Category: RA 2011

RA69: Rest in Monroeville IN

Posted on August 7, 2011February 10, 2012 by Rich

Monroeville IN – 5.4 miles My hopes of finding things to do in Monroeville IN were dashed pretty quickly this morning. This is a tiny town. We packed up most of our stuff early because the pavilion is being rented out for a function later today. I could just see a bunch of little kids jumping around on top of my bed mattress. Holding plastic forks or something. I talked to Jesse this morning and he is in North Manchester IN, only about 40 miles west of Fort Wayne. He’s been catching up with us nicely, taking a slightly more

RA68: Across Indiana

Posted on August 6, 2011February 10, 2012 by Rich

Denver IN to Monroeville IN – 77.7 miles Unbelievable. We’ve got a tailwind this morning. Breezes blowing from the southwest, and we’re heading mostly east and a little bit north. It’s been weeks. Several weeks. I could hardly believe our good fortune. I stopped in at the Denver Hotspot again for a cup of coffee, and ended up ordering a breakfast burrito along with Jack and Bill. We didn’t get out of the place until 9AM, and then Jack discovered a broken spoke on his rear wheel, on the cassette side of course. It was a) a good thing he

RA67: North Central Indiana

Posted on August 5, 2011February 10, 2012 by Rich

Monon IN (Acorn Oaks Campground) to Denver IN – 64.2 miles Bull frogs talked to us all night last night. Some just said, “Wuh!” and others said, “Wuh – Uoh!” in strange patterns. Almost as if a conversation was going on – it probably was. I woke up around 2AM and just stayed awake for a long time waiting for the sun. In short, I didn’t sleep very much. We made an orderly departure with some of us heading south to the town of Monon IN. Jack and I found Bill just leaving from the Reme Family Restaurant, which turned

RA66: Indiana Wants Me

Posted on August 4, 2011August 27, 2013 by Rich

Ashkum IL to Monon IN (Acorn Oaks Campground on IN114) – 76.2 miles OK, so it’s an old line from an old tune. AZ is my home state, and PA is my birth state, but Indiana is probably my second home state, since I’ve spent many days with my in-laws in Evansville, and many days driving to and from Earlham College (Richmond IN) with my daughter. We hit the Subway out of Ashkum IL one last time for a snack, but saved the breakfast appetite for the next town of Iroquois IL. Everywhere we go, people seem to ask the

RA65: Finally Cooler

Posted on August 3, 2011February 10, 2012 by Rich

Wenona IL to Ashkum IL – 75.8 miles Jack slept outside his tent all night, right out under the stars. He says he’s done this since he was a kid, when conditions permitted. I stayed inside, with the ocean breeze from the tent fan swirling around. 🙂 I was up early and took my turn in the shower, even managing to wash my bed mattress, which was getting pretty bad since I’d been sleeping on it with only a pillow. Jack and I returned to Boardwalk Place for breakfast because they were open early and had a decent looking menu

RA64: Midwest Heat

Posted on August 2, 2011February 10, 2012 by Rich

Kewanee IL to Wenona IL – 67.0 miles Nice sleep last night, with no earplugs. A few kids bugged us late at night (shouts of “Are you guys camping?”) but that is pretty much par for the course in small town city parks. Jack and I scrounged around Kewanee in the morning for a breakfast joint, and finally found Uncle Joe’s. We entered as the only customers, but quite a few others soon joined us. Average eats but very high on atmosphere. A couple gave us the “awed” reaction respecting our trip. We then jumped into a lengthy discussion with

RA63: Illinois!

Posted on August 1, 2011February 10, 2012 by Rich

Davenport IA to Kewanee IL – 64.8 miles A new month and a new phase of our ride. Jack and I arose in the late morning to find out that our motel doesn’t serve breakfast. We then headed out to the post office to mail our Ragbrai duffels (and some other gear) back home, since it had been impossible to link up with Phil after the ride. South through Davenport toward the wide Mississippi River. We searched for breakfast places along the way but found none, and so started our way across the Centennial Bridge. A big sign declared that

RA62: Rest in Davenport

Posted on July 31, 2011February 10, 2012 by Rich

Davenport IA – 7.0 miles I woke up around 6:15AM to tear down my tent. Oh yeah, I’m in a motel in Davenport IA – how glorious! The next thing I observed is my watch reading 10AM. Man did that feel good. Jack and I rode about 3 miles south to a laundromat, since the machines at our motel were broken. There, we found a motherlode of just what we wanted: Country Style Ice Cream and Coffee Shop Laundromania Handy Dollar and More Convenience Store Hungry Hobo Grill I must say that I’ve never had worse laundry. I’d have never

RA61: Ragbrai 2011 Day 7

Posted on July 30, 2011February 10, 2012 by Rich

Coralville IA to Davenport IA – 76.3 miles I woke up feeling weak this morning. I’m sure it had nothing to do with the 96 oz of beer I drank yesterday. Up through Iowa City and the University of Iowa in the morning – Jesse’s alma mater. Jack and I stopped in West Branch IA for breakfast, this time an all-you-can-eat affair prepared by the Fire Department. The line was pretty long but they were churning out pancakes at an impressive rate. Sometimes the servers would flip them high into the air for cyclists to catch on their plates. To

RA60: Ragbrai 2011 Day 6

Posted on July 29, 2011July 31, 2011 by Rich

Grinnell IA to Coralville IA Following 22 miles of riding from Grinnell IA, I repeated a breakfast this morning with the egg muffin guys, and sat around trying to enjoy a religious rock band playing while sitting in the shaded beer garden. A fellow was sitting next to me with Bloody Mary in hand, and I said, “Jeez, this band could drive me to drink.” I lost Jack before breakfast and I never saw him again today on the route. Instead, I started seeking out all live bands in each town, which often took me to the beer garden. Well,