Today's ride was a friendly, short, and mostly flat ride. Riders had fun today with more relaxing stops on the way to Ames.
We are camping just east of the remaining South Tower dorms on a soccer field. Plenty of nice dry breeze to dry out clothes and towels. That is one of the simple victories on RAGBRAI.
Tonight we will dine at the fraternity of one our mentors to give the riders an experience of college life.
Many riders parent's made the short trip up from Des Moines to see their childern and spend an evening with them.
It looks like another good sleeping night with cool tents.

On the long hard hilly day yesterday all riders made it to Jefferson by the target time. There were lots of hills and fun. Exira was a fun stop for food and drink before the long ride to Coon Rapids.

Coon Rapids showed us how fun a small town can be. Live animals and road kill costumes. Plenty of pictures there.

On the ride to Jefferson there were ominous clouds and distant lightning. Riders were inspired to pick up the pace to get into town before the rain. Most beat the rain and others were caught in light rains.

Saturday night gave us our first storm scare but did not produce rain and mud.

Sunday's ride gave us a lot of hills for a short 59 mile ride to Harlan. All of the riders made it to Harlan by 3:00 in plenty of time for a cool shower, food and a movie to hide from the heat.

At 2:00 in the morning winds came up and announcements advised us to take shelter. A few of the tents got flattened and after a short rain, we tried to sleep again.

This morning we will meet at the Register to load up our goods and board the bus. We will travel to Missouri Valley and start the unpacking/setup routine that will become our daily ritual for the week.
Thirty-one excited riders will ride over with anticipation and concern. The first two days are hilly. We are prepared.

Get to know some of the members of the Dream Team. This entry features one of our caring mentors.

Get to Know - Deb Ryan

Years on Dream Team - 4
Times on RAGBRAI - 6

Get to know some of the members of the Dream Team. This entry features one of our caring mentors.

Get to Know - John Reese

Years on Dream Team - 11
Times on RAGBRAI - 19
Family - Married 2 daughters, 1 step-daughter, 1-step-son and 2 grandchildren

Get to know some of the members of the Dream Team. This entry features one of our caring mentors.

Get to Know -Tim Mulcahy

Years on Dream Team - 7
Times on RAGBRAI - 7
Family - Wonderful wife/mentor Robyn and her cat

Tonight is our last training ride before heading out to the start of RAGBRAI 2008.

Last week we got caught in a rain on our Monday night training ride. This helps the riders to understand that rain is not a show-stopper.

On Thursday night we made a trip to the Iowa Cubs game courtesy of the Iowa Cubs organization. We gave all of the attendees some Cubby Bucks to buy food and drinks. It was a great night out.

Get to know some of the members of the Dream Team. This entry features one of our caring mentors.

Get to Know -Tim Mulcahy

Years on Dream Team - 7
Times on RAGBRAI - 7
Family - Wonderful wife/mentor Robyn and her cat

Last weekend 30+ riders and fifteen mentors made the trip to Sun Valley Lake to camp for two nights at the home of Jim and Judy Green. The trip down was 85 miles with medium head winds. We stopped for a break at the end of the Great Western Trail in Martensdale. We stopped again in Osceola at the Subway for lunch. Then we completed the other half of the ride.
This ride always features hills. It is a good preparation for RAGBRAI.
Saturday we rode 20 miles and spent the rest of the day swimming, resting and participating in other recreational activities.