RAGBRAI Day 4 – Shut up legs!

We did it! We completed the 105-mile route from Emmetsburg to Mason City. We left at 5:00 this morning (an hour earlier than usual) just to make sure that we completed the distance before 7:00 this evening. We did even better than expected arriving in Mason City around 3:00. 

While riding today, our average speed was an incredible (for us) 12.3 MPH. For perspective, last year when we first started training for RAGBRAI, we averaged between 7 to 8 MPH. Recently on our longest training ride (94 miles), we averaged only a little over 10 MPH. So the increase was very surprising.

The ride was fairly painful because of, as Leah puts it, the “exponential exhaustion” that we were experiencing. This was the 4th consecutive day of long rides and our legs were starting to rebel. All we could do was say, “Shut up legs!” and keep pedaling.

Our excitement for today didn’t happen to us, but it happened right in front of us. We were a little over 2 miles into the ride when a couple passed us, first the man and then the woman, one after the other. Right after they passed us, the woman clipped the man’s back tire and fell right in front of us. Luckily, we didn’t run over her and she wasn’t badly injured. She did have a little road burn but was able to continue the ride. Later in the day, they passed us at least twice, so we knew that she was ok.

We also saw our first RAGBRAI rider who wasn’t wearing a helmet. Iowa has no helmet laws for motorcycles, bicycles, or anything else, yet almost all of the RAGBRAI participants wear helmets … except for this one guy. Having been in a recent crash myself and understanding first-hand the importance of helmets, I truly hope that he stays safe in his travels.

We lunched in Britt where we had chocolate chip cookies (yes, we ate dessert first — no judgement!) and then pulled pork sandwiches. I ate the “dirty pig” which was a pulled pork sandwich with mustard slaw. Of course, I managed to drip the mustard sauce all over my shirt. I have always been a messy eater. My mom used to tell me that I looked beautiful in everything I ate. Leah took a picture of me later (I think that I had spilled something else on my shirt), but luckily you can’t see all the messy stuff … just my sweat.

In Britt, there was a booth in the middle of street that was managed by four older gentlemen in umbrella chairs. The sign above them said, “Old Coots Giving Advice. It might not be good advice, but it’s free.” I laughed out loud when I saw it. Maybe it reminded me a little too much of Tim, LOL.

One thing I don’t think that you can prepare for is the, ahem, “aroma” that you meet while cycling through Iowa. Between the corn and the soybean fields, there are chicken houses, pig farms, and cattle ranches. When you pass any one of these, it is just as aromatic (not in a good way) as you could possibly imagine. And we don’t seem to be getting used to it even after several days of exposure to the smells. Maybe our average speed increased today because we were motivated to get out of those smelly areas.

We did pass through several wildlife preserve areas that were just gorgeous. One of the signs we saw on the way stated that Iowa means “beautiful.” In these wildlife preserve areas, you could see the true beauty of the state. Unfortunately, we were so focused on riding that we didn’t stop to take a picture. But trust me, it was very scenic.

About 90 miles into the ride, we stopped to receive our century patch for completing a 100 mile ride. This year’s addition of the century ride was in memory of John Karras, one of the original organizers of RAGBRAI, who died this past year. We’ve heard that this is the longest leg RAGBRAI has ever had.

Mason City is the largest city on our route with a population of 26,500. We were pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome that we received coming into town. Everyone was exceptionally friendly. Many people were on the side of the street waving and welcoming us to their city. We felt like celebrities.

We stopped at a small booth for kettle corn, caramel corn, fudge, and cherries and then continued on our way to meet the guys. About halfway in, someone handed us freeze pops as we rode. They tasted so good and were exactly what we needed to help cool us down.

Tonight, we are staying in the yard of Valerie Yekek in Mason City. Her backyard is lovely, so quite and peaceful. I am in awe of the beauty of the plants she has and the big shade tree in the middle of her yard. She definitely has a knack for creating an inviting space. On top of that, she let us shower in her house. It was WONDERFUL to feel clean again after such a long ride. Afterwards, the three of us women went to PM Park (a Tiki bar on the other side of the lake) for dinner where we had the best onion rings and listened to live music. On the way home, Valerie gave us a tour of the area. An awesome end to a successful day.