Not only did we have hills all day (77 miles worth today) but we also had a chilly, drizzly rain for most of the day. It wasn't until about 3:00 this afternoon with 22 miles left to pedal that the sun came out.
RAGBRAI riders are a hardy lot, though, and you don't hear any complaining. And when you get to one of the tiny Iowa towns that no one would ever think of visiting almost everyone takes the time to stop and see what the town has to offer. Each town is so proud of what they have and the surprises never end.
I saw a curious, handwritten sign by the side of the road as we approached Macksburg this morning: "Home of the National Skillet Throwing Championship." I thought maybe it was a joke but when I got to the city park in the center of the town I noticed a crowd of people cheering and laughing. For $1 you could buy the chance to throw 2 cast iron skillets and try to knock the basketball heads of 2 dummys sitting at the end of a fenced in area. It was a riot. Exactly the kind of comic relief that is needed when you're facing a long, hard ride on a cold, rainy day.
It took a strong wind from the north to blow out today's storm clouds. But, wouldn't you know, for the afternoon ride, the route turned to the north, which meant we got to pedal into a head wind on top of contending with the hills. I thought several times of giving up and flagging down the sag wagon.
But here I am in Indianola, camped for the night in a beautiful park on the campus of Simpson College. And I am typing this from a computer terminal in the college's library. We've gotten another friendly, Iowa welcome and are camped in style. And with 44 miles tomorrow I think I can say for sure that it should be an easier day.
Oh, one more thing. Here's a picture of me today in Truro, Iowa. They had a web cam set up there and I was able to call Lee and Ruth and wave to them on the web cam.
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