Some might not use the word "adventurous" to describe our first day on RAGBRAI (Amy, for example), but I think it will be looked upon as a favorable adjective in 10 years or so.
We made it through the first 20 miles on our trusty hybrids, which we upgraded from last year with better pedals and grips, but it wasn't quite enough to deal with hills that were very hilly, heat that was very hot, and humidity that was like a frickin' sauna!
After taking a lunch break at Mr. Porkchop a few miles before the town of Carson, we attempted to get going again when the chain on Amy's bike got wedged in a place on the rear wheel where chains are not accustomed to finding themselves. In my effort to free it I managed to cause a link to break apart, and ended up dropping the chain on the ground, free of being shackled to the bicycle gear system.
At this point it was fairly clear that fate was sending us a message. We got a ride into Carson from the nice owners of the farm where Mr. Porkchop was set up, and then began looking around for a RAGBRAI team with a bus who might be willing to take a few hitchhikers on to Atlantic, the overnight town where our tents and luggage were waiting for us.
As we surveyed the options, I saw one team bus close by with a few guys outside preparing to do something involving a funnel and beer. Thinking this might not quite be our crowd, we turned around, saw a bright yellow bus exuding sunshiny happiness, and headed that way instead.
We were in luck, as Amber and her fellow Team Daydrinker crew had room. We chipped in some gas money and obliged when they told us to pull up some chairs and enjoy a few drinks in the shade. Things were looking up as we knew we had a ride to Atlantic and some nice people to take us there.
Little did we know we wouldn't exactly be taking a direct route, but it was all part of the adventure. After riding the team bus to Lewis to wait for some of their team members to get off the ride for the day, there were two that got stranded a few miles out due to mechanical problems. It took some time and driving on gravel roads, and an accidental detour to a historical Underground Railroad house, but we eventually found them, then made our way the last 10 miles to Atlantic.
Once we got into town, Amy and I kept an eye out for our campsite with the Bikeworld charter while Team Daydrinker was trying to find the host family residence where they would be camping out. As luck had it, they drove right up to our campsite during this process. We stopped, thanked them for their hospitality, removed the fairly large tree branch that had somehow become attached to the rear of the bus (tall buses with bike racks on top don't mix well with low hanging tree limbs), unloaded our bikes, and made our way to camp around 8:30pm.
After taking the best showers we have ever experienced at the local YMCA, we got in a late night meal at Burger King with Alfredo and then called it a night. Hopefully today was the most "adventurous" day we'll have this week.
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