. He showed them the ropes and I think they want to come back for the party. The women were healthy and in shape, with great legs!!!

The party went 24 hours a day. During the ride, the teams put on a real show. The more flamboyant ones wore outrageous costumes and they all had great advertising tag lines. For example, the Donner Party from California = Tag Line “We eat the slow ones” Another team described themselves as drinkers with a biking problem. Every where you look, it was a spectacle.

I met a lot of neat people. I met a woman who graduated from the high school I taught at almost 35 years ago. She graduated the year before I started teaching there, but she remembered some of the teachers and students I knew. I ran into 3 people from Exeter, New Hampshire. One of them actually knew my good friend Bob Thompson. I biked for two days with a neat guy, Greg Rochon, from Montreal and Philadelphia (dual citizenship). He had a heart attack (at 60) last January and took up biking that he hadn’t done since he was a kid. The second day, he knew who I was before he even saw me because he recognized my huffing and puffing coming up the hill. I guess I am my own spectacle.

I also connected with an old friend one night. Diane (Fening) Arant went to college with my former wife and my sister. I hadn’t seen her in over 30 years. When I found out I was going to Iowa, we made plans to get together. She has been a resident of Iowa for quite a while with a marriage of 25 years and two children. She now lives in Southeastern Iowa. Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of Diane. She is a beautiful woman, but my request for a photo was followed by a groan or a snarl. I didn’t know which, but I did not press the issue. I had a really enjoyable time catching up and remembering the times of our youth.
The last day of RAGBRAI was the shortest mileage but it was probably my toughest day. We rode to the Mississippi and the hills got very steep. The headwinds that were tough all week were blowing stronger than ever. Plus I was exhausted after the 500 miles. I needed a day off!! By the way, don’t let anyone tell you that Iowa is flat. It is rolling hills at it’s tamest and pretty steep at it’s worst. But it was a great experience. I learned a lot that will improve my ride the rest of the way across the continent. I met some great people. I want to come back and do this again. I think both boys enjoyed themselves and want to come back. They both rode one day and both rode for more than 70 miles. That’s quite a change from the beginning of the trip.
We went to see a ballgame in St Louis on Sunday. It was a great game with the Cards coming from behind to beat the Brewers. Now we are in the car going back to where we left off. We have probably two days left in Wyoming, then Nebraska. I’m charged up to get through these states and get to the Mississippi, in a little over two months. Then we can begin visiting some of you blog readers.
More later.

On To RAGBRAI

One of my friends complained that my photos weren’t artistic enough, given my passion for the art, so here is one for the books. More later, but I only carry a point and shoot in my bag on the bike. Can’t get really artistic with that.
I’m in the van speeding across Nebraska on our way to Iowa. I say speeding because Josh knows I am having trouble with this car speed as opposed to bike speed. However, I know we’ll never get to Rock Rapids, IA before the start of the ride on Sunday if we go the speed that’s comfortable for me. So I sit in the back seat and hide my eyes and have my headphones on. I am in sensory deprivation for a couple hundred miles.
The biking was tough these last couple days. We are back into the mountains as we approach the Rockies. I made good time when I could get into a rhythm, but when the hills go up for 6 or 7 miles, I get tired and lose my pace. My head gets going negative and I suddenly don’t enjoy what I am doing. Yesterday it was OK because I already had 48 miles in before I got an attitude. We went looking for a campsite and didn’t find anything for miles. We are literally in the middle of nowhere.
We stopped for lunch in a little town called Hanna, WY, a population of less than 200. The waitress directed us to the town hall and they let us set up our tent in the town park. Then they let us use the town recreation center for free. Very nice, generous people. The rec center was fabulous. This town is poor, one of those boom or bust towns we have seen all over Wyoming. It was mining country (coal) aand only one mine is still open. The rec center was donated to the town wby one of the mining companies during a boom. Now, the mine is closed and the town has a hard time keeping the center open. It was once a fabulous facility that is still respectful. I had a whirlpool and sauna after my ride and had another this morning before the ride. Jerry, the director, Faith and Beth were just too happy to extend their hospitality. Sometimes it seems like the people with the least to give are the most generous. It was really cool.
The hills got to me this morning after 20 miles, so we started to Iowa for the ride across that state.
So here we are on our way to Iowa. I am up early Saturday morning. We got in to Lincoln, NE about 2 AM. I have to do some laundry and get the boys up for the final lap of the journey. I just called our ride team and we are about 250 miles from our destination.
More later.

Over The Hump

I dedicated my ride today to Dad (John B Roche 7/18/22 to 7/5/05). It’s appropriate that I crossed the continental divide on Dad’s birthday.

He got me over a few bumps in the road growing up. Sister Canisius’ Latin class comes to mind.
Actually, the divide was somewhat confusing. For you who have been following the blog, you know that I have crossed higher passes. I always pictured the great divide as the highest peak with everything to the east going to the Atlantic and everything west going o the pacific. That is somewhat true. Here in WY, the divide actually splits in two. They are about 40 miles apart and west of the west goes to the Pacific and east of the east one goes to the Atlantic. The water in the basin in the middle flows nowhere. It stays in the middle of the basin.
I thought a lot about Dad on my ride today. Several people have asked me what I think about on my rides. Well, it brings up the old blond joke:
A blond walks into a beauty shop wearing headphones and listening to an iPod.
The beautician says, “Honey, you have to remove those headphones or I can’t do your hair.
The blond says, “I can’t or I’ll die”
The beautician says ‘OK, Goodbye”
Well, the blond wants her hair done, so she takes off the headphones and immediately faints. The hairdresser is puzzled and picks up the headphones and hears: “Breathe in, Breathe out, Breathe in, Breathe out”
Sometimes my rides are like that, just breathe. Check the road, check the gear, breathe. Kind of Zen in it’s focus.
The last few miles have been hard. I am biking on I-80 and it ain’t a whole lot of fun. It’s just miles that I have to get past to get to the good roads. We are halfway through WY at this point. We are flying, averaging over 50 miles per day, 61 yesterday. We could be finished in about 4 more days if we were doing it back to back. However we must be in Iowa Saturday for the big cross state rally called RAGBRAI. There will be over 10,000 bikers doing about 50 to 70 miles per day. Each town along the way is planning feasts and entertainment. It should be a great break. We all need a wider social outlet. I think we all love each other, but too much of a good thing can be hazardous to our mental health. OK we are arguing a lot, OK?

Anyhow, we have more bad news to report. During the heat of the day yesterday, we put up the tent and then went back to do more biking. On the way back to the campsite a torrential downpour hit, demolishing the tent. We lost a close family servant here. I bought the tent for Matt’s 5th birthday. It has seen us through many an adventure. Matt is devastated.

However, there is hope and rainbows after the storm. After talking to Larry Hart who is riding in Iowa, he told us of another rider, Gary Freidman has a tent that he would be willing to part with. The Roches may not be homeless after all. Had a great meal tonight. Haven't had a budget buster since Eugene OR at the star of the trip. Very good food and wine. it's late and I'm sleepy. Got to get up early to get on the bike.

Till later.

Friday the 13th

We got back from Yellowstone late Thursday night and woke up late on Friday. I had been trying to get a haircut when we were in Bozeman MT the day before with no luck. I went out to get a quick cut before staring the ride that morning. As luck would have it, the barber completely shaved my head. I haven't been this shaved since China last year. At least the excuse for the Chinese barber was they couldn't understand English. This barber understood English. In fact we had a normal conversation about baseball while he proceeded to shave my head against my expressed wishes. Now my makeover is complete. When I started this trip, I had (some) hair on the top of my head and I was clean shaven. Now I have a goatee (a first for me in all the years of beards) and no hair up top. I really look like a biker now (Just where is that Harley?)
We got out on the road a little late. Not more than 2 miles down the road, Josh got a flat. I stopped to fix it and pinched the new tube putting that on and that tire was flat too. Finally fixed the second flat and got Josh on his way. I took no more than one pedal on my bike and MY back tire exploded. (now 3 flats) I fixed that one and I was carrying the tire back to my bike and THAT tire exploded while it was still in my hand. My guess is that the heat of the road must have done them in. However, we were now out of tubes. The nearest place to get another was in Kemmerer, WY over 50 miles away.
We hiked there and found our tubes (I bought 9 of them) in a Radio Shack/bike store/furniture store in this little town. The motels were full so we pitched our tent on some dirt (no grass in this desert) by the town hall.
The next day we went back to the border and I biked back to Kemmerer and slightly beyond. The terrain is quite flat with some hills, but no mountains. We are getting up there in altitude. Kemmerer is over 6900 feet. So it seems every time I climb a hill, the downhill is somewhat shorter, gradually ascending to the continental divide. With a bit of luck (and no more flats) we will cross that this week. Then I hear it's all downhill from there.
Yesterday, I did another 60 miles (Josh rode for 40) and we are now in Green River along I 80 and US 30. I woke up this morning with bad knee pain, probably the worst since the trip started, so I will take it easy today. I will get on the bike, but probably only for a few miles.
Our task today is to explore how to ride along the interstate without riding ON the interstate. There are some frontage roads, but I have had my problems with them - back in Idaho. I bought a DeLorme map of Wyoming and we will scout out some roads today. DeLorme is a neat company based in Freeport Maine. They make detailed maps of the different states. When we lived in Freeport years ago, the only map they had was Maine. They are a much bigger company now with great maps. Check them out. Between the maps and Goggle Earth, we should minimize Interstate Highway travel.
So there you are. Not much happening beyond the biking. We are making good progress and if the knee holds out, we'll cross the great divide before the end of the week. Not much between here and Laramie, WY, so we may not be updating the blog for a couple days.
We just keep plodding along.
Till then...

Yellowstone and Beyond

Wednesday we got the formalities out of the way and made it all the way out of Idaho and into Wyoming. That was all the riding we did that day.
We got in the car and headed north to Yellowstone, which was over 200 miles away. We stopped for lunch in Afton, home of Rulon Gardner, the US wrestling gold medal winner a few Olympics ago. We then stopped for groceries in Jackson, WY. We finally got to Yellowstone and into a campsite before dark. The campsite was 85 miles from the entrance to the park. We were almost out the north end. We were told not to take out our food for dinner as a bear was close and would probably take the food. After we set up the tent, the ranger came by and told us we could cook, as long as we put everything away into our car immediately after dinner. We went to bed shortly thereafter.
Sometimes I curse the fact that I wake up early, then sometimes like yesterday, I realize what a gift it is. I was up before dawn, and it felt I had the whole Yellowstone park to myself. I went to Norris, where I had the whole geyser area to myself for a whole hour.

This was an extremely different landscape than anything I have encountered before on this planet. The early morning outside the crater was cold, probably 50 or so. Going into the crater was like entering a steam bath. The temp went up and the sounds were just like steam pipes going on and off. It was eerie. I walked around like some survivor in a post apocalyptic world. The only remaining human. Then I spied a couple walking in another part of the crater.

They were a couple from Texas who have been coming to the park for over 25 years. I promised them I would send them the picture. They were the first people to shatter my solitude, but they weren't the last. Families with loud children began to invade the site and my reverie was over.

I made my way back to the camp, passing bison and elk along the way. The bison was too far away in too low a light to get a good shot and the elk bolted before I could get the camera going. We have more shots of the animals, but we haven't downloaded them, including some grizzly bears. people just stop along the road to photograph the bears and cause minor traffic tie-ups. The first one we came across, a man was walking toward us at a trot. We asked him what was up and he told us a bear was there - headed this way. He obviously didn't want a close encounter. Telephoto lenses are the way to experience that wildlife.

We packed up the campsite and headed north to Montana. We had never been in that state, so we added another to the list(I now have only North and South Dakota to complete the lower 48). We had lunch in Bozeman (I called Dan Cleary, resident of Bozeman now working in San Diego for the restaurant suggestion, Thanks, Dan). We shopped for a few things, then headed back to Yellowstone.
We saw Old Faithful. I guess everyone should see it. It was impressive, but we couldn't get real close and the crowds were huge, nothing like the experience in the Norris Crater. We headed back toward the border crossing to begin today's ride. It's almost 7AM and the day will get hot. Although, last night while coming back from Yellowstone, we had rain. That's the first time in over a month, since w e left the Cascades in Oregon. Maybe it cooled things off for today. We can hope.
Now our goal is to get through as much of Wyoming as we can this week, then it's off to RAGBRAI in Iowa for a week of riding there. More on that later. 10,000 bikers going across Iowa for a week. Anything we don't finish this week will have to be done when we backtrack from Iowa when we resume our route.
Anyhow, things are going well here. More later.

Out Of Idaho

Today we cross into Wyoming. We are in Montpelier, ID about 20 miles from the border. The going has been tough lately.

Sunday I climbed through a pass that was 6300 feet. So I am now a member of the mile-high club. I climbed a couple more peaks on Monday that weren’t labeled for altitude, but they were just as tough. Then yesterday was the biggest so far, over 7400 feet. That wasn’t the best picture, since there was a car accident occurring as we were taking the picture (nothing serious). Yesterday was tough. That climb took 6 hours to make the top. It was 18 miles. For those who do the math, that is 3 miles per hour. “Why you could walk that fast!” some of you would say. Well, I probably could if I wasn’t pushing a bike uphill. Also, I was riding a good bit of the time, but the gear was so low, you could probably walk beside me and carry on a pleasant conversation. Then there are diversions along the way. For instance, this was a little different.

Steven was up the mountain quite a ways counting traffic. He had a box that he would push buttons on as traffic passed. It also beeped every 15 minutes (I think to make sure he stayed awake). We talked long enough for me to catch my breath and then moved on. He has already left a comment on the blog in my last post. I did 18 more miles after I reached the top. It took 6 hours to do 18 miles to the top and 1 hour to do the 18 miles on the way down. I’m glad I did the downhill at the end. It gets me back on the bike in the morning.
I wish I could post more to the blog, but I am dead tired when I get off the bike. Monday was a long day, from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM. I made 45 miles, but I was exhausted. The heat , the hills, the bugs and the altitude all are taking it’s toll. Yesterday was much the same I will take the rest of the day off today after we make the border. We are going to Yellowstone for a day to see the park and to get into Montana. I’m in need of the rest!! Then when we come back, we take on the Rockies
I’m enjoying the camping. Last night, we pitched the tent 5 feet from a stream. The soft gurgling sound was really relaxing. I almost fell in when I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Sunday night we stayed in a campground with horses right across the fence.

I really enjoyed them, but they scared the hell out of us when they rushed the fence in the middle of the night. We didn’t know what was coming toward the tent. It sounded like a monstrous beast.
Anyhow, we’re enjoying the nights, working hard in the days and slowly making our way East. We hope to see you all soon.
For now, Bonjour!

OK, I Didn't Ride Today

So, I woke up this morning, and all I heard was how hot it was going to be. And it was!!
I guess the picture says it all. It was over 100 degrees by 10AM. I was at breakfast and the TV was giving the details of heat stroke and heat exhaustion. I realized that I had some of those symptoms yesterday, headaches nausea etc.
I decided that discretion is the better part of valor. I called a couple people and got over my guilt quickly. We took it easy today. We went to a movie "The Transformers". Good movie that brought back a lot of memories for the boys. After dinner we have been hanging around the hotel room, organizing and packing up. Hopefully, we'll get on the road very early and only bike during the cooler hours tomorrow. Matt is biking too, so we'll monitor each other.
Not much else to report.
Later.

Irishmen Aren't Built For The Desert

We have been in the desert for a while now. The Snake River is beautiful, but if it wasn't for irrigation, the surrounding land would be sagebrush and sand. It has been HOT!! I have taken it on the chin, literally. My face has taken a beating (alright, I can hear Jerry saying something witty here) My lips are sunburned and blistered. I wear a do-rag and helmet, there was a line about 1/2 inch wide that wasn't covered by the headgear or my glasses. That got burned and blistered too.
My fair skin is not built for the strong desert sun. I grease up with sunscreen every morning (SPF 50). I am just waiting for the day I miss a spot and get more blisters. Sometimes I wish I was Italian!!
The desert is harsh, but beautiful. This was my ride this morning.

We got a really good, detailed map and I was riding on a totally deserted road. It is open range here and the cattle roam anywhere without fences. They scatter when I come through. There wasn't a car for over an hour. I had the road to myself. It seemed to go on forever, although those mountains (the Tetons) are getting pretty close. I took it easy on Tuesday, only doing about 25-30 miles. The heat just sucked the energy out of me. Wednesday (July 4), Matt rode with me for about 30 miles. I did another 15 or so beyond that. Today I did about 45 and some was on dirt. I am trying to avoid the interstate and sometimes the frontage road is just not very good. It was a lot of work and it was a good, but hard and dusty day.
I am trying to get out early and avoid the hottest part of the days. The temp is over 100 the last couple days and they are putting out health warnings about strenuous activity in this weather. I am taking it easy and drinking tons of water. The boys are pulling me off the road if I appear out of it (as long as I have done my 50 miles).

We are seeing a lot of beautiful sights along the way. Matt took this one of a waterfall into a gorge. We were on a bridge actually shooting down on the waterfall. It was beautiful. We are in a hotel today (ahhh air conditioning!!) We have been camping quite a bit, so we aren't around the Internet much. We will probably doing the blog every third day. Camp 2 nights then hotel 1 night for laundry and blog (OK showers and shaving is great too). It hasn't been too hot at night. In fact it really cools off when the sun goes down. It is positively cold in the morning. That doesn't last long. It was 85 by 9 AM yesterday.

We'll try to stay cool, but we will continue to make our journey east. Wyoming is just over the horizon.

Later.

OOOPS!!

OK, so I got off to a early start yesterday morning. It was a beautiful day with the promise of getting really hot. Maybe I could get about 50 miles before it got too hot. Here's the problem. I was following US Route 30 which goes along with I-84. Since I didn't want to bike the highway, I was going along the frontage roads. Wellll, I got lost and I saw an area of Idaho I wasn't intending to see, Pasadena Valley. Nice with a huge hill, but it didn't move me further east. I finally called the boys when I knew where I was, then we scouted the roads to avoid the interstate and get back to route 30 when it split from I 84. Had lunch in Bliss ID and had the biggest piece of Apple pie I ever had in my life. I couldn't finish it and probably shouldn't have eaten all I did. I was tasting that pie for the rest of the day. Found the right road and started, yes down a road for toward the Snake River. Again, I have been impressed by this scenery.
I made almost 50 miles, but only 30 east. It was over 100 degrees and I had to drink an amazing amount of liquids. Water and Gatorade almost 2 gallons after the ride was over.
Got up early this morning and did another 50 miles in some incredibly hot weather. I was done by 2 PM and we got into a hotel and did laundry and charged up all the batteries for my CPAP, and the phones.
Matt and I will ride tomorrow, so I'm going to bed right now so I can get on the road again early tomorrow. We are now halfway across Idaho in Twin Falls and I want to get out of this area before it gets too much hotter. It's supposed to be 103 by Thursday.
Stay cool.
Later