Well, well, alas Ragbrai is upon us.
I spent the last few days nursing my legs in sunny Southern California; riding up and down the Pacific Coast on a white walled tired beach cruiser. Yes, life is grand. I flew my tanned ass home last night and low and behold ran into the BikingViking at the Minneapolis Airport. Words cannot begin to describe how great it was to see his smiling face fresh from Bellingham, WA. It was also great to hear that there will after all, be a bit of Evil on the road this year for the ride. It sure wouldn't be the same without these crazy bastards given I sort of had my coming of age on a bike with them...and it especially wouldn't be the same without Carter's rig, Nana, Gordo, and the plastic Jesus, all of which I plan to visit with frequency.
It sounds as though the Viking been spending a sick amount of time on the mountain breaking frames. Alas, he is looking svelte and well and of course will be riding the 'brai on his Kona singlespeed. Hills? Haha, he says. Six or seven hours a day on Galbraith and a glimpse of those legs of his...and you wouldn't doubt him either.
He and a couple buddies have been hosting these AlleyCats and it was good to hear a first hand account of their progress. He told me about some other new cats in the 'Ham cycling world, Traitor Cycles . They have some really sweet looking rides. Apparently they are lending great support to the AlleyCats and appear to have figured out early where to get their PBR buttered.
I was also pleased to learn this a.m. that the boys from Team NAD will be bringing along on this year's ride the highly coveted and much sought after Drink Machine . Loomis really needs something to slow his ass down and hauling this thing ought to do the trick, especially if Boomer is true to his word and fills the trailer tires with cement. My buddy Jay is the mastermind behind this thing, and you can get yourself one here. It sure is nice to run into these guys on the road, bypass all the bar lines and get a ice cold vodka lemonade, or whatever your pleasure may be. Sheer genius.
I am embarking on a new Ragbrai journey this year and will be riding with Team Bad Monkey. I'll admit that I am a teensy bit nervous about their stellar organizational skills and penchant for getting up early. Okay, they do not get up that early, but it also does not appear that they sleep until 10 a.m., like I am akin to as I have yet to see them, or any other teams besides the Marleys for that matter, at 10 a.m.
I will cope. Thus far, I have found their program to be insanely dialed in and I am really looking forward to not only some great/new company but also the thought of rolling in to an overnight town and actually knowing where I am going. Hell, I might even make it in before 10 p.m. once this year just to see what how the other half lives!
My friend Keara also surfaced this a.m. all the way from the right coast (Connecticut) and she's making her way this direction as I type to ride with the GoldBond folks again. There was never a sight so sweet as her last year off route at 8 p.m. in some very, very random bar in the middle of nowhere. We lived at the time nearly 4,000 miles apart, have known one another since seventh grade, and of course, there we met, each of us eating sliders in the middle of Iowa someplace. Such is Ragbrai.
The adventure awaits....
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