Here We Go......

I'm leaving for RAGBRAI tomorrow! I am excited/concerned.

Concerns:
I have not ridden my bike enough to do this without dying.
Hills.
How far am I going to have to walk to find a bathroom at night?
Hills.
Ice-cold showers.
My butt.
My legs.
Humidity.
Rainstorms similar to what happened here last night. (Scary!)
Hills.
We didn't pack the right stuff.
Toes/hands going numb again.
I only have one pair of bike shorts...they better dry out!
My breathing.
Hills.

Excite-ments: (Is that a word?)
Pie.
Slip & Slides.
Meeting new people.
Biking with Megan.
Pie.
Pancake Man. (Or so I hear.)
Meeting up with Joel in towns.
Church lady food.
Festivities in pass-through towns.
The Peanut Butter Jam
Pie.
Sharing stories.
Manchester: Friends coming out to party with us on our last overnight.
The Nadas.
Camping.
Hanging out with our team at night.
Great Iowan hospitality.
Pie.

These are just a few of the things I am thinking about going into this 7-day, 442 mile bike ride across Iowa! I look forward to looking back on this list to see if I was silly to worry about those things, and how many fun things I can add to the list to be excited about next year.
I will be taking tons of pictures, and enjoying all that these Iowa towns and their people have to offer. I can't wait to share my stories. Wish me luck!

How Did You Get Chain Grease on the OUTSIDE of Your Leg?!

A quote from our friend Jon, in the midst of a horribly long and painful bike ride this weekend in Des Moines. My answer: "It's me."

We visited our friends Jill and Jon in Des Moines last weekend, who showed us the world!

Ingrid Michealson Concert (Sooo Good!)
Iowa Cubs Game
Amazing Chinese Pizza Place: Fong's
Cool Bar With 1000s of Beers and Bikes Hanging on the Ceiling
Man V. Food Eating Challenge for Joel & Jon
Des Moines Farmer's Market
Gray's Lake
Laser Tag
Trampoline Basketball
Amazing Thai Food: Cool Beans
Overall Fantastic-ness

Des Moines has the wonderfully long, paved, looped trails that our town completely lacks, so of course, Joel and I knew we had to take advantage, since RAGBRAI is right around the corner. Friday morning, we woke up, didn't eat anything, and biked 48 miles with Jon. The original plan was to bike 20-30, but we underestimated a couple of things....Joel's idea (to bike a lot more), as well as the distance between their house and the 16 mile trail. Dumb.

I spent the majority of the ride staring at the back of the boys' shirts, occasionally screaming hateful things, sometimes wanting to cry because I lost sight of them 15 minutes ago, wondering if they were really hiding in the woods laughing at me, and questioning why my toes and hands were numb. Good times.

I think Jon and Joel found it amusing, particularly when I would get my second (or eighth) wind, and come zooming up by them, sometimes passing them, only to immediately drop waaaaay back as soon as we hit an incline. It got to the point where I knew it was coming, and just said "bye!" as they continued their pace and I fell way back.

I should note, I rode this whole ride without padded shorts, which I then bought the next day. I could barely sit on that bike by the end. I would stand up to ease the pain, and my bike would nearly come to a stop.

I don't think RAGBRAI is going to be pretty.

After about 40 miles, I was about ready to pass out, so we found a gas station and I bought a Snickers and a Gatorade. As I sat on the curb, happily eating my candy bar, and clicking my feet together (ala 3 year old), Jon said, "You are just like those Snickers commercials. You are a total diva til you get a Snickers!" True story, Jon. True story.
After that, I was semi-good-to-go. You know, other than the numb toes, hands, and sore-as-hell bum.

I really don't think RAGBRAI is going to be pretty.

Next morning...20 mile ride. Luckily, my friend Beth wanted to try out the Farmer's Market bike ride, so I hung with her, which gave my legs a break! She rocked that ride though, for someone who just started biking/running! My legs were so weak, I had to walk the bike up a steep hill, and she lasted longer than I did.
Needless to say, my legs were pretty tired. I didn't even want to look at my bike, or anything resembling a bicycle, so naturally, what did we do that afternoon??

Yup. Paddle Boats. More pedaling. Luckily, we had Jill in the back to do most of the work!

And here is the choice Jone made, after the same amount of biking.....

At least Joel was smart, and chose to use his upper body, instead of his biking legs.....


And he got in the car and immediately began looking for kayaks on Craigslist. Fantastic.


And, the event we had all been looking forward to.....watching Jon and Joel attempt to defeat the Adam Emmenecker sandwich at Jethro's BBQ.
In 15 minutes.
Sadly, in the battle of man v. food, food wins.
After about an hour.
In a very disgusting battle.
With a lot of BBQ sauce.

As you can see, it is very important to find balance in our lives. For every big bike ride, there is a disgustingly huge sandwich waiting for us. Or a LOT of Chinese pizza.
Balance is important. Make sure you find yours. And then finish it off with a chocolate shake.

Keep Your Workouts Interesting...Very Interesting

This weekend was one of celebration and fun with family and friends. I had my brother and sister and nieces and nephews over for dinner out on the patio Friday night. There is nothing better than sitting outside with the people you love, eating. (I had to add the eating.)

We went out of town for a Memorial Day party at our friend's house. Our gracious hosts showed us a great time, and handled the stress of throwing a big party very well!!!

Even though this was a weekend filled with eating, I feel pretty good about the amount of exercise I got in. Did I go running? NO. Biking? NO. Any other traditional form of exercise? NO.
Now, how about interpretive dance inspired by the Predator? YUP! "Volleyball" with a giant blue children's ball? YOU BETCHA! Intense game of badminton, with all my teammates mad at me? MmmHmm! How about 2 games of laser tag so intense, I was sweating more than I do after a run? ABSOLUTELY! Oh, and navigating a maze of lasers much like they do in every great movie, with stealth moves and somersaults? HECK YES!!

To top it off, we ate at an amazing Thai restaurant. I learned from our friend Jon that eating spicy food gives you the same good feelings that running does. This was my first time eating Thai, and after hearing that, and realizing I LOVE Thai food, I think this is the way to go:
No more running. Only Thai food.