RAGBRAI Day 7 – We did it!!

We did it! We actually did it! We completed the 460+ mile trike ride across Iowa from the Missouri River to the Mississippi River.

The last leg of our journey was from West Union to Lansing. We triked 64 miles with almost 3000 ft of climb. We heard along the way that there were two big hills … and there were, but there also MANY smaller hills. It was tough, but (to me at least) it didn’t feel as tough as the day before. The big hills were long and big, but they didn’t seem terribly steep which was nice. 

The cool thing about pushing ourselves up these hills is that eventually we were rewarded with going down. What fun! We had at least two really long descents where our speeds topped 35 MPH. It was exhilarating!

Eastern Iowa is just beautiful. Yes, there are some corn and soybean fields, but there are also scenic hills, bluffs, and lots of trees. Even though the hills were relentless, I definitely enjoyed this part of the ride. In a way, it reminded me of home.

Knowing we were near the end, we passed a welcomed sight — a sign that said, “Last Hill!” As we were pushing ourselves to get to the top, a rider with music passed us playing — Meatloaf’s “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” … one of my all-time favorite songs to sing. We screamed and started singing to it at the top of our lungs. It was all the motivation we needed to get up that hill. And then suddenly, we were at the top and began our way down a very long descent into Lansing. What a joy!

As we approached Lansing, the Mississippi River was on our right. We saw an area where some riders had formed a line toward the river. The RAGBRAI tradition is to dip your bike tires in the Mississippi signifying the completion of the ride. We joined the crowd so that we could dip our tires in the river.

It was finally our turn.

While we were waiting, we noticed that after the bikers dipped their tires, they lifted their bikes over their heads in a show of triumph … they had completed the challenging ride. Well, our trikes were a little too heavy for us to lift over our heads, so we did the best we could…

Afterwards, we got back on our trikes and continued into town to find Tim and Todd. Only then did we realize that there was a real finish line. Luckily our guys were there to record the event.

We found out later that there was an “official” dipping spot after the finish line, but that line involved an hour or more wait. I’m glad that we dipped where we did.

We felt exhilarated. We had set a goal over a year ago to finish this ride and we triked all 460ish miles of it. We were so excited and, as Leah put it, a bit weepy. Seven grueling days, one of them over 100 miles, countless hills, relentless sun, exhausted bodies. But we finished.

I cannot imagine attempting such a feat as RAGBRAI without my friend Leah. We are so good for each other. We each had low energy at different times, but managed to push each other through and make it happen … one day at a time, one mile at a time. We’ve been there for each other through every ride, every workout, and for the last couple of months multiple workouts per day. I wouldn’t change a single grueling minute of our training together. Thank you Leah for making my 60th birthday celebration complete!

Afterwards, we spent almost no time in Lansing as we were all ready to get on with our travels. Leah and Todd drove straight through to Huntsville. Tim and I took John to Moline so that he could catch a flight home to California. Then Tim and I spent the night in Iowa visiting my mom’s cousin and her family. We finally made it home last night around midnight.

It’s now Monday morning and I just checked in with Leah. We are both feeling great. Our legs (especially thighs) are a bit sore, but the worst part is our burnt bottom lips. We remembered sunscreen on everything but our lips until it was too late. But I’m sure that will heal … eventually.

We both managed to gain a few pounds over the past week, LOL. I know that we’ll get back to normal once we start eating normally again. It may take a few days, though. I laughed at myself yesterday when realized I was hungry around 10:00 AM for a steak and pie. 

We will get back to normal soon. Leah and I have already scheduled today’s workout. It’s time to start our journey to the next challenge … stay tuned for more.