Early June Entry - 6-9-08

We have been stepping up the mileage as we always do when we get closer to RAGBRAI. On the last day of May we rode to Monroe on county roads which offers 66 miles with a lot of hills. As a bonus, the return ride offered head winds. A good test for all.
This last weekend we rode to St Thomas Moore Center at Lake Panorama on Saturday for a camping experience with a return ride on Sunday.
The winds were so strong that we took most of the tents down and all of the young riders slept inside cabins.
Saturday evening we took riders and mentors through confidence courses to help build team spirit and have fun. After the courses, all were offered a choice of riding the zip line or swimming. For early riders of the zip line, they could do both.
Saturday brought strong storms with lightning, thunder and about two inches of rain.
The return ride started in a light rain which was on and off until we neared Des Moines.
West of Redfield we walked through water and mud that covered the trail. West of Adel, we walked through about one foot of water over the trail.
When we reached the place where the trail goes under Hickman, the water was over waist deep so we diverted our path to get back to the Register building.
First year riders learned that they can ride successfully in bad conditions and make it to the end.
The result was a victory and a lesson or two.
Now we set our sights on getting in better shape for riding hills so that we will be prepared for whatever we may meet on RAGBRAI. After reading Duffy's blog about the route, we know that we need to be ready for hills.
You can read his log here-
click to read Brian Duffy's log while pre-riding RAGBRAI