RAGBRAI 2009!

Register's Annual Bike Ride Across Iowa!

RAGBRAI 2009

It was an amazing trip last week. It had ups and downs, but more ups than downs. The ride pushed me to my physical limits, but showed me that what I thought was a limit, was really something I could overcome. I smiled more on a bike than I ever have before. I ate my weight in pie!

All in all, I rode for 465 miles across the beautiful state of Iowa. This year's RAGBRAI took us through the scenic parts of southern Iowa. If you thought Iowa was flat, you were wrong! The first 2 days had so many hills that I thought my legs would give out. However, I made it up every single hill and didn't walk!

The towns we stopped in were beautiful. They came about every 10 miles along the day's route, giving me a much needed break from the bike. The communities had food and pie galore to sell to our weary souls. It was amazing how much food I could put down in a day. I loved the pie! What a great excuse to gorge myself after 9 months of dieting.

Here are some lessons I learned at RAGBRAI:

1. Announce your every move and every thing in front of you! If you were getting off or on your bike, you announced it. If a car was coming, you screamed car up to warn the other riders. I still feel a need to announce "Stopping" when I sit on the couch.

2. I'm so important that cops are at every corner to stop traffic for me. OK, I know this isn't true in real life, but I did get used to it on the road. On day 6, I was walking across a road to the showers and realized I didn't even attempt to look both ways before crossing. Why would I? The State Patrol are my personal body guards.

3. Hamstrings are nasty muscles. What I thought was knee pain, was a very tight hamstring. Stretching properly before, during and after the rides is so important now that I'm older. So sad to see what age has done.

4. Friends are priceless! Kari really helped me through this whole week. We had an amazing relationship on the bike. We would ride together about half the time. Otherwise, we were happy to meet up with each other at the next town, or at the next hill. It meant so much to see a smiling face at each stop. She helped me stay focused and never let me think I couldn't do it. She made the whole ride so much fun. We sang our way through Iowa, much to the other riders' dismay. ABBA, Meatloaf, Blondie and the Mullet Song were our favorites. Luckily, the karaoke line was too long at one of our stops so the town was spared from our vocals.

5. My husband is amazing! Greg was our primary support crew for the whole 7 days. He transported all of our stuff from town to town. He found us the perfect campsites, and roped off an area that had plenty of space for all of us. He set up the Lufkin Lodge tent each day. He cooked amazing meals for the entire team. He always met me with a huge grin and a big bear hug when I triumphantly arrived at camp. He's the most supportive husband in the world. What other man would follow his wife and friends across Iowa?

6. Weather is unpredictable! I should know this by know, being a meteorologist and all. We had temperatures in the 50s, 1/8 mile visibility in fog, rain, thunder, high winds, heat, and hail. The hail storm hit at 5 am one morning. We thought we'd seen it all up to that point, but then the hail hit. What was next, frogs and locust?

7. The Mississippi River can bring me to tears! Yes, at the end of the week, the site of the Mighty Mississippi did bring tears to my eyes. I still can't believe I did this! Me, the un-athletic girl. Me, the one who was always picked last for sports. Me, the one who finished runs last. Me, the girl who loves TV and being lazy. Me, the one who struggles to pass PT tests. Me, the girl who HATED gym class. I still can't believe I did this. I never thought it was possible. What's next?