Ragbrai Wrap Up - Traveling to Iowa

After 3180 miles (5118km) of driving and 406 miles (653 km) of pedaling, I arrived back home at the kennel yesterday, just a bit before dinner.

Everyone, except maybe Mark's Stupid Cat, seemed pretty happy to have me back. Especially Bet. She sniffed and danced and sniffed some more (she doesn't give kisses - but she is a very enthusiastic sniffer!). I treated her (and her Dad) to Mushroom Swiss burgers for dinner and Saskatoon berries with ice cream for dessert!!! And yes, there were Saskatoon waffles for breakfast this morning. (Bet meticulously  picked up all her saskatoon berries and just ate the waffles! She makes me laugh!!!)

I took a lot of extra time picking up the dogs' bowls last night. While they are usually laid back and relaxed when I pick up bowls, they danced, chatted and otherwise vied for my attention - which I was happy to give!!!

It is wonderful to be home but it was also a wonderful trip, for which I am so grateful for having experienced!!!

July 18th

I loaded my Highlander up with my bike, a whole bunch of clothes and gear (most of it that I never used)- and Bang, who was moving down to her retirement home with my friends Dan and Heather and headed out.

The first night we stayed with my friends Colleen, Twizzler and Sparky in Regina. We had a short, but really enjoyable visit.

I have to tell my Bang story from that night...


Bang bopped around the house and yard while Colleen and I ate pizza and caught up with each other. When it came time for bed, Colleen insisted that Bang, who had claimed a cozy corner of the kitchen and was sleeping soundly there, would be fine loose in the house. I was doubtful, but Colleen was insistent - and since I was sleeping in the basement, any disturbance would likely bother Colleen more than me!

Around 3am a white shadow crept into my room. She had sought me out in the basement and curled up on the floor at the end of the bed to sleep. Just before 5 am she worked up the courage to jump onto the bed, stretched out her body against the length of mine, claimed half of my pillow and went to sleep.

It was a lovely way to spend my last evening with my friend and former teammate.

Folks often ask how I can part with dogs. I will admit that it is never easy, but when it comes to my dogs, I am interested in the RIGHT decisions, not the easy ones. This retirement home is definitely the RIGHT one for Bang. (Dan and Heather have reported that she is settling in wonderfully!)

The next AM we loaded up, swung by a Timmie's and then headed for Iowa.

It turned out to be a long and not particularly interesting drive. Since it was so long, I didn't do a lot of stopping - just gas, coffee and a few breaks for Bang.

I arrived in Glenwood, Iowa about 11pm and despite the late hour, was warmly greeted by Shelly, Helen, Dan and Heather. We visited for a bit, planned out the next day and I turned Bang over to her new family before we all collapsed into sleep!

Saturday was hectic!!! After securing a camping spot for the night (next to a pretty amazing man named Gay, who biked FROM VIRGINIA to Iowa - "How long did that take?", I asked. "Thirty five days", he casually replied!!! Way cool! LOVE IT!!!) and getting our tent put up, we headed down to Omaha for my Tales of the Trail presentation.

The presentation, hosted by Taysia Blue Siberian Husky Rescue, went really well. Great crowd and got to put lots of names to faces, which is always wonderful!

Bang and her new family came out to watch - and it was nice to see how quickly she was adjusting to her new life of luxury (also got to visit with Casey, another one of the now 4 NorthWapiti dogs living with Heather and Dan!)

After the presentation and some pizza, Shelly, Helen and I headed off to do some food shopping and get final preparations ready for the morning.

Just a small part of the Council Bluffs Ragbrai Campground!

Once those were done we biked down to the Missouri River to dip our rear tires into the water. A true Ragbrai tradition!!!

Tire dipping!

The whole Winter Chicks team - Shelly Lewis, Helen Thorgalsen and me!

After biking back we hit the bike and food vendors, finding some dinner and a bit of last minute 'kit' for the next week!!!

The girls thought I needed one of these for Bet next year. Bet and I vote NO!!!

As we were settling in for the night I could hear a sound from the trees that I was completely unfamiliar with. I asked Shelly what it was. She listened for a moment and said "A plane". Yeah, yeah....I'm not THAT much of a hick....I know a plane....the humming??? "Oh", she replied, "those are locust." It is a sound that she is so familar with, she doesn't much even hear anymore - but for me, along with the sound of fast rolling wheels on asphalt, and the unclicking/clicking in of bike pedals, it would become the 'song' of Ragbrai.

Locust sounds - click on 'locust 2'

RAGBRAI Day 7, The Finish - Bet

Howdy Ho Everybodies!

Day 7 of RAGBRAI started out on a bittersweet morning.  Happy to finally be reaching their destination, but sad that their journey was about to end.

Because of RAGBRAI, the Musher got to meet new fans and old fans, and even fans so determined to meet her, they followed the Winter Chick direction signs

She got to see a new state up close and personal, try new foods, enjoy the company of like minded peoples, and test herself on a 440 mile endurance test.

So, Day 7, the final journey began.

The final leg of the journey began in Fairfield and would end with the participants dipping their tires in the mighty Mississippi.

Another beautiful day for biking, and wanting to make the journey a little bit longer... and because sometimes ya gotta go and a cornfield isn't very dignified, they Winter Chicks stopped in West Point

Around 1pm Central time, they cruised to the finish at Fort Madison, and dipped those well worn wheels into the Mississippi, then celebrated under the not so burled but covered in bicycle arch.

Congratulations Winter Chicks, you have arrived!

I'm very proud of you!

Thank you Iowa for taking care of my Musher, and treating her so well and thank you to the RAGBRAI coordinators, you put on a heck of a party.

Extra special thankity thank you very much you are so wonderful and fantabulous to the extraordinary Shelly RAGBRAI Minion!  Without you, this wouldn't have happened and I'm forever grateful for everything that you did to make the Musher happy, safe, and comfy without me.

- Bet

RAGBRAI Day 6 - Bet

Howdy Ho everybodies!

This will be the most boring update ever... because the interwebs are not cooperating with the Musher, Shelly RAGBRAI Minion, or Helen (smells like team spirit) Handler.

The stormy storms weren't so ferociously stormy stormy, just a lot of rains and more rains and a little bit of winds, but they managed to stay secure in the Winter Chicks Coop without incident.

The morning was a bit damp, but nice out

So they started pedaling to the next destination

They left the friendly Oska who was loosa and pedaled 52 miles to Fairfield

And it was a good day.

That's it... that's the only thing I got today... boring... I can hear all of you yawning.

So... here's a cute picture of Vader

 

- Bet

RAGBRAI Day 5 - Bet

Howdy Ho Everybodies!

Once again, the Winter Chicks were pedaling their way across the great big ol state of Iowa.

Yesterday they got to spend some time with Shelly RAGBRAI Minion doing more shopping, eating, shopping, some eating, and relaxing.

The Musher telling Shelly how wonderful I am

Bright and early this morning, they set off for their next town

I told the Musher before they left that they better tighten their Oskas because where they were heading....

Anyhoo, it was a beautiful morning

The Musher was able to find a cool place to stop and take a scenic picture

When they got to Oskaloosa, they were easily able to navigate to the Winter Chicks Coop because of Shelly's awesome sign placement.  Apparently the British Broadcasting Corporation needed to  stop and turn around... perhaps they were riding on the wrong side of the road (hehehe, Richard will get that).

They found that their trusty Sag Wagon RAGBRAI minion had set up the Winter Chick Coop and had everything ready for them... Thank you for taking such good care of my Musher and Helen (smells of sno cones and ice cream) Handler.

The Musher was able to get some lounging time on a more comfortable seat

Some eagle eyed Facebooks fans noticed the dog tracks on her leg and wondered if the Musher was now going to get a bicycle tattoo...

The Musher kindly pointed out that she had lovely bicycle chain tattoos already, but they are not permanent, thankfully.

Although the trip so far has been pretty and shiny and warm and glowing and beautiful... the weather report says that it may get really stormy stormy tonight with hail and winds, and raining tomorrow on their trip to the next town.

Let's all cross our fingers... and paws, and hope the stormy storms aren't bad and the rain goes away for yet another nice bike ride for the Musher and Helen (who would smell of soggy cookies) Handler tomorrow!

- Bet

RAGBRAI Day 3 - Bet

Howdy Ho everbodies!

Well, after a very rough 83 miles of riding, the Musher and Helen (after a shower smells like cookies again) Handler were happy to be in Perry

They took advantage of the local foods by sampling a gigantic pork chop from the famous Mr. Pork Chop

Stop taunting me with the tasty foods

Then took advantage of Shelly RAGBRAI Minion's son and daughter-in-law's generous and thoughtful accommodations out of the nasty nasty elements where they roosted for the night.

The next day, off again early for the next stage

Thanks to the night's storms, it was a bit foggy but a lot cooler than yesterday.  Of course, there were the obligatory traffic jams

The Sag Wagon was feeling a bit of the Iowa heat and road dirt, but turning dirt into lemons... or something... Shelly RAGBRAI Minion made the best of it

Today the Musher and Helen, and Shelly Minion in the sag wagon made for Des Moines.

A mere 50 miles from Perry to Des Moines, and apparently it was college Jersey Day, but I'm pretty sure cows who went to college can't ride bicycles and therefore this tradition will most likely go by the wayside next year.  Oh wait, jersey... not guernsey... nevermind.

The Musher pondered: "I can't decide whether Ragbrai is more like spawning salmon or migrating caribou....basically just a continuous flow of cyclists that you just break off of or join into as whim decides!!!!! It is truly a cool experience!!!"

The spawning caribou migrating or something

 Once they reached Des Moines, there was more foodables

 

The Musher then gave a Tales of the Trails at the shelter @ Ashby Park on 38th St, just south of Douglas Ave, Des Moines.

And a good time is still being had by all


- Bet

RAGBRAI Day Two - Bet

Hooo boy everybodies!

Today was a looooong day for the Winter Chicks!  Today's leg of the RAGBRAI was from Harlan to Perry and it was a whopping 83 miles!!!!

That's a LOOOOONG way to pedal, I'll tell you!

The morning started early for the Musher and Helen (who probably doesn't smell too much like cookies after today) Handler.

At 6:30 am, they pushed their bikes toward the start of Monday's leg.

creak, creak, creak, snap, pop, groan

Then it was off toward the exciting town of Perry, where I heard there was some tasty pie waiting.

Check out the photo galleries on the official RAGBRAI wed site thingie.

At Mile 46, the Musher took a moment to lay under a majestic tree in the shade and relax for a bit.  I heard it's a bit sultry there, and when I say sultry, I mean anything over 66 degrees F.

More pedaling ensued, and even more pedaling, and some sweating was involved, and the drinking of lots of water was constant, until they made it to mile 62...

At which point a mandatory rest period was called.

Finally, after 12 hours of pedaling, the Winter Chicks arrived in Perry and collapsed at their roost.

23 hours ago, the Musher exclaimed: "Having way more fun then I could have imagined!!!! Yeah RAGBRAI!!"

We shall see where her fun meter is tomorrow morning when once again, they mount up and start pedaling, this time a mere 50 miles to Des Moines!

- Bet 

Omaha Tales of the Trails - Bet

Howdy Ho Everybodies!

I know that we have a lot of fans who are not on the Facebooks, so we like to do a little recap of events as they happened online.

The Musher and Helen (smells of Cookies) Handler met up with our trusty Shelly Minion in Iowa and began setting up their Winter Chicks Roost yesterday.  The Winter Chicks will be staying in their glamorous tent at some of the stops, and other times they'll be staying with friends and Shelly Minion's family and we're very honored by all of their generosity.

Then it was time for the Musher to scurry over to give her Tales of the Trails presentation.

We want to give a big THANK YOU for the Pizza Shoppe Collective for hosting the event, and to Taysia Blue Siberian Husky Rescue for organizing and sponsoring the Musher!

There were snacks (no waffles, unfortunately) and a raffle table

picture courtesy of Marcia Claesson

All sorts of goodies and autographed stuffs and things and stuffies.  As you can see, some of the directional signs were autographed and raffled, the others are going to a good cause, you'll see later in my next bloggity blog post.

picture courtesy of Marcia Claesson

Then the Musher got up and gave her presentation where she brags about how wonderful it is since I came to the kennel because all I have to do is turn on my amazing herdy skills to get the Pretty Curly Tails to sit in a straight line

picture courtesy of Marcia Claesson

And how alluring I am that it makes her job way too easy now since I do most of the work being Auntie Bet and teaching them everything from birth, then mentor them in their formative years, and then even teach them what Gee, Haw, and On By and all that stuff and junk... frankly I think I'm the one that should travel all over, get tasty treats and give this presentation.

picture courtesy of Marcia Claesson

Everybodies was sufficiently impressed with how the Musher talks about how amazing I am that they barely moved until the presentation was over.

picture courtesy of Helen (smells of cookies) Handler

Then it was time for the meety and greety part where the fans got to spend time asking questions about me, and telling the Musher how wonderful I am.

picture courtesy of Marcia Claesson

And as a special surprise, Dan and Heather Minion showed up with adorable North Wapiti's Casey and North Wapiti's Bang.  Dan, Heather, and Casey drove all the way from Pennsylvania to pick up Bang who will be going back home with them to join their pack.

picture courtesy of Marcia Claesson

Don't yell at me Heather Minion, the Cartoonist forced me to put this picture up.

So, it was an extra special treat that not only did the Omaha fans get to hear the Musher talk about me, but they also got to meet two actual Pretty Curly Tails!!!

Then the Musher got to meet the extremely nice and fantabulous Marcia Claesson who graciously took most of these event pictures and let me post them on the bloggity blog so all of you could share in the experience!

picture courtesy of Marcia Claesson with Marcia Claesson and the Musher

Thank you all for coming out to meet the Musher and hear her speak.  I'm sure she said other things, like stuffs about the Iditarod and me, and I hope everybodies had a great time.

Don't forget about our GoFundMe to help the Musher get to the 2014 Iditarod!  We'll be adding more reward levels after the RAGBRAI, but if you want a Winter Chicks hat or drinkie thing, you better get them now!  That reward level will go away after the RAGBRAI, so get them while you can!!!

- Bet