RAGBRAI

Tall Dog buses stopping for lunch on the way to the start. Cousin Shawn snaps and sends me a picture in the time it takes Gary to figure out where the photo button is on his phone.

(JK, G. Love you and MISS you! The kids are trying to kill me with requests for this and that!)

Fun week

I was SO glad I only had one day of riding this year. The combination of sun, head wind, and hills about did me and my left knee in. The hotel was more my speed this year. I think the cousins enjoyed themselves there, too.

And they're off

RAGBRAI: The Early Years

Have your pets spayed and neutered and if you ever happen to find yourself incarcerated feel free to enjoy my personal hygiene products

We smash radios on the floor and grind toothbrushes on cinder block walls to see how easily they can be made into shanks. All of our hygiene products are screened for pork and other animal products to minimize conflicts with the practice of religious beliefs. And our mattresses are regularly tested to ensure that they meet the standards of ASTM.

The Bob Barker family of products is used by some of the toughest customers in the world, and we never lose sight of that. Low prices, valued products, and quality service guaranteed.

Do you think it's the Bob Barker? The ex-convict I met on Ragbrai claimed that her jumpsuit had his name on the label.

More RAGBRAI

Slideshow: Out of the Saddle

Oo-oo that smell

See, the problem with quitting the ride four days into it while your partner rides the entire seven days is the discrepancy in Camp Stink. The man and his gear smelled quite bad. I was hoping I might hit a skunk with the minivan on the way home to offset Mr. Bickerson's stinkiness. Whew!

It's a tie

Two worst things ever seen on Ragbrai:

1. 70 year-old man in a black thong attempting to participate in water slide activities. He fell and hit his head. He was unhurt but everyone watching him suffered a traumatic brain injury.

2. You know how bike jerseys have those little pockets in the back for a banana and your wallet? You know how on Ragbrai there are lines for the portable toilets as far as the eye can see? How much money would you have to have to justify reaching into the murky depths to retrieve the wallet that fell out of your bike jersey pocket? I hope she had a LOT of money her life savings in there.