The humidity is gone!
Hallelujah! After the rainstorm in Shenandoah last evening, a cold front came through, and not only cooled things off, but it took the humidity with it. Such a gift! It cooled off enough through the night that we needed to pull out the blankets to stay warm.
It was a gorgeous day as we made our way on today’s leg of the ride. We peddled a total of 77 miles, from Shenandoah to Creston, with 3,994 feet of climb. Yeah… it was crazy hilly. We stopped at every town and even in between to stay fueled and hydrated.
Each year on RAGBRAI it does my heart good to experience the greatness of small-town Iowa and the people who call it home. There’s nothing like it! In Villisca we enjoyed ham balls for our breakfast from the United Methodist Church. Met some great locals, especially the elderly man who’s wife made all the peach pies they were selling slices of.
Corning was probably our favorite town today. They were certainly organized, and incredibly friendly! We spent some time resting at the fire station, and made some new friends in the process!
In Prescott while filling up my waterbottle, I had a sweet conversation with a young girl. She said to me, “I’m a biker too… not like you, but I’m a kid biker.” Smiling, I replied, “And I bet you’re a good one, too. Maybe some day you’ll bike on a ride like this.” She grinned from ear to ear and responded, “Maybe!”
In that same town I listened to an elderly lady share her heart about her town that she loves so much. With less than 200 as their population, they’re doing all they can to keep it alive. After their school closed, and then their bank, life changed for their town. RAGBRAI brought life and joy to them today. That makes me smile.
We’re camping in Creston for the night. We’re tired, but doing well. Bill is already sound asleep. I need to be. So I’ll sign off for now. We’ll be up again at 5am, and on the road near 6am, with 58.5 miles ahead of us, and 3,318 feet of climb. Another hilly day. I’ll update again soon!
A few more pics from today…
Blessings!
Julie
Hi Julie!!! I love all your posts about Ragbrai so far this week! I am praying for you and your husband-for safety! I love your encouraging words and sweet comments on your blog. You have a special gift. Lynne Ternus
Thank you, Lynne! What a blessing it is for me to see your words here! We appreciated your prayers so much. We could feel them! Thank you. Hope you are doing well, and enjoying summer. I’d love to connect with you one of these days!