RAGBRAI Day 4

Des Moines to Knoxville 
49.9 Miles and 2,920 Feet of Climb

It's not the distance sometimes, it's the climb.

"Oh, wow, another hill, I'm so excited!!" Said no one on our team EVER!! nor did I know of anyone who was particularly excited about the seemingly never-ending hills. We noticed a couple of things... One, hills look bigger when you are on the crest of the previous hill. Two, forget about the excitement of wondering what's beyond the next hill because hills are nothing if not consistent.

We left for the day feeling somewhat refreshed and more prepared for the day. We knew it would be a shorter distance so that was our encouragement.  If you've ever been to the state capital building in Des Moines you are familiar with the geography of the neighborhood. If you are not, well, let me describe it for you. It is on the top of a hill. Not just any hill, but the lease favorite kind of hill... This was a particularly long and fairly steep hill that started just after rounding a corner so you have no real speed to help you up. The next issue came when after a 1/2 mile or so of a climb, it flattens out just enough to make a cross road then climbs steeply after that to make up for the flattened section you just rode across. It was great that the road department made a nice little parking lot a the the top so that we could recover and catch our breath.

On we continued down and around to the State Fairgrounds where we all eagerly anticipated breakfast!! Being the fairgrounds, though, they only offered traditional fair foods. HUGE LETDOWN!! Fried Twinkies and funnel cakes are a big ol' YUCK! that early in the morning. We looked at the map as we ate a snack consisting of fruit ropes and Clif Bars and off we went.

"Where did we go from there", you ask?  Great question! "Why we went through a small town called 'Pleasant HILLS"'... Aww crap... There was a sweet family at the top of a particularly rough section with their sweet little kiddos and really, let's be honest, their amazing lemonade stand, where we stopped and chatted about the upcoming terrain of the day.

I can honestly say this is a total waste of time when you are taking to a non-cyclist... You see, when you drive these roads, the hills are "small", the grade is "not bad", and the trip is actually "delightful" as you cycle into your next town... TOTAL WASTE OF TIME FOLKS...

We eventually ate and rode some more. At this stage of the game I will tell you that the idea of getting on a skinny tired, small seated machine began to be something unpleasant. Getting off the bike isn't a big deal, it's actually kind of nice to let the nether regions breathe and your legs get unfolded and your back in an upright position. The sitting position when you are ready to move on is something that takes some determination after awhile. It begins to be not so much fun...

The town of Adelphi was a bar on the side of the road, we didn't realize it while we were riding through, but that was all it was. Really, That was it. We continued on to Runnells and I will tell you it was such a great town. EVERYONE was talking about how fun they thought it was. They had great food vendors, fun games to play, a place to choose, write and send postcards and a DJ that Jessica and I couldn't resist. It's the Cupid Shuffle people, idiot proof even for us. We stayed longer than we anticipated, but it was so much fun that we didn't care.  We found the port-a-potties and the water station and rode to Monroe then headed south to Knoxville across Lake Red Rock.

All in all, it was a rough day for riding if you dreaded hills, but the weather was amazing, the towns were super fun and the scenery was beautiful. It was a great day indeed.