Day 4 RAGBRAI

Moravia to Ottumwa
35.3 miles

We camped just outside of the city pool so first thing in the morning Gavin decides he wants to go swimming even though the pool was closed. So what does he do? Hops the fence. Ahhhh a day in the life of Gavin.

The hills. Here is the hill, the ONE hill that got me this year. The one hill I had to walk. If I had been on that super duper Giant still I would have flown up this hill! Here is Uncle Robby posing in front of the hill. He's single girls...any takers? Hehe.

Sean had lots of help up the hill. Gabby is a powerhouse on the tag along! They made it up the hill without walking.

Smoothie stop. Yum!

Every day on the ride you come over a rise, or around a bend & hear the chug chug of a huge tractor like homemade ice cream maker. And then you see the line. Amazing, eh?

So this was the hottest day on RAGBRAI this year. It hot about 90 degrees today. We found a little cooling station...like a misty sprinkler under a tarp. As I was chatting with some people under the tent and Sean and Gabby went to get food, Gavin slipped away. I was a little frantic, found Sean and had him help me start looking. Finally I look over in the (adults only) beer garden...and there he is. Sitting on the bench watching the entertainment with his ice cream cone. Nice. Uncle Robby saw him & went to sit by him. Phew.

Pretty soon Gabby decided that she wanted in on it and became part of the entertainment with a tambourine. I was waiting for the Parent Police to come arrest me, too embarrassed to go in and retrieve them. So I made Sean do it. :)

Back on the road. So peaceful. Those clouds are so pretty.

Wait a minute, those are not nice, pretty clouds!

People in Iowa are so dang nice...they open up their barns & garages to hundreds of crazy bikers caught in a major thunder storm. They will often even feed them! It was funny being sardined in a garage with about 50 other bikers. You make lifelong friends doing things like that. Sean & the kids were behind me when the wors of it hit. They ended up having a blast in a barn, sitting on tractors and relaxing in the hay.

The sun was back, and the steam rising off the blacktop was really cool.

Made it to Ottumwa. They have the cooooolest pool of all of Iowa.

Ahhhhhhhhh.

Gab and her best buddy Nick on RAGBRAI.

Day 3 RAGBRAI

Indianola to Chariton

44.4 miles

Good morning Steve, is that my French Press full of coffee next to you????? :)

Good morning Gavin. Ready to ride?

Getting packed up Gavin discovered a freakishly large spider on his back pack. It was cool. Uncle Steve dared him to pick up the dollar bill he put right by the spider...of course he did!

Foggy mornings are very cool. It was just starting to lift. Gavin rode 20 miles by himself on his road bike today. Isn't he so dang cute?

Hills and all.

I felt like a Queen today riding this fantastic, beautiful, light as air Giant Avair for women. The demo program on RAGBRAI is so cool. But it makes it really hard to get back on your own bike the next day. Sigh. Someday I will buy one of these.

Breakfast. Pancakes, sausage, juice, coffee and a very short line!

Lunch: Mr Pooooooooooooooooooooork Chop! I got to see him but the kids missed him. He went in right before they got there. I was a little faster today on my smokin' Giant.

Yum!

Flamingo sighting.

The pool in Chariton. Cool.

Hunting for dinner....most likely some kind of pulled pork.

RAGBRAI Day 2

St. Charles to Indianola

27.8 miles

Finally, we are off! A half day today. Off to an easy start. We drove to St. Charles after a little back roads detour...someone wasn't paying attention to the route very well...ahem...yeah, me.

So we found a really cool KYBO in St. Charles. Gavin had to try it out right away since he was wearing his Sponge Bob jersey. I think it got his seal of approval...and probably a little extra sprinkle because he was so excited.

The sight of a few thousand people in biking gear invading a little town's main street never gets old. It is always amazing.

Sean was pulling quite the load this year...the kids each 10 pounds heavier and then he rigged their little roadbike to tow so they could take turns riding it once we were out of the heavy bike traffic. He's totally nuts.

Gabby got to ride first. The kids really did a great job!

DO you see that boy? THAT is why I have to ride ahead of them. I can't bear to watch the things the kids are doing behind Sean...scares the heck out of me! Dad is oblivious as usual...

Ahhhhh, remember the hills of Iowa.

Always a fire truck to climb on in between towns. :)

Normally we get a few firehouse pancake breakfasts in on RAGBRAI. Not this year since we only rode 2 mornings. But we did get a yummy fire house spaghetti dinner in Indianola. Delish!

For dessert, homemade ice cream.

The Tooth Fairy Expected

My baby boy finally lost his first tooth.
The day before we were at the dentist getting teeth cleaned and I could tell they were just dying to pull that baby out. It was hanging by a thread.

It seems so tiny!

Don't ya love remembering that feeling of your tongue sticking through the little spot where your tooth used to be? Ah my baby is growing up.