NOW I'm nervous

[RoadRaven]

Sending you loads of positive energy for this, Deena.

Heck, you signed up for this (I have only read about RAGBRAI here) and anyone who signs up has a big heart.
You can do it girl... have fun and be proud!

[deena]

Thank you all for your encouragement! RAGBRAI was a blast!

I rode Day 2 from Spencer to Humbolt. 77 miles, 1494 feet of climb. 90 degrees and a bit windy. My sister dropped me off at the start in the morning. My DH and kids waited for me at the second-last town, 7 miles from the end, and my 9 year old rode the last 7 miles with me (rolling hills, into the wind, with knobby little mountain bike tires - what a trooper).

I didn't see Lance (my daughter joked that he was probably out there in a white t-shirt on a hybrid schwinn trying to be anonymous), but I met so many great people. I met Ann from Algona in one of the first towns in the port-a-potty line. A girl she was riding with suggested the cornfields - much cleaner and no line. One guy must have noticed me wilting during a longer stretch near the end, because he stayed and chatted about his clock repair business until we got close to town. A couple we met gave my daughter and I some of the tips they learned while riding with their children for years. I met another man who had surgery for a torn ACL 8 weeks before the ride. He got his doc's blessing to ride half of each day (about 35 miles each day) and rode in a full knee brace!

The pass-through towns were great. They ranged in population from 100-700 residents, but put out hospitality times ten!

If you haven't done this before - put it on the calendar now, even just one or two days - you have to try it once.

[SJCzar]

Glad to hear you had a great time. I had no doubts that you could go the distance, no matter the hills or wind.

I think we should keep this on our schedule for a group "Bettie" outing for next time around. With a whole year to plan and arrange our schedules we should be able to round up a few of the gals and have our own team.

[cosc]

Deena, congrats on your ragbrai ride. Great your daughter could ride the last miles with you. We ended up riding around home since my dh couldn't leave the farm work for a couple of days.