Day 5 - Independence - It's a flush

Dear blog,
Sorry it has taken me so long to post! We are staying in Independence tonight at an alum's house and we are fortunate to have a computer with Internet (along with many other wonderful amenities). Actually, all of our RAGBRAI hosts have been outstanding throughout our journey! Last night we were extremely spoiled and stayed at Valley Lutheran High School in Cedar Falls. We had the entire school to ourselves and it was good to have a lot of space to move around. Half of our team has been tent camping and the other half are sleeping indoors. Last night however, all of our teammates were able to sleep indoors in the air conditioning. Thanks again Valley!!

Since its been a few days since I've posted, there are LOTS and LOTS of updates. We created a list last night during supper of some of the highlights, and I gave Brianne the task of blogging with those. I haven't seen a new post yet though, so be patient. :)

I do have to mention that we had our first Lance sighting on Day 3 about 2 miles from Humboldt. He whizzed past me with his entourage and I was able to pick him out right away. In addition to cycling, I've been keeping busy fueling my body with apple pie (breakfast on Day 3), Tender Tom's turkey (Days 3 and 4) and Beekman's homemade ice cream (Day 3). Still haven't seen one sign for gelato, which is surprising since last year on RAGBRAI it was everywhere.

The ride today into Independence was AWESOME! Although I was one of the last ones to leave the school this morning (6:30--about the time I've been getting out almost every day) I pulled into Independence around 12:30. We stopped five times (Denver, Klinger, Dunkerton, Fairbank and a 1-minute stop at the Tender Tom's stand outside of Ottersville). It has got to be the easiest ride so far this whole week. I'm not sure if it's because its been the shortest so far (62 miles) or if my body/legs are getting used to riding nearly 80 miles everyday, so 60 miles seems like a breeze. At any rate, it was fun to cycle through my stomping grounds, and I even got to meet up with my parents near Klinger. I also ran into quite a few people that I knew, but I didn't know that they were riding today! I also managed to make it through the day using only flush toilets -- something that rarely happens on RAGBRAI. :) Cyclists are just sooo excited at being able to use running water, or modern conveniences for the most part. It's funny!!

We've been wearing our Wartburg jerseys on the ride, and have ran into quite a few alums, parents of alums, etc. Those jerseys are great conversation starters! We've also ran into some Luther folks, who think they need to taunt us. It's all in good fun, and makes the miles go by a lot faster.

Unfortunately, we have about 7 riders that have decided to not finish out the ride. A few minor injuries, and our other team captain who got into a bad accident and broke his collarbone. He's doing okay, but in a lot of pain. Read the full story here: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007707250357

Tonight we have our kickball game tonight vs. Coe at 7 p.m. Our host is also catering in a lasagna meal from Leo's in Oelwein (yum!) Although I was able to get great sleep last night thanks to the miracle of modern medicine, but every day when I am on my bike, I want to take an afternoon nap, and that never happens. It's just too much fun to reconnect with our teammates and our alumni hosts!

I hope to blog from Dyersville -- and sometime I will get some new pics up too. I will also let you know how the kickball game goes tonight!

See you tomorrow in Dyersville. Yea!

Kendra