RAGBRAI Day 3: Can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the a.m.
• Jul 27th, 2010 • Category: Travels
Team Definitely Savage Obviously Not Subtle
First, an apology goes out to the ladies of Team Definitely Savage Obviously Not Subtle. They were gracious enough to do a video interview with me in Pocahontas, Iowa (”The Princess City”). But after two hours of trying to convert the file outside my campground, I gave up.
Suffice to say the interview boiled down to this: 1) Beer is good. 2) Biking across Iowa with beer is even better. 3) You should be here. 4) If you’re not, be jealous.
A few more miles down the road I ran into the Wilson family of six — all on one bike. They were incredibly friendly and talkative when I pulled alongside them, despite the fact that they had to haul a bike, a tagalong and a trailer up hills. Greg Wilson told me that was still easier than trying to coordinate babysitters for all of RAGBRAI. They just passed 1,300 miles of training together when I met them.
The Wilson Family -- all 6 of them
In the tiny town of West Bend we came across the World’s Largest Grotto, a surreal sight in the middle of cornfields. And right next to thousands of cyclists holding beer. The massive structure had petrified wood and $14 million worth of stone. One cyclist remarked that “the priests must have been on acid when they built this.”
West Bend Grotto photo by Jeff Miller
I met a nomadic young engineer named Willy who has bike toured 8,000 miles in the last five months, including a zig-zagging 4,500-mile trip from New Orleans to San Francisco. His buddy, Brett from Denver, was riding with his dog Moxie Crimefighter in the back of his bike. Coincidentally, Willy went to a conference rival of my high school in Wisconsin. Small world.
“I hope I’m not offending you,” Willy said at one of our rest stops, pulling out a paper bag-covered bottle. “But I’m not drinking beer. I’m drinking 40 proof fortified wine.”
Today’s short 60-mile ride was a brutal 103 degrees with no cloud cover or shade, making the beer at the end especially crucial to our survival. Thankfully, we were welcomed into Clear Lake with shouts of “FREE BEER!” Never has those words sounded so sweet. Turns out, a local bought a keg for bikers to entice them to pay $10 for a shower. I think it was working.
Until tomorrow, I leave you with this mobile public service announcement.
Tim Cigelske is the Beer Runner. --
Beer Run•ner (noun): 1. Someone equally devoted to fine beer appreciation and an active, healthy lifestyle 2. A blog by Tim Cigelske on Draftmag.com. Ex. "John downed four microbrews at the triathlon finish line. He's a total beer runner." Follow @TheBeerRunner on Twitter and at Facebook.com/TheBeerRunner
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Tim-great meeting you in Pocahontas. You should have picked a day to ride Savage style. Plenty of experiences to be had, beer to drink and fun to create. If you need some additional activities that evolve around beer… let me know. Urban Assault ride later this month in Des Moines and Living History Farms Run in November.
Savage’s also make a trip to Oktoberfest in WI next month…..
Ruth
Beer Me!
Tim! Thanks for the write up in Pocohontas on RAGBRAI! I just wanted to let you know that our team name is the Subtle Savages…not what it says on our shirts - that was just our disclaimer.
Bummer that the video didn’t work. I am sure it is just as well b/c I probably sounded ridiculous! :)Hope you had a good time that week and I hope your house is OK!
Thanks again!
Kristan (aka the Chick on the Left in your pic)!