Six Days of R. A. G. B. R. A. I.

August 9, 2005

Chris, Pat, Andrew, and BillHere is an account of our assault on the weekly mileage record, and the various experiences from our recent trip across Iowa.  Read as much as you care to; details are provided where my senility permits.

The Players of the Pedaling for Parkinson's Team (Identifying Bike):    

• Jay Alberts (Cannondale) – our ride organizer, Frazier Cycling Partner (“FCP”) and recent new resident of Cleveland.  Left Georgia Tech to take a position with the Cleveland Clinic, advancing the study of neurological illnesses.  Jay is also one of the founding members of Pedaling for Parkinson’s (“PFP”) and the organizer of our ride.
• Joel and Brenda Alberts (Kestrel and Felt) – From Minneapolis, MN.  Joel is Jay’s older brother.  He works at Wells Fargo in the Trust area.
• Dr. Barry Bershow and son Robbie (Trek)– Also from Minneapolis.  Robbie is in residency to follow in his father’s footsteps.  Barry has an appetite of legendary proportions.  We are hopeful again this year that he will amaze and astound us with accounts of his eating adventures.
• Scott ? (Felt) – From Minneapolis.  Scott is a friend of Barry’s and is joining our PFP group for the first time.  He is a physician, which may be a useful skill set on this year’s ride (ominous foreshadowing!).
• Troy and Kayla Jefferson (Tandem) – From Minneapolis also.  Troy works at Wells Fargo with Joel, and his daughter, Kayla is in high school.  She must love this ride to accompany a bunch of middle-aged cycling junkies across Iowa again.
• Brooks Glasnapp (Recumbent) – Brooks rode two years ago, and hosted our PFP group for “Brooks Burgers” last year during RAGBRAI.  This year he rejoined the ride.
• Chris Hovorka (Cannondale) – From Atlanta, Chris is an FCP, Fab 4 participant (see below).
• Bill and Andrew Craig (Cervelo) – From Atlanta, this father/son team is participating at Andrew’s request, as the final fling before he heads off to VMI in August.  Both are FCP members, and Fab 4 participants.
• Pat Tuley (Trek) – Atlanta; FCP member, Fab 4 participant, and author of this report.
• Darren – One of our support crew.  Darren donned the cycling shorts for a day this year, but mostly followed us across the state, hauling our luggage and keeping track of our pilgrimage across the state.  Darren is a PhD in engineering and professes at a university in Milwaukee.  He gets a million thanks for taking a week out of his summer to support the team.
• Jason (and Keagan) – this father/son team from Hull, Iowa, again supported our team across Iowa.  Keagan is 4 years old, and completes his second RAGBRAI (in the RV).  Keagan rides his bike at most all of the overnight stops, and has already discarded the training wheels.  We expect great things in Keagan’s cycling career.  Jason’s support is indispensable, and Keagan’s energy and antics provide great relief after a long day’s ride.  Jason also donned the spandex for a day of riding, but spent the rest of the week following us on our journey.

Our ride unofficially began on Saturday, July 23.  Andrew, Bill, Chris and I (the “Fab 4” for typing ease) set off from LeMars to Sioux City to “dip our tires” in the Missouri River.  We were told that it was about 21 miles one-way.  Thinking we would have enough time, we departed.  At the 15-mile mark of the outbound ride, we saw a sign indicating that Sioux City was still 10 miles away.  Not significant in terms of extra miles, but daylight was going to work against us, so we decided to turn back at the 20-mile mark.  By the time we got back to LeMars, we had 44 miles, and it was getting dark.

LeMars – Sheldon (Sunday): 

Looking at the official route for Sunday, we noted that the mileage was approximately 65 miles.  Our overnight house (Jay’s Mom’s house) was in Sanborn IA, which is 9 miles from the official Sunday stopping point of Sheldon.  Doing the math, the Fab 4 decided to try Sioux City again Sunday morning, return to LeMars, then set off for Sanborn.  This should yield 125 miles.  The constant rolling hills to Sioux City wore us down, and we ultimately ended up with 32 miles one-way to Sioux City before we were able to dip our rear tires in the Missouri River.  A little extra mileage we had not anticipated!  By the time we arrived back in LeMars, we were anxious to get out on the official route and eat some food.  Unfortunately for us, most of the food vendors were packing up or gone before we reached their stops.  For the most part, we ate cookies or fruit, and drank lots of Gatorade.  Did I mention the temperature in IA on Sunday was 95?  Finding a little shortcut along the way, we ultimately made it to Sanborn late in the afternoon, after 122 miles, 12-14 water bottles each (no bathroom stops necessary!), and starved.  Chris had lost over 10 lbs. on the ride, and was discouraged about continuing the assault on the record.

On a serious note, some severe weather moved through Sheldon Sunday night, causing a tree limb to fall on a rider’s tent.  Two people were injured, and one rider was killed as a result.  We all were deeply saddened by the loss of a fellow rider, and felt thankful to have shelter for most of our overnight stays.  Jay and the PFP group always do a great job organizing our trip, so that we can all return safely after the week’s ride.

Sheldon – Estherville (Monday): 

On Monday, we all set off together, but Chris was planning on only riding a half day and trying to recuperate.  The Fab 4 was down to three.  Andrew, Bill and I proceeded at what seemed like a snail’s pace most of the day, but logged another 120 miles by day’s end.  We ate a lot more food, and encountered some cooler temperatures, coupled with a light drizzle.  It turned out that Chris had recovered somewhat, and had decided to ride 92 miles on Monday, so he fell 28 miles off our pace.

Estherville – Algona (Tuesday): 

Tuesday was RAGBRAI’s official “Century” day.  Feeling a little refreshed after Monday, and with much cooler temperatures (60-80 degrees for most of the rest of the week), Andrew, Bill and I set off together for our third century in three days.  The ride was much faster, especially when we made the turn onto the Century Loop.  At this point, we had a tremendous tailwind, so the pace quickened even more.  I led the group along at about 27 mph, until we were passed by a couple on a tandem bike.  I turned to Andrew and Bill and suggested we try to catch their draft, which I did.  Andrew caught up within another 10 seconds, leaving only Bill off the back a little.  I looked down to see that we were motoring along at 32 mph.  At about this same time, I heard metal hitting the road and turned to see Bill skidding across the (thankfully) smooth pavement.  Even with the favorable road surface, Bill had some major scrapes and cuts.  We stopped to attend to his wounds, and passed the Advil bottle.  After a little while, Bill said he was ready to resume the ride.  We flew along again for about 15 miles, until the course turned back on itself, so we were now facing a stiff headwind.  We hooked up with another group of riders that were pushing into the wind at about 18-20 mph, which helped us considerably, as we hung at the back of the group for the bulk of the rest of the ride.  Finishing the ride at 104 miles, we were thankful to be out of the wind.

Unbeknownst to us, Chris had also decided to ride the century route (and had hoped to catch us).  We did not see him until after the ride was over, but he had logged 110 miles, closing the gap to 22 miles.  It was apparent at this point that Chris was determined to try to make up the mileage before the end of the day on Friday.  We talked about the goals for the next few days to see if Chris could rejoin the Fab 4.  Little did we know what was in store.

Algona – Northwood (Wednesday): 

Wednesday’s official mileage was approximately 90 miles, so we were looking for at least an extra 10 miles to continue our string of centuries.  As an added “bonus”, Jay decided to ride with the Fab 4 for the day.  While it is nice to have Jay along, as he tends to do most of the pulling at the front of the paceline, he also tends to inflict pain on his fellow riders with his excellent conditioning and speed.  Nonetheless, the five of us had a great ride, with one incident.  In the first 10 miles of the day’s ride, our group (riding single file) was approached by another group trying to pass us.  At this point there was little room for such a maneuver, but the other group was led by two tandems, and they rolled right up on us and forced their way into the group.  In what was the most reckless passing (on a bike) I have ever witnessed, they proceeded to ram directly into Andrew, rather than slow down for 10 seconds to allow our group to complete our pass.  We were going approximately 20 mph at the time, so Andrew joined his dad in the bloodied and bruised category.  Fortunately for the rest of the group, nobody else was taken out by these idiots.  After a short recovery period and some more Advil, we were on our way again, and made it the rest of the day without other incidents.  Andrew’s crash followed another crash (not in our group) that happened right in front of us, so we were feeling a little apprehensive at this point in the ride.

As a side note, we thought Bill had marred the record of 20,000 rider miles logged during RAGBRAI over almost 2 ½ years without an accident, but it turned out that Barry and his son, Robbie, had had a minor incident on Monday, before Bill’s crash on Tuesday.  I guess the dam was open at that point, given the rash of injuries our group was suffering.

Upon arriving in Northwood, we learned that we were just 5 miles from the Minnesota border!  This provided a perfect opportunity to head for the border and get some extra miles.  15 miles later, we arrived back in Northwood.  Chris wanted to make up some more of his deficit, so he went back to the border road and logged another 10 miles, giving him 115 for the day.  Another day; another Century!

Northwood – Cresco (Thursday): 

The official mileage was 78 miles.  We wanted to make Friday an even 100 miles, so we were going to try to get to 600 miles by the end of the day on Thursday.  In addition, Chris wanted to surpass the Frazier Cycling Partners (“FCP”) weekly record (set by Steve Kester a year earlier) at the same time as us, so he intended to ride the last 12 miles to make up the gap.  Andrew, Bill and I wanted 108 miles, so that meant 120 for Chris.  Thursday, we were feeling pretty good, and the pace was enjoyable.  I came up with an idea, which both Andrew and Bill thought sounded like a means to our collective goals for the day.  We decided to head out after the official route to get to approximately 102 miles.  We saved 6 miles each (me, Bill and Andrew) for the end, and decided to do a six-mile, two-person time trial, each of us paring up with Chris for our leg.  This would give Bill, Andrew and me 108 miles, and Chris would get an extra 12 without having to ride alone.  This made perverse sense to the three of us, and Chris was not objecting adamantly, so that was the game plan.

We let our injured “little buddy” take the first leg.  He had Chris pull the entire outbound leg (into the wind), with Andrew pulling back to the start point with a tailwind.  The official time was 17 minutes and 36 seconds.  For those of you not familiar with our FCP group, time and mileage reports are critical, so forgive me the gory details.  Bill was next up, and he decided to pull into the wind, with Chris pulling the return leg with the tailwind.  With the extra day of recovery from his injuries, Bill and Chris finished in 16:22.  I had suggested to Bill that it would be wise to try to wear Chris out before he and I took our turn, and we both agreed that a separate objective would be to try to get Chris to puke before he was done (a solid indication of suffering on the bike and exceeding anaerobic capacity!).  Chris was still looking fresh when he returned, so we let him rest for 4 minutes before setting out on the final leg of the time trial.  I suggested to Chris that I start out on the front, but that we switch every minute going out, and that I would take 2 minutes for his one on the return leg.  Owing mostly to their injuries and my superior strategy, Chris and I finished the final 6 miles of the time trial in 15:04.  Chris held his stomach, but everyone was still pleased with our efforts.  If only Jay had been along for one more leg, Chris may have cracked.  We returned as a group to Cresco with 108 miles and 120 miles for Chris.  The gap had been eliminated, and Chris was an official member of the Fab 4 again!

Cresco – West Union (Friday): 

Friday was a scheduled short day, with only 57 miles to ride.  At the 37-mile mark, we stopped in Waucoma for a picture to commemorate our 640th mile of the week.  Steve’s old record of 638 miles was behind us now.  After 5 Centuries in a row, our goals quickly changed in the face of some hills on the route, and with the spirit of accomplishment.  We decided our new goal would be to sample every pie stand between Waucoma and West Union.  Several others in our group joined us in this goal, and our ranks grew with the addition of Troy and Kayla, Joel and Scott.  Our enthusiasm for our new quest waned as our search for pie was mostly…fruitless!  Our search turned maniacal as we encountered one pie-less town after another.  With young children, I use lots of Disney references, so if you have enjoyed “Finding Nemo”, you may recall the Sea Gulls screeching out “MINE, MINE, MINE” at a point in the movie when they are contemplating eating Nemo and his friends who are sitting helpless on a dock.  Our cries for “PIE” sounded much like this, as we rolled through town inquiring about pie from anyone and everyone.  Ultimately, we arrived in West Union, still searching for our first pie stand, and followed signs to a church that advertised PIE.  The arrangement was for a Lasagna Dinner, accompanied by PIE, but we wanted nothing to do with Lasagna.  Joel took care of the negotiations, securing our ability to buy PIE for $1.50 a slice.  After our first piece, Joel slipped out, returning a few minutes later to inform our group of 7 or 8 that he had made a bulk purchase of 20 more pieces of PIE!!!!  Several people stopped at two or three pieces, but Joel had 5, and I had 4.  After satisfying our PIE obsession, we wandered back to our bikes to go find our overnight house.  The best description of my state-of-mind at that moment would be a “pie hangover”.  The FCP mileage record was now officially 663 miles for week, and we finished the day with 60 miles.

West Union – Guttenberg (Saturday): 

Our final day on the road, everyone was feeling relieved to be almost done.  Some of the soreness from earlier in the week was finally subsiding, and some of the FCP gang were feeling particularly “frisky”.  Coupled with a mostly hilly day of challenging climbs and fast descents, the ride quickly deteriorated into a series of attacks on almost every hill.  These were led usually by Bill, Andrew, Chris or myself, but always answered by Jay (the reigning Hammerhead).  With rare exception, Jay caught and dropped the attacker and then waited at the top of the hill for the rest of the gang to regroup.  On several occasions, Andrew would take off, and Jay would sprint to catch and overtake him, commenting “where are you going Little Buddy”.  This was one of the new nicknames for the week.  Bill was renamed “Bloody Bill” for his adventures on the pavement.  Official mileage for Saturday was 58 miles.

Other pertinent facts:

• Total mileage in Iowa for the Fab 4:  721 miles
• New FCP record for miles in one week – 663 miles
• Total elapsed time – NO IDEA
• Best Ice Cream – Beekmans
• Best Pie – Amish roadside pie stand
• Most Pie consumed in one sitting – 5 pieces (Joel)
• Most Pancakes consumed in one sitting – 17 (Dr. Barry)
• Most crashes in one week on RAGBRAI – FOUR
• Favorite Food Stops – Beekmans, Mr. Porkchop, Chris’ Cakes, Rib Place at the Theater in Cresco.
• Cheapest Gatorade - $1.19 for 32 oz. at the convenience store in Sioux City (that’s the treat for riding back to the Missouri River).  Later in the day, we paid $2.50 for a sixteen oz. Bottle
• Worst idea of the week – Riding back to Sioux City and missing all of the food on the first day; what were we thinking?
• Most likely to be the cause of delays in starting our rides in the morning – Chris (We are considering naming an award in his honor, but need to consider Bill Murphy’s legend first).

Prologue 1 :

Thursday, July 22, 2004

We left Atlanta with two cars, seven bicycles, six riders, and - - unfortunately - - five bicycle helmets. 10 minutes into the ride yours truly realized I forgot my brain bucket and we had to drive back home and pick it up before our journey legitimately started. For anybody who lives in Atlanta, we had to drive down interstate 85, across 285 and back up 75 in the dead of Atlanta rush hour. For a group of speed junkies, this was not the best planning. The crawling traffic was complimented by 100-degree temperature and stifling humidity. We were 10 miles and one hour into our journey when everyone started thinking about dinner.

After two hours of traffic we finally got into the open road, heading towards Tennessee. Our route to Iowa took us through Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and then to Iowa. The mid-point was just outside St. Louis. Along the way, we sloshed through driving rains, which my cycling coach knew was the only way my bike was gonna get a wash.

I was riding with a group of very health-conscious and highly trained athletes. Accordingly, my dinner, which I deemed best-of-breed among our group, consisted of a Wendy’s burger, a milkshake, three cokes, a big bag of gummy bears, and a bigger bag of chocolate malt balls. “Just be glad you’re not sleeping in the same room with me tonight”, I said to Pat, my co-pilot. “I am sleeping in the same room with you tonight”, Pat lamented.

The rush hour traffic and the driving rain slowed us down, so we didn’t get to our mid-point until around two in the morning. Nashville is an exciting town at two in the morning. Nashville, Illinois is not. The next morning I asked three locals who were enjoying the excitement of the Best Western lobby, how the town got its name. “Never thought about it”, was their same response. “What’s the population of Nashville?” was my next question. “Where, there’s me”, I got as a studied response. No more questions.

With very little prodding, I convinced three of the passengers to wake up at 6 in the morning to do an early morning ride. The other two members of our entourage wisely selected to sleep in and enjoy breakfast. Ralph, my cycling coach, started the ride at a blistering pace. Three hours of sleep and a tummy full of gummies is not the recommended precursor to a blistering bike sprint. Then it got worse. Ralph hates getting passed when he’s on a bike. That’s OK, but he hates not only when other bikes pass him, but also when cars and truck pass. A big 18-wheeler blew by us two minutes into our ride, so Ralph swerves behind the truck to catch its draft – at 36 MPH! This, like Ralph, is nuts. Not only was the pace unbearable, but drafting a truck can be like chasing a parked car if you’re not careful.

Fortunately, Ralph has eyes in the back of his head, which were required to see that he left the rest of us in his dust. He let loose on the throttle and we settled into a “whose bright idea was this !@#$% ride?” pace.

Going north on the main strip through Nashville, we turned east and went through New Minden (hate to see Old Minden), population 250. From New Minden, we approached the outskirts of Irvington, a bedroom community of New Minden, and turned back to complete our 25 mile “pre-ride” ride. Corn fields, cool weather and the sweet smells of pig effluvia delighted our sense. Actually, the fact that we weren’t dodging the traffic and obscenities of Atlanta was a welcomed relief. However, the vacation ended because for the last four miles, someone in our group had the dopey idea to take turns doing half-mile pulls at the front of the group at maximum effort. Last night’s gummy bears, and this morning’s Fruit Loops and glazed donuts were dangerously close to coming back up when our first ride – thankfully – ended.

25.2 miles; 25.616 MPH; 0 crashes; 0 flats

Prologue 2—Finally arrived in Heaven (Iowa)

Friday, July 23, 2004

Our second day of car travel was much better than the first – principally because it was our last.  Our route through Illinois was a long one and I don’t think we went through half of the state.

The highlight of our day was eating at the Woodhull Family Diner.  The jukebox was cranking out some great tunes that I had not heard since cruising around in my K Car.  In lieu of lunch, Ralph wanted to do a lunchtime 20 miler, because that’s what Ralph is Steve in a cornfieldprogrammed to do at lunchtime.  I hid in a cornfield (left), which was becoming the scenery of choice, to escape another round of torture.

Our final destination today was Roland, Iowa.  Jay is one of the travelers in our group and grew up in Iowa.  We’ll be staying with the Glasnapp’s from Roland, part of Jay’s extended family.

Our hosts, Gail and Judy Glassnapp were every bit of the classic Mid-westerners that we envision making up the “Heartland”.  Gentle, modest, disarming and kind.  They were both obviously proud of their children and grandchildren, some of whom we met and will ride with on RAGBRAI.

We were all of a little cagey from the travel.  Ralph and Pat must have forgotten the pain of the day’s early morning bike ride because they teamed up with Chris to ride another 20 miles around town.  Chris is a fellow neuroscience researcher with Jay.  Talking to either of them makes my brain hurt.

I asked Gail for a good running route and he directed me through town to the north end of some ball fields where he said would be the start of a trail.  I asked him how far the trail went and he said, “Oh, pretty far”.  I thought this was going to be a mile or two around the ball fields.  It turned out to be a 10.5-mile trail that went through farms, woods, and streams.  I had the whole trail to myself.  Back home, I run with headphones so I can block out the traffic, noise, heat and humidity.  This was the opposite.  I wanted to absorb everything.  The day was perfect weather-wise – mid 70’s, sunshine, and low humidity.  I ran through fields of corn, soybeans, and grasslands.  Wanting to take in as much as I could, I ran as fast as I could, covering about 9.5 miles in an hour by my estimate.  I’ve run nearly every day for the last 20 years.  That run was my nicest since 1989, when I ran 20 miles in an amazingly snowy night along the River Drives in Philadelphia.

DAY 1: Onawa to Lake View: 69.0 miles

Sunday, July 25, 2004
by Jay Alberts

Today was the first official day of RAGBRAI, beautiful weather with light winds.  The 2004 Pedaling for Parkinson’s team had 16 cyclists on Day 1 of RAGBRAI XXXII (a jump from just 6 on Day 1 last year).  We departed the McLaughlin’s a few minutes after our scheduled 7AM departure and the plan was to meet Darrin in Schleswig to re-fuel, re-group and agree on a final destination in Lake View as we were spending the night in Auburn at Maxine Stewart’s house.  For 15 of the 16 riders it was a great day.  Unfortunately, Jim’s trike had a major mechanical problem; he lost a wheel on the way to Schelswig so his delays continued.  Fortunately, Darrin and Jim happen to find each other in Schelswig.  They loaded up Jim’s trike and headed to Lake View where the group waited.  After a great dinner at Maxine’s house, Ralph and others went to work on Jim’s trike. 

DAY 2: Lake View (Auburn) to Fort Dodge: 70.5 miles

Monday, July 26, 2004
by Jay Alberts

Day two was almost a carbon copy of day one in terms of weather...perfect for cycling.  Since we stayed in Auburn, we decided to ride as a group to and meet the official route rather than caravanning back to Lake View.  We decided to drop Jim off in the meeting town of Rockwell City to give him a little head start, this way if he had a mechanical members of the group would come upon him throughout the day.  Turns out this was a good decision as Jim’s trike only lasted about 3 miles and the wheel again fell off.  I saw Jim on the side of the road talking to a farmer and I yelled hello to him and he pointed to his sad and lonely trike about 50 yards down the road.  The farmer was more than happy to help us; so we loaded Jim’s trike up for a rendezvous with Darrin.  Ironically, the farmer suggested they meet at a cemetery down the road; the rest of the group wondered if Jim was going to bury the trike.  Our host in Fort Dodge was Bruce and Roxanne Aden, fortunately for Jim and his trike, Bruce had a neighbor who was a magician with tools and he and Darrin fixed the wheel while Ralph worked on the shifting problems.  By nightfall the trike was ready to go and performed perfectly for the rest of the trip!!!  Bruce’s smoked ribs and beef and the rest of his spread were absolutely terrific.  The trend of gracious hosts continues.

Steve’s World: 7-26-04

Maxine Stewart’s house accommodated the whole gang very well.  In the brief time I’ve been on this trip, I developed a core competency at finding a spot in the house that looks entirely uninhabitable but in reality is the perfect resting place.  Day 1: the tool room, then the laundry room, then the utility room, and last night it was the tool room.  Each of these hovels had just enough space for one person.

After a good night’s sleep, Pat and I blasted down the course.  On this day my training plan called for a long, fast bike day.  We broke the ride into three 40 mile portions, 70 of which were on the RAGBRAI course going in the correct direction, 30 going in the opposite direction, and 30 miles repeating the course.  Pat tortured me the whole day.  Many people tried to catch on to our wheel and Pat dropped them without mercy.  The whole ride went by in a blur.  In fact we finished the regular route before they could put up the direction signs.  This could have been a disaster for two men afraid to ask for direction in the middle of Iowa.  Nevertheless, we completed a long tiring day from Lake View to Fort Dodge, Iowa, twice.

Somehow I feel like I’ve included too many pain and suffering stories into these journals.  At the risk of committing a journalistic U-turn, I’m going to switch gears (sorry for the ill-placed bike humor) and sing the praises of some heretofore un-sung heroes.

The first heretofore un-sung heroes are our support crew, Jason and Keyton (pictured below) and Darrin “Don’t Call Me Darrell”.  These men drive the RV, trailer and van between our hosts’ homes and the ending point.  At the end of our long, hot rides the support crew was there with cool drinks, assistance to load our bikes and unload our bags, and a lift back to our next host’s house.  20 peoples’ bikes, clothing, food, drink and bedding are quite a haul.  In appreciation for their untiring work, we complain about our tired muscles and feign exhaustion when it comes to lifting our bags, but regain our strength when it comes to running in our hosts’ house to claim the best sleeping spots and grab the choice-est food and drink.Jason and Keyton.

The support crew hero-among-heroes is Keyton, a rising three-year old pistol with a spirit that has warmed the team.   Keyton rides his big wheel down the ramp of the trailer like Evil Knievel.  I can personally attest to his proficiency in chase, hide and seek, tickle monster and Gotcha Nose.  However, his thumb-wrestling skills still need a little help.  Many of the riders have kids and they have unanimously agreed that Keyton’s behavior is awesome.

The second un-sung hero is the weatherman.  The RAGBRAI veterans that I’ve talked to say this is the best weather they’ve ever seen.  The temperatures have consistently been in the 70’s, with sunny skies and low humidity.  By my estimate, 80% of RAGBRAI-ers camp outside in small tents.  Apparently the last few RAGBRAIs have been either soaking wet or stifling temperatures.  How one treks so long on a bike and then crawls into an uncomfortable tent is beyond me.

Speaking of rest, I’m signing off for the night.

DAY 3: Fort Dodge to Iowa Falls: 71.4 miles

Tuesday, July 27, 2004

by Jay Alberts

After enjoying a hearty dinner last night the group was eager to start Day three of RAGBRAI.  We had a couple of changes in the group, we were joined by Keely Greenslade (Kelly’s twin) and my wife decided that after 10 years of marriage she could go one day without riding the tandem with me.  So my brother Joel, from Minneapolis, agreed to be the stoker.  The fact that Joel is riding RAGBRAI is another inspiring story in the Pedaling for Parkinson’s group.  In February of 2003 he was cleaning snow off his roof to prevent ice dams (he had to explain to the Southerners in the group what an ice dam was and how if gone unchecked can wreak havoc on a roof and ceiling) and slipped and fell off the roof.  He suffered a severe bilateral calcaneal fracture (e.g. shattered both heels).  The first thing he said to me on the phone while he was in the hospital was that he didn’t know if he could ride RAGBRAI, but he would still like to be part of the team in some capacity.  So today as I rode off with him on the back of the tandem I was a little teary-eyed thinking off all he had endured and battled through over the past six months to get to this point.  I am proud of his commitment and work ethic and he performed like a champ all day.  He asked how he compared to Janelle as a stoker, and I gave the careful answer, “you are different.”  Cathy was performing great on the bike and her energy levels were high.  She was beginning to experience some discomfort on the bike as was the rest of the group after having spent ~140 miles in the saddle.

DAY 4: Fort Dodge (Hubbard) to Marshalltown: 56 miles

Wednesday, July 28, 2004
by Jay Alberts
Last night we stayed at Brooks and Ester Glasnapp’s in Hubbard.  Brook’s is Joel’s brother-in-law.  Our hosts continue to exceed our expectations with their generosity.  The group agreed that Brooks made the best hamburgers anyone had ever had.  He was encouraged to go into business selling “Brooks Burgers.”  We started the day riding from Hubbard and would join the official RAGBRAI route at Eldora, this change reduced our mileage by about 6 miles for the day (I heard no complaints).  It was another great day with no major mechanicals or crashes.  Our overnight hosts in Marshalltown were Blake and Regina Hardy.  Blake and Regina are both Physical Therapists.  They provided us with fantastic accommodations, laundry facilities and great food.  Blake also offered to assist in finding us lodging for RAGBRAI 2005 as he has numerous professional connections in the area of physical therapy across the state.

Steve’s World

7-27-04 and 7-28-04
I’m combining two day’s worth of reports today for several reasons, not the least of which is that I’m a day behind, old and my memory is failing me.  Let’s start with the facts, shall we:

Yesterday’s ride was 71 miles from Fort Dodge to Iowa Falls.  We modified it slightly, by loading the bikes at the end and driving 16 miles south to Hubbard, where Joel’s brother-in-law lives.  Incidentally, I have in my mind to properly introduce all 20 characters on our extended team, but I’m old and I’ll probably forget.

Today’s ride was 50 miles from Hubbard to Marshalltown.  While the rest of the team rode the scheduled route, Ralph, Pat and I modified the course by adding 70 miles straight into a 25 MPH headwind.

Yesterday, I rode with Kelly, a wonderful woman, mother and wife, who resides in Des Moines.  Today, I rode with Ralph and Pat, of whom I have nothing nice to say, as it relates to biking and, come to think of it, as relating to everything.

The second and main reason I’m combining the reports is that I had an epiphany while regretting riding the alternative route on today’s ride.  Why not offer a side-by-side comparison of the two day’s rides?

Without further ado, I offer:

Ride Attribute	Riding with Kelly…	Riding with Ralph…
Stopping	Only under the following conditions: Eating Drinking Restrooms Shopping Tired Hot Good music is playing Bad music is playing Smelling the roses, enjoying the landscape, and other sight-seeing excursions that don’t involve bicycling If either rider feels like it If neither rider feels like it Death	Acceptable if pronounced dead
Eating and drinking	Yes, large quantities of high fat, good-tasting fare because its fun	Yes, large quantities of high energy, poor tasting fare, because it required to prevent death
A picture is worth a thousand words…	Riding with Kelly brightened my spirits so much that the far-left Democrat who sold me this headwear told me I was her favorite Republican.	Notice the ambulance in the background
Restroom breaks involving #1	Port-a-potties are absolutely unacceptable.  Invest the time to search out a cooperating doctor’s office with air conditioning, where hygiene is at a premium, the tissue paper is top shelf, and the music is soft.  Enjoy the ambiance.	Done while riding, but fall back to the end of the ride group so as not to hinder the pace of the ride.  Enjoy the ambiance.
Restroom breaks involving #2	Preferably something better that the #1 accommodations	Not suitable to discuss in a journal with wide distribution
Ride statistics	The following details are meticulously recorded: Location of the best ice cream vendors Location of all other ice cream vendors Tastefulness of the outfits of surrounding riders, especially footwear/jersey color coordination Best locations of jewelry vendors, perfectly acceptable to purchase while on a bicycle ride.  If purchases exceed bicycle storage capacity, arrange for support wagon pickup, resuming shopping until vehicle’s arrival	To the third decimal point, the following are recorded: Distance Speed Temperature, start and stop Heart rate output Wind conditions Road conditions Barometric pressure Position of the sun and moon
What to do after the ride	Discuss immediate plans in search of more food, shopping and entertainment.  Transition into a debate on the merits of dropping out of RAGBRAI and joining the support crew or one of the bands we listened to today.	Rehash every detail about the ride, much to the disdain of me and everyone within earshot.  Transition into a planning session for the next day’s ride.

Tomorrow is a “recovery” day, where I plan to ride with the ice cream tasters of the group.  That should be a good journal.

DAY 5:

Thursday, July 29, 2004
by Steve Kester

I wanted to wait several days before I introduced our illustrious crew.  I needed the opportunity to spend several minutes with everyone before forming life-long impressions and making judgments on everyone’s worthiness, or lack thereof.

Here’s the crew…

All in all, it was a diverse, fun group and there seemed to be great karma between us.

DAY 6: Hiawatha to Maquoketa:  77.3 miles

Friday, July 30, 2004
by Jay Alberts

As the group was getting preparing to depart Brian’s sanctuary in Cedar Rapids the rain started to fall a bit harder.  Darrin and I were outside helping Jason maneuver the RV and trailer so we could depart.  Fortunately for us, Brian came to our rescue and offered to pull the trailer out with his pickup as turning space was limited and we did not feel the need to re-landscape and plant new trees in his yard.  The plan was to drive back to Hiawatha and start there as a group.  The rain modified that plan a bit, as I walked into Brian’s basement the group was assembled and proposed we start the day by going for breakfast rather than going back to Hiawatha…I needed little convincing that this was a good idea.  We loaded up and sought out some Iowa café breakfast.  We were not disappointed as we had breakfast at Gwen’s in Lisbon, Iowa.  The cinnamon rolls were the size of small tires and the pancakes were huge; best of all it was dry.  We unloaded in Fairview, in the rain.  Fairview allowed Barry a perfect picture opportunity as that is the name of his practice in Minneapolis.  The rain continued through the morning and just when we thought things could get no worse, we had to navigate our bikes through about two miles of a muddy gravel road.  The bikes were a mess; the nice people along the route were more than happy to let us use their garden hoses to clean our bikes and ourselves.  After lunch the sun came out and our moods brightened as we went through the last few towns on the route enjoying the festivities.  Tip of the day:  be sure the stem on your spare tube is long enough to go through your rim.  Tonight we will stay with Bill and Marilou Risser in Maquoketa.

DAY 7: Maquoketa to Clinton: 56 miles

Saturday, July 31, 2004
by Jay Alberts
Bill and Marilou Risser were wonderful hosts, we learned that Bill’s father was a physician and would be celebrating his 105th birthday the first week of August.  The plan was to depart around 6:30 AM, meet in Elvira and ride the last 10 miles as a group to the mighty Mississippi in Clinton.  By 10:45 AM the entire group had assembled in Elvira, where there was a DJ spinning the latest country music hits (this music made the youngest member of our group, Kayla, head for the kybos).  The DJ failed to bring the classic Oak Ridge Boys tune “Elvira” and he was reminded of this fact every time he asked for requests.  With about 1 mile to go to the finish line the group caught up with Jim.  We re-assembled and rode the last mile together waving at the people in Clinton and passing Jason and Keyton as they documented the end of our journey.  As we crossed the finish line I patted Janelle’s arm and told her how proud I was of all the members of our group.  As a group we completed more than 8,300 miles with no crashes and about a dozen flat tires, our primary goal had been achieved as we had a safe and enjoyable ride across Iowa.  We achieved more than that however, a number of newspaper articles were written about the Pedaling for Parkinson’s team and our mission to raise awareness for Parkinson’s and to demonstrate the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle.  Every member of the team told me that at numerous times during the week someone would ask about our cause or relate to them that a friend or a loved one had or was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s.  I am grateful for all of the PFP riders and support crew; I am fortunate to now know some people better and meet new people who I will always consider my friends.  The overnight hosts were terrific in each town, thank-you for your generosity.  Thanks to all those who made contributions to Pedaling for Parkinson’s; your support is appreciated and its importance cannot be overstated.  A special thanks to Stan VanderPlaats, owner, of RV Central Inc., in Sheldon, Iowa for the donation of the RV and the trailer; these items made our life much easier for the week.  Finally, thanks to Steve Kester for keeping such a colorful journal and it is with great pain that I congratulate you for breaking my weekly FCP mileage record.  See you all again next year.

Steve’s World: The Final RAGBRAI Journal

7-31-04

I’m a little sad writing this.  On the one hand, 680 miles on a bike seat in a week can make anybody want to get that experience behind him or her, if you will.  On the other hand, I’ve really enjoyed the people I met and hung with for the last seven days as well as the whole RAGBRAI experience.

Plus, we supported a great cause.  Most of the recipients of these journals were my sponsors and, having seen firsthand the effects of Parkinson’s and the bravery of survivors, your money will be well-spent.

The last three days of the journey were from Marshalltown to Hiawatha (Thursday, 84 miles), Hiawatha to Maquoketa (Friday, 76 miles) and ended from Maquoketa to Clinton, IA (Saturday, 56 miles), where we dipped our bike tires in the Mississippi River at the Iowa-Illinois border.  On Thursday and Friday, we had heavy rains in the morning that cleared in the afternoon.  The morning sessions were grim, but I was impressed that most of the RAGBRAI-ers toughed it out.  Looking back on the week, we had 5 unbeatable days, two stinker mornings and two decent afternoons – a record of 5-2-2, which is very good in my book.

The end of the journey marked the beginning of poll taking.  For 90+% of RAGBRAIers, RAGBRAI is about food.  Ralph is the noticeable exception to this rule, so don’t ride with Ralph for a lot of reasons, but especially not if you want to enjoy RAGBRAI for what it is – biking 490 miles so one can justify feasting his/her way through the cornfields of Iowa, then drinking themselves into a feted slumber.

This next section is written by guest writer, Cathy Fraizer.

Steve asked me to type this final entry for him (mostly to keep me from whining during our 15 hour drive home…I am stuck in the back seat in a car with 3 avid bikers and I left my book and music packed in Jay’s SUV.)

We finished this morning together as a group of 19 riding into the end town of Clinton and ceremoniously dipping our front bike tires into the Mississippi River.  To do this we created quite a backup as all of us stood side by side across the water for a series of photos.  Our support crew, “Van” Darren, Jason and our team mascot, Keyton, were there, of course to cheer us on and direct us to the RV and showers 11 blocks away.  Opting for a quicker departure over personal hygiene, showers were foregone and we headed for Roland where we had parked all our vehicles for the past 7 days.  Some rode in the air-conditioned RV and others preferred the charm of the un-air conditioned, “smells like puke or a locker room” 15-person van.  After de-boarding and separating bikes, luggage, lawn chairs, coolers, etc. and loading our individual vehicles, we said our goodbyes and the PFP team went our separate ways – back to Minneapolis, Des Moines, California and Atlanta.

The trip was quite memorable – the group meshed incredibly well, the weather was beautiful, Iowa hospitality was unbeatable and the whole ride logistics was expertly planned and executed.  Thanks to Dr. Jay!  And thanks to all who …BANG!

We interrupt this guest writing with an announcement that Cathy Frazier has been fired for lack of production.  Three (weak) paragraphs after 4 hours on the computer ain’t gonna cut it in Journalwood.  Plus, Cathy is too nice in sharp contrast to your regularly scheduled author.  For example, she failed to point out that the showers mentioned above were abandoned because The Kids were slowed by an acute case of GI distress.

The exception amongst The Kids was Kirk, who seems to go faster the harder imbibed the night before.  On the last day, he hammered the hills to the amazement of everyone he left in his wake.  Of course, his choice of fuel meant riding behind him was done at the rider’s risk.  Rumors were circulating that Kirk was responsible for the deaths of three cats seen on the side of the road, although there was some confusion as to whether they had tire tracks on them or died of asphyxiation.  Further rumored was that Dr. Barry tried CPR on one of the felines, but failed.  Nevertheless, he tucked the corpse in his fanny pack and deep-fried it at the Mr. Porkchop roadside stand.

All-in-all, I enjoyed my co-riders and RAGBRAI immensely.  I look forward to riding again.
* * *
I hope you enjoyed the Journals.  Thanks so much to the host families and our financial supporters.

Steve Kester

721 miles.  4 flats.  One near crash.  Serious, serious saddle sore.

Just about the time Lance Armstrong was wrapping up his fifth consecutive Tour de France title, the Pedaling for Parkinson’s Team was completing their trek across Iowa as part of RAGBRAI. Cathy Frazier, a 48 year-old Parkinson’s disease patient, and six other cyclists celebrated their 464-mile accomplishment with the traditional dipping their front bike tires in the Mississippi River in Ft. Madison, Iowa.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that results in slower uncoordinated movements and produces balance impairments. With these motor difficulties one has to wonder why an individual with PD would ride 464 miles across Iowa. For Cathy this ride was about battling the motor symptoms of PD, overcoming her fears of falling, raising awareness for PD and showing others that maintaining an active lifestyle is critical in fighting PD. Cathy, who has difficulty balancing her own bike around other cyclists and cars, decided it would be safer to ride a tandem bicycle with Dr. Jay L. Alberts, a PD researcher from Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Alberts took the role of captain while Cathy was the stoker.

On most mornings, Cathy and the rest of the Pedaling for Parkinson’s team left their overnight hosts around 6:30 AM to beat the late July heat and humidity and afternoon winds. When Cathy announced to her Atlanta friends that she was going to ride a bicycle more than 450 miles across Iowa, they were surprised and offered encouragement; a common response was, “At least it will be flat.” After climbing more than 16,000 feet that week in the rolling hills of Southern Iowa, Cathy concluded, “Iowa is definitely not flat.” As anyone who has attempted a long distance ride knows, saddle sores and muscle soreness are part of the experience. Despite the wind, hills and soreness Cathy battled through the pain and completed every official mile. Cathy is no stranger to long distance rides as her husband Ralph, who coaches cyclists and triathletes, was an accomplished ultra distance bicycle racer in the 1980’s. During the ride, Ralph helped to set a consistent pace for Cathy and Dr. Alberts.

Pedaling for Parkinson’s was started by Dr. Alberts, an avid cyclist and member of the Frazier Cycling Partners, who saw a connection between his two passions, PD research and cycling as a way to help Cathy continue her personal battle with her affliction and motivate other Parkinson’s patients to get active. Alberts felt that RAGBRAI would be an opportunity to raise awareness as it is the oldest and largest organized ride in the world.

While the week of cycling was taxing, Cathy said, “For that week I felt like I didn’t have Parkinson’s disease, I did not notice my usual symptoms. Of course, I had a lot of aches and pains elsewhere.” Cathy adds, “Prior to my diagnosis, I would not have considered doing this ride, but it was chance to prove that I could do something unthinkable for me and overcome my fears.”

By all accounts this ride was a success as more than $6400 was raised for PD research and numerous people were inspired by Cathy’s efforts. Cathy plans to continue exercising and riding the tandem in organized rides where she will continue to spread the message that, “staying active as a Parkinson’s patient is critical in my fight against this disease that wants to rob me of my movement.” Daily reports from Cathy during the ride can be found by following the links at: www.fraziercycling.com.

The Pedaling for Parkinson’s team plans to expand their efforts this next year by getting more Parkinson’s disease patients participating in cycling and possibly other cross-state tours. Dr. Alberts would like to bring additional PD patients on cross-state tours. A number of PD patients have expressed an interest in participating in these tours, however additional tandem bicycles are needed. The Pedaling for Parkinson’s team is in need of a sponsor or benefactor to acquire additional tandems. For more information on future events individuals may contact Cathy Frazier or Dr. Jay L. Alberts.

Enjoy the photos