Tag Archives: #ragbrai

The RAGBRAI a friendly ride across Iowa 

Cycling, , , ,

So, it has been a few years since I have done the RAGBRAI. 5 days of riding across Iowa with 10000 other riders is ok to do every once and a while but no way do I want to do it every year. So, I have decided that this was my last time doing the entire route. I will do a day or two as long as I can do it in an awesome costume made by DK.

The Dom and Gimp costume received the most attention. This outfit also came with a ball gag that was not the most comfortable thing to ride with. At one point, we were in the middle of the beer garden surrounded by people wanting to take a picture. This happened every time we stopped. We were the highlight of RAGBRAI. On this day we rode about 52 miles and by mile 47 I was ready to take the mask off. We stayed in costume the entire 52 miles.

 

IMG_8176
Best outfit of the RAGBRAI

 

 

The ladies of the Elks lodge. We had way to much fun with these ladies and the US Air Force.  This was on Wednesday and it was raining so what better time to sit at the Elks lodge and have a few beers.

Roxy and Heater at the Elks club

There was a Veterans memorial that the VFW designed. It was a nice stop.

Thursday was super friends day. The shenanigans that took place that day are to many to go into detail. Although this is the day we met team stoner, the name we so lovingly gave them. Since one of the guys were a little “unbalanced”, I gave him Gleek, the little blue monkey to keep him balanced. He wore Gleek for at least 2 days straight and possibly that little blue monkey is still around his neck.

Thor, bat girl, wonder woman and the wonder twins

Our super hero crew was supposed to have a villain with it but Toby bailed on it because he doesn’t like to ride in a costume. LAME! He missed out on some serious fun. We made a bunch of new friends that day.

Abigail (BBC) was thor, DK (BeadWhore) was Jayna, I was Zan, Abby was Wonder Woman and Deb (side boob) was Bat Girl.

Thors hammer fit 6 tall boys comfortably.

unjustice league

As I sat at the entrance to the brewery I made sure no one left with a beer in their hands. I had to help at least 2 people finish their beer:)

security

 

Team stoner:)

It was a fun RAGBRAI and I met a ton of people and strengthened a few relationships that were only acquaintances. DK and I hung out for 8 straight days! That can put a strain on any friendship:) Deb, Abby and Abigail are now part of the inner circle, or am I part of their inner circle. Either way, I love them all. It was a great dynamic and we all played a part in entertaining each other.

By the way, you can fit 10 adults in a port a potty.

Monday Race Report. The Truman Cup

Cycling, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , ,

The Truman cup is a series of races that start with a 5.6 mile time trial on Friday night then on Saturday there is a 3 mile circuit race that is a 4 lap race. Sunday is the 45 minute crit. All of the races took place in Independence MO this weekend.

During my race weekend in Lacrosse, WI I met a few fellow cyclist. One of the guys I met that weekend was Ryley. We hit it off immediately. Ryley was a new cat 5 and was fast, I mean, I would put him up against or in any cat 3 race and he would easily beat half of the field. So, Ryley decided to make the 9 hour drive down to KC for this race, and I am glad he did. Here is a picture of Ryley and I tooling around the city. 

Another friend that came in for the race is DK from San Diego. Of course she did not drive:) DK and I will be doing the RAGBRAI this week. RAGBRAI is a ride across Iowa. Not sure why it’s not a race, seeing how you probably want to get across it as fast as possible. I am kidding, Iowa is pretty cool and so are the folks that call it home. You will hear more about DK over the next week. We have way to much fun and will hope for no injuries and or arrest this coming week. Thank you DK for all the cheers during the race.
Friday – The Truman Cup Time Trial. This is a solo event so you have to go as fast as you can for 5.6 miles. The last 300m is basically where you empty the tank. Ryley and I headed out to Independence a little early to get the legs warmed up and check out the course. Fairly flat and a pretty good road. All start times were just after 6pm and each racer would start 30 seconds after the next. My goal is always to catch the rider in front of me. After that 9 hour drive I knew his time trail would suffer, and it did. He placed 11th and I took 6th with a 13:26 time, Fastest I have done on that course. During the TT we met some guys from St. Louis that were in town for the entire series. Super nice guys from a few different teams. To celebrate we decided to head out to Lulus. Possibly my favorite Thai restaurant in KC. So, while we were at the restaurant Ryley and I were talking about dating and how I find cyclist attractive. He was explaining how I should ask out a non cyclist. So, with out hesitation I point to a server and asked Ryley if maybe I should ask her out. As he shrugged his shoulders she walked by and I politely asked if she would give us a moment of her time? She stopped and said “of course, whats up”. I proceeded to ask her if she would like to go out on a date. I think Ryley may have been a bit uncomfortable with this whole experiment. Me? on the other hand, I was eating it up:) She was in a relationship and was super nice and went on to explain how when she was in roller derby a lot of the dating happened in the roller derby circle and that most of those relationships didn’t work after they left the sport. I don’t believe I will be leaving cycling anytime soon. 

Saturday – The Truman Cup Circuit Race. This is a 3 mile course that has a 1 mile climb, 1 mile of flat and a mile of down hill. I does seem to favor the climbers. Saturday’s heat index was like 300°. Ok, that is a bit high, but it felt like it. This race took it’s toll on several of the strongest riders. I went for a break in the flat of the first of 5 laps. Not the best idea but I wanted to spread that field out.  The break did not stick and they caught me on the hill because of a mechanical issue. Ryley crushed this race and took first and $100 for the win. Super proud of that dude. We hung out and chatted with the St Louis guys as DK continued to drink free beer at the Bier co tent. She is possibly already drunk but took some awesome pictures and maybe got some digits:) 

Sunday – The Truman Cup Crit.  With less than a mile loop, 6 turns and 45 minutes of racing, this is never a dull moment. This race had 51 racers in it and was as fast as it has ever been. We did 18 miles at about 26mph and it looked like the island of misfit cyclist. There were about 30 different teams. Ryley and I held on to the front most of the race and possibly worked harder than we should have but, that’s racing. He took 6th and I placed 16th.  Overall we were 4th and 10th in the 3 day Omnium. I was proud of us both! 

Always have to give props to the women’s free state team. They always win and look good doing it. Great job ladies!