Merry Christmas!

This is just a quick Merry Christmas post... It is also a post to acknowledge the 180 days to go mark for the big race.

Thankfully, Jenny has this as a rest week on the training calendar. It's not that I don't have any workouts, it's just that they are a little more flexible and allow for travel, family, and reflection on the past year and the holidays. It is a great time to have this flexibility since I am already a little stressed out about Crystal's upcoming wedding. There just seems to be so much to get done, and while I know we have plenty of time to do it, it's gonna be a lot of work!

At the last minute I decided to come home to the Quad Cities for Christmas. I rode over with Cam on Monday morning after we decided that the roads were cleared from the previous weekend's ice and snow storms. I was glad to get home in time to go to church with my parents. Mom was a big part of getting this church planted in Davenport, and on previous trips I'd not been able to go with her.

On Sunday night, I went to church with Cam and Michelle in Des Moines for a Christmas Eve Eve service. That was quite an experience as they were worshiping in their brand new, not-yet-finished auditorium. They figured that it would be a good dry-run with a couple hundred worshipers since this was a special service held in addition to all the other weekend services they usually hold. Instead, a couple thousand people showed up and packed the place to near over-flowing!

Both were really good services held by candle-light. What was great for me was to get the chance to experience the Christmas Story from a couple different perspectives - and they were even different from my own church. But regardless of how the story is told, the gift of Christmas still amazes me:

That God loves us enough to leave His throne and become one of us...
That He was born as a baby into a dirty, smelly barn rather than a triumphant entrance fit for a king...
That Jesus willingly came to earth, knowing that only persecution, torture, and death awaited Him...
That He did it for all of humanity, believers and unbelievers alike, but He would have done it just the same for me alone...

Merry Christmas.

Not to be Out-Done...

Not to be out-done by my cousins, I figured I'd better get on updating my blog.

It is only a few days until Crystal's wedding. There are a lot of fires to put out before then, and I am glad that I can act as a firefighter on her behalf. I'm sure she's feeling a little overwhelmed right now, but she really has everything under control; she just doesn't know it yet...

I went to North Carolina a couple weeks ago to check out Crystal's new digs in Salisbury and experience a little of the south. After taking off and touching down at the St. Louis twice in one day, I finally made it to Charlotte, where Crystal and Dana picked me up at the airport. We had a quick dinner, then headed north to get some rest before the half marathon that we were doing in the morning.

Sunday was shopping-palooza with Crystal's friend Heather. We did our share to strengthen the economy, and ate some pretty good chow while we were at it.

Around 9am on Monday we headed south again to rent some mountain bikes and hit the trails at the US National Whitewater Training Center. Although we were very much beginners on a more intermediate course, we still did well and no one broke anything during the ride. After a little investigating, we found the locker rooms and showers at the Center, then a great little place to have lunch. This looked like quite the spot. I think I could come back and spend at couple of days at this one place trying out all the activities. It certainly didn't hurt that the temps were into the upper 70's and lower 80's all weekend, too!

Of course, we followed that up with some more shopping...

The weather back home in Iowa was freezing rain/snow/sleet/crap on Tuesday, so rather than spend the day and night in the St. Louis airport, I called the airline and switched my flight to Wednesday. That meant another glorious day in 80 degrees and my flip-flops rather than sliding through the ice.

Right before I left for the south, Team Vardo held its annual end-of-season banquet. We ate, drank, and had a very merry time recalling all the adventures of the team in 2007. Between the photo slideshow, the white elephant gift exchange, and the pre-recorded message from Stephen Hawkin, I was left nearly speechless. Alas, I did end up making a little speech about the history of the team and how much it meant to me, but it is hard to put into words what this strange little compilation of folks has meant to me.

I was also celebrating the fact that five days previous I had completed my EMT class. We ended with our practical exam. Practicals always cause me to break out into a cold sweat, and this one was no different. As it turns out, I had little to be nervous about. But it sure does feel good to be done!!

I am looking so forward to having all many of my girlfriends in town for the wedding next week. We welcomed a new baby (Harrison Burkhardt) into "the Clique," and I've got to tell you, this is one very cute kid. Poor guy doesn't know what he is in for when the girls get their hands on him!

Fall Update

This has been a crazy busy fall. Between work, class, and training, I haven't found much time to blog. Let's see... some updates:

1. I had another birthday. Nothing too noteable about this one. I didn't age up, so there is no real value in getting another year older. Dottie and I threw ourselves our traditional "surprise party" - where the surprise is on the people we invite at the last minute.

2. To celebrate my birthday, I ran the Des Moines Half Marathon. The post-race festivities were great. Team Vardo celebrated with me in the most traditional of ways: beer and cupcakes.

3. I took a quick trip to Chicago to visit Grandma Klein. At 101.5 years old, she's doing GREAT!! She still kicks my butt in crosswords, but now I can finally beat her in a sprint down the hall! She moved into the new building right after I left, but mom and I broke the rules and sneaked in to check it out first.

4. Steve was at SWAT school in California for two weeks, so Tina brought the girls to her mom's in Chicago. We had a blast with them - they are talking, talking, talking! So, funny! Sophie won my love by being the first to say "Aunt Julie." I'm in awe at how smart they are!! Lauren recited the colors of all the M&M's we spilled on the floor, and counted to ten with her mom. The cutest is the squeeling for Elmo, Cookie Monster, and (Sophie's favorite) Big Bird. I also learned another favorite for them is "poop," which they repeated over and over as we walked by the geese in the pond.

They were dressed as a monkey and a leopard for Halloween. A little cruel, but awfully cute!!

5. I went to a women's mountain bike clinic last weekend, and I think I'm hooked! All twelve of us were beginners, and the guys who lead the clinic were very patient and helpful. They even served as spotters while we tackled some of the more challenging (to us) obstacles. Let's just say they are pretty brave because we used their help numerous times! Great. That's one more sport. That means one more bike!

6. I hired a coach. I decided that I would like a little personal help training for this next Ironman. I think I was decently trained for Wisconsin, but I also think I can knock a couple hours off my time. Jenny was actually a BIG help to me training for Wisconsin in 2006, but this time I'm gonna pay her!

7. I am almost done with EMT class. I've been spending time in some Des Moines Hospitals and with the Des Moines Fire Department. I am really enjoying it, but secretly, I can't wait for it to be over. I am really looking forward to having my Monday and Thursday nights back.

8. More pictures of the girls from Mom's trip last week:

Trying Something New...

So, I'm taking an EMT-B class at DMACC. I guess I'm doing it for a few reasons:

1. I want to do it for my own knowledge and growth.

2. Never hurts to have it on a resume.

3. I like a challenge!

I started class at the end of August, and we take our state exam on December 1. It's 2 nights a week for 3 1/2 hours, plus four Saturdays for 7 1/2 hours each. So far I am really enjoying it. I've learned that I know a lot more than I thought, thanks to my ISU education and those couple of years working in cardiac rehab. I've also learned that there is a lot to learn, too!

Thankfully, they've thrown us right in to the hands-on stuff. I think that is the best way to learn. Next week, we start our clinicals. We'll spend a total of 20 hours at Mercy, Methodist, and Broadlawns. Then we'll do some ride alongs with the Des Moines Fire and Rescue.

I'm not sure that this is something I want to persue as a career, but it will never hurt me to have the knowledge and skills. On the other hand, I could love it!

It is working out very well with my job at DMACC; I can go to work during the day, take a little time for a run and dinner, then head straight to class. Getting home close to 11pm isn't great. but I can do it for a couple months.

The Girls Grow Up!

I haven't seen these two little monkeys since May, but it's been so much fun to watch them grow so big, even if it is through pictures...

I haven't seen them since May, but I've heard a rumor that they are coming back to Chicago in October, so you can bet I'll be making that trip!

Ironman Wisconsin Revisited

I headed back up to Madison again for the Ironman, but not to compete this time. I had a couple of friends competing, and I wanted to volunteer as a way to give back from all the help I got last year.

I met up with Terri on Friday night, and we headed to the Great Dane for dinner and to meet up with two of my college friends: Renae and Tom Scroggins. This would be Tom's first Ironman, and I know Renae was hoping to have a little help navigating Madison and the surrounding areas to cheer on her husband. We ended the evening with a trip to the Chocolate Factory for some ice cream - turtle sundae, I believe.

Saturday morning Terri and I drove up to Devil's Lake State Park for a triathlon clinic held by her friend, Cindi. We worked on transitions for quite some time (mine still need a little work), then headed out to ride the course (the Devil's Lake Triathlon was being held the following weekend). It was a PERFECT day for a ride, and the course was great, though hilly. After a quick transition run, we headed back to Madison.

Terri went out to the course to write some words of encouragement in sidewalk chalk, and I went in search of Roehr. Her friends from work just bought a condo about 2 blocks from the finish line, and I was lucky enough to be invited to stay there for the rest of the weekend. After a quick stop by the expo to look at grossly over-priced race merchandise, we went out for some great Italian food downtown. Then, of course, we went to the Chocolate Factory for more ice cream - caramel overload, I think was the name.

It was easy to fall asleep after all that food, and we knew it would be an early morning. We were up around 5-ish and walked a couple blocks to the swim. The weather was GORGEOUS! Perfect for race day. We reminisced about the horrible weather last year. Mostly we were very excited for this year's athletes, but deep down we were pretty jealous...

Roehr and I couldn't find a good place to watch the race outside, so we went inside Monona Terrace and watched out the windows. Not long into the swim, we needed to report to T1 - our volunteer post for the day. Basically, it involves helping the athletes get out of their swim clothes and into their bike clothes, then dealing with all the gear after they leave. I enjoyed being there as the pro women came through. They have next to nothing in their transition bags compared to the age groupers who brought everything but the kitchen sink. It was crazy for about 90 minutes, then it was all over.

On our way to meet Renae and go cheer on the cyclists, I ran into another friend, Tom Hamilton. He was supposed to be racing but woke up sick. I was pretty bummed for him. It's too bad that a whole year (or more) of training can basically go to waste if you have one bad day.

After a quick stop at Starbucks, we loaded up and headed to the top of the third big hill of the course. We ran into many fans from Des Moines. We were there for at least 3-4 hours before getting back downtown for the run.

The weather was still amazing, so being a fan was a lot of fun. We ate and made numerous trips to and from State Street and the finish line. Renae got to see a lot of Tom, and I got to cheer for a bunch of friends who were competing. It was fun to watch nearly everyone have great days - my friend Bob even PR'd by over an hour! And this was his fifth IM Wisconsin! He finally had a good weather day and took advantage of it!

(I had to take a picture of this guy. If you look carefully, he is wearing a cotton Faith Hill concert t-shirt. Not only was he one of the very few people who wore a non-technical fabric for a warm weather IM, but of all the shirts he owned, he picked the Faith Hill one... Other interesting clothing options I saw included a full (removeable) boot cast (I heard she biked and ran in it), running the marathon in Crocs, and running barefoot.)

As the night wore on, I hung out with Terri, her friend Cam, and her dad. Roehr went to the finish line to "catch" the finishers as the cross the line. We must have walked 10 miles all over the place to see everyone! One more trip to Starbucks (my second of the day and second of my lifetime) for beverages, then back down to State Street for, what else, ice cream! This time it was Ben & Jerry's Heath Bar Crunch!

Terri, Cam, and her dad left to go home at about 15:30:00 race time. I wanted to go home very badly at that time, too, but I thought that it might be bad karma to not stay and cheer on the finishers who finished at 16:30:00 (my finish time last year). I wandered back to the stands at the finish line and clapped and cheered and had a great time by myself thinking about last year and watching the clock approach midnight. I went home after the final athletes crossed the finish line, and my legs felt like I had just done an Ironman!

I awoke the next morning to rain, 50 degree temps, and wind... boy were they lucky!

Summer Revisited

With Labor Day being the unofficial end of summer, the time seems right for a recap of the summer's events...

Memorial Day Weekend - Tampa, Florida:
In January and February, I took the SCUBA certification class, but I still needed to do two certification dives. My options were to dive in Big Blue in Mason City in May (BRRR!!) or go dive somewhere else. I did NOT want to dive in an Iowa lake, so Laura and I decided to head to Florida and take care of it there. Laura was already going to Tampa for a conference the week after Memorial Day, so we just pushed the trip ahead a few days.

The plan was to arrive on Friday evening and dive on Saturday and Sunday mornings, then I would head home on Monday. The best laid plans... Laura's plane (we were on separate flights out of Des Moines) was delayed leaving DSM, missed her connection in Memphis (which happened to be the last flight out of Memphis that night), so she didn't get to Tampa until after my first dive was over. For reasons I still don't understand, she opted not to do her dives that weekend, but I finished my certification! And, we had a great time in Tampa, too!

June - Races and more races:
Dam to Dam is always one of my favorite races. It happens the first weekend in June and is the largest 20K race in the US. I ended up having a great race and PR'd. A really good way to start out the racing season.

Dam to Dam

The following weekend, I drove back up to Madison for the annual Ironman Epic Camp. This year the participation was sparse, but my good friend Terri had just moved to Madison, so we just turned it into a a fun time for the two of us. We rode 56 miles on Saturday and ran about 12 miles on Sunday. In between we ate some great food and just really enjoyed hanging out together.

Next up was the big event: the Hy-Vee Triathlon. It was one of the premier triathlons in the country this year and was held right in Des Moines. Besides the great age-group race, there were also ITU World Cup races for the pros that afternoon. This was roughly equal to having the Super Bowl in Des Moines. It was a VERY big deal. It was incredibly hot that day, and even the pros were going down. There is so much to tell about this great event, but the end result is that it went so well that next year the race will be an Olympic qualifier for Team USA! Too bad I'll be in Couer d'Alene...

My wave at the swim start of Hy-Vee

A couple pics of the Des Moines Tri Club after the race

Then, the following weekend was the Dutchman triathlon. Roehr was coming to town to participate, so I signed up at the last minute. A few days before the race, they announced that the water in the lake was too high (and contaminated) to swim in, so they changed it to a duathlon. The format was 5K run, 40K bike, and 10K run. I can honestly say it was one of the hardest races I've ever done. I was sore for a couple days after that. But, I did enjoy it enough to say I'll try another one next year!

The last weekend in June I didn't have to go anywhere or do anything (except lots of laundry to gear up for July!!

Fourth of July - the start of the travels:
Really, I didn't leave until the 5th of July, but whatever... I flew to San Diego for a conference for work. Let me just say that I loved San Diego! The weather is amazing and the part of town we were in was a ton of fun. The conference was great, and I managed to learn a lot, get some decent runs in, and eat lots of fish tacos!!

That Saturday, my good friend Danielle and her husband and 13 others from their church in Minnesota showed up in San Diego. I left the conference and joined up with them to prepare for our trip to Mexico the next day. There is a whole post on that trip, but let me just say again what a blessing to me it was to get to hang out with that amazing group of people and to serve that wonderful family in Mexico.

We spent a week in Mexico, then I came home to Iowa for some more serious laundry and more packing. Crystal came back to Iowa in the middle of that week and we set to packing for RAGBRAI. This was one of the best RAGBRAIs we've had yet - fun, relaxing, flat, you name it!

Again,the following week was spent cleaning, washing, drying, and re-packing again! The first weekend in August Crystal, Betsy, and I drove to Minneapolis to meet up with Sondra and Cara. The five of us (six, if you count baby Burkhart in Betsy's belly) climbed aboard a plane to South Carolina. We met up with Robin in Charleston and caravaned to Pawley's Island where Robin had rented a condo for the week. We spent four days going to the beach, reading books, shopping, eating, and generally trying to stay out of that oppressive heat and humidity! I'm a life-long Iowa girl, and I could not believe the heat and humidity of that place! Whoa!!

Crystal's Unofficial Bachelorette Party at the House of Blues

Back home in Iowa, we went to the State Fair on Thursday night (Gary Allan concert - VERY good!), Friday night (East-sider night), and again on Tuesday night (Dierks Bentley concert - also very good). It was another fun fair, but three nights was plenty for me.

Gary Allan

Sid and I at the Dierks Concert

No good pictures of Dierks on stage, but the truck was cool...

I finished my 2007 tri season with the 27th annual Big Creek Tri. It turned out to be a very hot day with most finishers' times a bit slower from last year. I can't be sure why no one thought of this earlier, but they had snow cones at the finish line this year. They were the perfect recovery treat right after crossing the finish line. So good, I had two! Another great way to recover after a hot race was in a tall, cold one. No, no beer at this event; the ice baths however looked quite refreshing!

Heading out for the run...

Post-race ice baths... ahh!

Since the fair ended, I have just been trying to get back in the swing of working again! This was a great summer - I got to travel so much and see so many great people and places, but it was exhausting, both physically and financially. I didn't do much of anything over Labor Day weekend and that was just fine with me!

RAGBRAI XXXIV - The Best Yet!

With the end of July comes one of my favorite traditions: RAGBRAI!


With no Ironman looming in the distance, I was ready to enjoy a nice ride across Iowa. As an added bonus, this was to be the fourth flattest ride in RAGBRAI history.

Saturday (Ames to Rock Rapids):
Since our team was looking a little different than in past years, Sunshine hitched a ride with her friend Jay and his friends to the start town. Sparkle, Sid, and I loaded up the trailer in our best Beverly-Hillbilly-style and headed north to Buckeye to pick up Sid's brother, Shawn, who was just along for the ride west. We traveled with relative ease most of the route. Once we hit Sioux Center, the bus traffic had picked up significantly, and we all got more excited with each mile.

We easily found our host home. I think it is always a good sign when the owners are sitting out on the porch drinking when we show up... They were very helpful and hospitable. We unloaded and set up camp, then headed to town. The nightlife was hopping, but there were not many choices of where to go.




We, of course, found Team Emerson in the first bar we went into. The humidity level was so high, you couldn't actually see across the room due to the fog! We also found S'Todd (a friend who agreed to host the team when we got to Independence later in the week. But, by far the best part was the claw machine. Of all of Sid's many talents, his claw prowess is not to be doubted.

Sunday (Rock Rapids to Spencer - 62.5 miles ridden):
We awoke to a beautiful day. However, as the day wore on, we could tell it would be a windy day. There was a nice sharp wind out of the south, and, if you know Team Satisfied, you know that we don't do well with the wind... We forged on for the first half of the day before meeting up with Sid in the halfway town of Melvin. This fine little town was one of our favorite stops from a couple years ago when RAGBRAI came through previously.

After some lunch and a little R&R, we decided to load up into the trailer and bypass the southernly (is that a real word?? - my spell check says no...) section of the route. With navigator-extraordinaire Sid's expertise, we rejoined the route when it turned back east for the final 16 miles into Spencer.

We stayed at Sparkle's soon-to-be in-law's best friends' home. We posed for pictures when we arrived. They had quite a spread of munchies set out for us and we all enjoyed some water, food, and a refreshing round of showers.

We hiked up to the Clay County Fairgrounds for the evening's festivities. Making its RAGBRAI debut was the backpack cooler. This lovely invention was located at a local Target store for $20. We figure it saved the team a minimum of $150 over the week - a fine investment, if I do say so myself! With no overly-expensive (and nasty tasting) Miller products to purchase, we could enjoy whatever beverages we put in the backpack! Genius!

As we walked into the concert, the first person I saw was Steve from Team Emerson. He had just arrived on the ride after being stuck in a sports bar in Fort Dodge all day (long story...). He was glad to see us as the rest of the Emersons had already turned in for the night at about 9pm.

Spencer had some of the best entertainment of any night on RAGBRAI that I've been a part of. The Johnny Holms Band was rocking the house, and I do believe everyone there stayed to the end of the show. There were also fireworks. Really a perfect night!

The walk home ended with a Super 8 sign for Sunshine's tent... Shoot, I forgot to take a picture of that.

Monday (Spencer to Humboldt - 80 miles ridden):

Another team picture was required before we could leave again in the morning. We had two bad things going for us this day:

1. Sid had to go help his brother with a farming project all day, so we were without a sag driver. That meant we HAD to ride every mile of the day.

2. It was the longest day (mileage-wise) of the whole week.

We thought it best to each do our own thing for the day. Jay and Sunny rode together and Sparkle and I stuck together. It just made for an all-around happier day for all.

Sparkle and I wanted to front-load the day getting as many miles out of the way as early as possible. Sunny and Jay were planning to stop a little more often. We stopped in Marathon for some sweet corn and a great turkey breast sandwich. We bypassed the Century Loop. Again. Made another quick stop in Havelock. I needed a band-aid, so we stopped by the ambulance on our way through town. Literally the instant she gave me the band-aid, they got a call for a rider down one mile east of town. They went screaming out of town and we followed at a more leisurely pace.

The State Patrol stopped the bike traffic right as we got to the scene (so they could load the cyclist up in the meat wagon). It appeared to not be as bad as some of the accidents of the past few years.

Sparkle and I were hoping to find a short-cut into the last town and found a trail that looked like it would cut off a couple of miles. Turns out it was a limestone trail, but we went ahead and did six miles on it with our road bikes. No traffic and flat. Almost perfect!

In Bradgate we watched the water slides put on by the local fire department. That was fun until the 300 pound, 60-year old stripped down to a cheetah print g-string and took a turn or two. That was my cue to leave. We hooked up with Team Emerson for a hammer-fest into Rutland for the last beer garden of the day. Everybody was beat at this point. For some reason, it had been a hard day on everyone.

The last little bit into town was uneventful. We found our host home, ate some dinner, and showered up for the night. Our magnificent backpack cooler got us in a "little" bit of trouble, but not so much that we had to have a long conversation with the nice law enforcement officer.

The main bar in town asked the State Patrol to shut it down because they weren't prepared for all that RAGBRAI is. So we headed next door to an awesome new establishment with gorgeous woodwork, clean bathrooms, the Tour on the TV, and spaghetti dinner!

Tuesday (Humboldt to Hampton - 5.41 miles ridden):

As per Team Satisfied bylaws, one day per week must be a slack off day. Today was our day. Sparkle didn't want to ride at all. And the rest of us wanted to sleep in and maybe sag for part of the day. So we loaded up and headed to the half-way town of Clarion. There we found a Hardee's and grocery store. After gathering supplies (ice and multiple kinds of Doritos), we laid out a nice lunch and enjoyed the scenery (of the Hardee's parking lot...).

Sparkle and Sid would take the truck and trailer to Hampton and the rest of us would ride in. Sunny, Jay and I still wanted to ride some that day, so we changed into our cycling clothes and headed out. However, we figured since we were in Clarion, and there was a beer garden in Clarion, we owed to ourselves to check it out before we rode on.

It was a good thing we stopped because they needed us there! It was pretty empty when we got there, but filled up nicely after a bit. Some strange math by the ticket-sellers and the beer distributors lef tus with no other choice but to have more than one round. Even Lance Armstrong stopped in for a beverage! Not too many people have a picture of Lance blowing his nose...

Later, I checked in with Sid to have him answer a purely hypothetical question for me. Like, for instance, hypothetically speaking, if we were still in the beer garden three hours after he'd left us there, would he come get us? Not that this was the case, but just thought it'd be a good thing to have cleared up, just in case... Well, it's a good thing he said yes!


It was a very hot day and we were only 7 miles from Lake Cornelia. The thought of a nice, refreshing swim sounded great! We touched base with Sid to make arrangements for him to come get us there when we called. Long story short, we never made it there...


Exactly 5.41 miles out of Clarion, we took a right-hand turn onto County Road C-25. Low and behold, "Bob" was having was having a party on his farm! There was a band, beverages, food, and a agricultural-sprayer-turned-waterslide all set up! "Bob" clearly wanted us to join him, and the next thing we knew another few hours had passed us by.


We never made it to Lake Cornelia, but we did go out to the intersection of C-25 and R-38 to wait for Sid to come pick us up. Sunny was sure to give Sid a method to spot us when he arrived. Thanks, Sid!




We finally made it to Hampton with only 5.41 miles in our legs. We quickly cleaned up and headed downtown for some food and entertainment. Our first stop was a smoky old bar. Smoke is bad, so we headed for the only other bar in town (on the square). This was a jackpot! The Emersons and the Bad Monkeys were there and much fun was had by all. Thankfully, it was an early night since the day had been a long one. The evening ended with an excellent slice of pizza and a long walk home.




Wednesday (Hampton to Cedar Falls - 41 miles):

Since I had enjoyed Tuesday so much, I opted to take a different approach to Wednesday. I knew that Wednesday evening we would be staying at Sid's brother's house outside of Cedar Falls, and going out in big town like that isn't much fun on RAGBRAI. I drank water at each stop (when I could find it - no towns were really that well prepared with enough water).

We found a couple fun places to people-watch and hang out. Met some fun people, and enjoyed finding out just how interconnected Iowans are. It's like the six degrees of seperation of Kevin Bacon...

We exited the route early in Aplington in order to get to Shawn's house in time for dinner! And, a great dinner it was. It's always fun to hang out with the Koltermans and their three girls - Lexi, Livi, and Tori. Plus, they had just bought a puppy who entertained us most of the evening. Best of all was the great night's sleep inside in the air conditioning!

Wednesday turned out to be a very peaceful, relaxing, perfect RAGBRAI day.

Thursday (Cedar Falls to Independence - I forget how many miles... 60??)

I woke up well-rested and feeling very good on Thursday morning. I even threw down a little caffeine (very odd for me...), so I was ready to roll! We got a ride to the north side of Cedar Falls (since we had stayed SW of CF the night before).

Sparkle and Sid had to do a little vehicle-shuffling to Indy since Sid had to get back for work on Thursday night. Sunny, Jay, and I made our way to Denver, Iowa, for the first stop of the day. I was a little fearful that Thursday was going to be a re-play of Tuesday when we started off with a shot at the first bar. I honestly think that Sunny and Jay were just trying to calm me down from the caffeine from the morning... We also found some tasty vodka lemonades and vodka cranberrys. Soon it was time to move on...

We went through Klinger and Dunkerton (where we met up with Sparkle again). In both towns we were spreading the word of an off-route party in a little town called Littleton (aptly named, eh?). The Emersons were a big nervous to follow our lead, but we prevailed! We had quite the posse heading to Littleton!

Not too much action when we arrived, but the drinks were strong, it was hot out, and there were plenty of tents for shade out back. Soon the buses started rolling in and things started to get crazy. I think everyone drank way more than they had anticipated.

However, our day of off-route partying turned out better than the Bad Monkeys...

Back on the bikes, we headed for Indy. Once in town Sparkle found a place giving away free beer. We soon discovered why it was free... Yuck!

Next we located the Emersons at a little bar on the edge of town. Everyone was hungry, and one of the girls at the next table offered to take us to some food. As it turns out, her mother works at one of the retirement centers in Indy. That same retirement center was serving a big dinner to the riders for a fee. I've always said, it's not what you know, but who you know. Anyway, she got us all in for free! Corn, beans, cole slaw, salad, rolls, meat, and all-you-can-eat pie! Awesome.

Some of the seniors were providing entertainment on the portable keyboard in the dining area. We soon came to learn that our own Herndog (of the Emersons) could play the piano as well. He kicked the old lady out of her lawn chair (or politely offered to play and she gave him her seat), and played a little something much to the delight of the residents and his entire rugby team. Funniest moment of my RAGBRAI, that's for sure!

As we left the senior center, it was getting dark. Sparkle and I high-tailed it to the west side of town and out to the boonies to S'Todd's house. Not long after arriving, the storm clouds rolled through and our thoughts of going out turned to going to bed. It rained all night, so much so that Sparkle and I slept on S'Todd's living room floor and Sunny and Jay tent-camped in the garage!

All-in-all, it was a great ride. Never once did we all hate each other. The drama was kept to a minimum, and we're all looking forward to next year!