The joy of RAGBRAI is interacting with the local residents and the many co-riders. This event is a huge fund-raiser for the small towns ... imagine 15,000 people passing through a town of 1,000, or even 100. Great joy. And the conversations you have with other riders is always interesting.
The last two days of riding in Nebrasksa (O'Neill to Osmond ... 58 miles, and Osmond to Sioux City ... 75 miles) were fairly forgettable, other than we went from flat-straight-smooth to rolling-straight-rough roads). Yesterday's ride was one of those rides where there is great joy in finishing and getting off the bike.
The real stories, such as they are, for the two days have to do with food. Dinner in Osmond was consumed at the one restaurant available. While the food was okay, it was the small dinner salad that caught our attention. When ordering a salad, one envisions lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and maybe some other varied vegetables. Not so ... shredded lettuce ... that was it! I felt guilty sprinkling on some black pepper in-as-much-as the salad was so pure and unblemished with any foreign elements other than the shredded lettuce. Kim ordered her salad without tomatoes and onions, so maybe she is the one responsible for the barren dish. One good thing did come of the meal ... one of the waitresses recommended a breakfast place 9 miles east of Osmond.
The Hill Top restaurant is the yen to the previous night's dinner's yang. The food was outstanding ... but what was extra special was the conversation with Joe Hansen, son of the owner of the Hill Top, and local farmer. He talked about the irrigation systems (sprinklers) we had observed, and the affect the drought was having on the Ogallala aquifer. But the most enjoyable elements of the conversation was the interest he has in bike riding. Both of his brothers are avid cyclist, and he had read a book by a touring cyclist that had really caught is attention. Joe was most animated in the discussion. It really seemed as though he wants to ride, but somehow feels that his farming responsibilities precludes such a frivolous activity. Most enjoyable breakfast.
An observation: When touring cyclist stop in small towns, it is very common for local residents to initiate conversations about other cyclists who have come through town. In O'Neill, one gentleman provided us with information about a cyclist he had talked with the previous day who had started his ride in Portland, Oregon and was riding all the way to Portland, Maine. What was interesting was that this gentleman had taken possession of the story as if the travels were his own ... and seemed to be proud of the accomplishment. This attitude is not unique to this gentleman ... and my comment should not be construed to be a negative accusation, but rather an observation. For the most part, I think we touring cyclist bring a sense of joy and freedom to those we meet. I, for one, enjoy spreading the joy. Oh, and the touring cyclist this gentleman was describing is our own Frank Preston.
Back to the riding ... hot and humid ... and lots of long rolling hills. We are now in Sioux City, IA for a rest day, then on to Sioux Center tomorrow. Lots of errands to ride to today. Frank and Roger took an alternative route yesterday ... Laurel, NE, to Vermillion, SD, to Akron, IA ... to await the start of RAGBRAI. I think Mohammed and Mundasir are here in Sioux City.
It seems unreal that the end of July is approaching ... this summer is going very quickly.
Randy. Your loyal blog followers have noticed that since RAGBRAI started the blog has slowed down. Daun believe that on RAGBRAI it may be tough to get access to good WiFi. I disagree. My thesis is that RAGBRAI has easy access to WiFi AND beer.
ReplyDeleteWe hope you are having fun.
bill