Somehow I just lost my post for today. Anyway, I'll post it again.  Looking forward to seeing everyone in a bit.  It's been a great time.  More stories and photos and of course, Walking Tacos!! 

Click the MY PHOTOS tab and here are few of the hundreds I have taken!!!  Enjoy

In Tama - Toledo - I think.  A great day of riding a tad windy though.  It is so cool to go through these towns and they roll out the carpet.  Tonight we are camped out at an assisted living facility.  They invited us in for dinner and even breakfast.  I had the chance to ride with several members of our team today and had a blast.  Our styling Divided We Fail jerseys are the talk of RAGBRAI.  Tonight is a big deal in this small town.  Funny thing is that they call us bikers. Now I don't ride a Harley so this phrase made me laugh.  State Center was my favorite town today.  We hit SC about 11 am and the place was rocking.  The Rose Queen was posing for pictures and I placed my palmetto flag sticker on the "Where are you from board."  Also at the first stop over today I ran into an Ohio State fan whose buddy just happened to have on his Big Blue jersey.  Never mind that was last year it still was a lot of fun to correctly make him pronounce Appalachian!! 

I was running out of fuel towards the end of the day but pressed on and made it to the green grass.  A really cold shower and a big diet coke and I was feeling human again.  We've covered over 275 miles so we are half way across the state. Till Thursday or the next wi-fi connection. 

Well when you think the best laid plans include wi-fi from I-Oh-Wah! think again!  Today was day three of RAGBRAI and wow - what a week it has been so far.  I have so many stories from meeting people to testing my endurance on a bike.  We have covered right over 200 miles since launching in Missouri Valley on Sunday.  Tonight we are in Ames, home of the Iowa State Cyclones.  As we entered the campus, I was greeted by Cy the Cyclone and a group od energetic ISU cheerleaders who I convinced that they should join the APP State Nation by posing with our trademark of three fingers in the air.  They were great!!

Each town we ride through has transformed something PT Barnum would be proud of.  There's entertainment, food and more foood and more food.  I visited the UMW booth a few times today for brownies.  They were taking a "free will" offering for flood vicitms.  Speaking of that, I have seen some horrible damage to property and the heartland.  These folks still need our help. 

Also there are so many types and sizes of people giving it all they have on the bike route.  I wonder what would happen in SC if people took up cycling??  Our host families have been incredible - rolling out the red carpet giving up the basements and bathrooms for complete strangers.  One of the coolest feelings is when you enter a small town.  Everyone has seemed to take a break from the hectic pace of the day-to-day routine to make you feel like a rock star.  We brag about our southern hospitality but the Hawkeye spirit is alive and kicking. 

Sorry for the long post- who knows if there will be a signal in the near future.  Thanks for all the emails and support and encouragement.  I can't wait to share my photos and if  I could find the USB cordI could post pictures of Mr. Porkchop ( google him) he is a RAGBRAI legend.  He told us that all of his drinking buddies have now died, or they wonderful group of residents at an assisted living facility who hosted us for lunch yesterday.  The apple dumplings and ice cream  were fab!!  (They chalked that to the good UMC womens group), and the masses of people who have comitted a week to prove to themselves that they are giving it all they've got!!

Hello to everyone and make it count!! I've learned a lot about myself this week and now that this experience will last a lifetime!!!

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  I'm waiting on my pickup as we meet up with the big group to head over to Missouri Valley.  It's about a two hour ride but if they want a smoothe ride, I'll need to find a diet coke! I took in some local life last night with the Iowa Cubs, the AAA affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.  Not a bad game and a great staduim for baseball. 

  Well, I'm here in Des Moines for the night helping the Iowa Divided We Fail folks get ready for the week of a life time.  I keep looking for the sunshine, but it's a very cloudy day.  I'll add more to this as the week moves on.  Thanks for riding along with me on this fun adventure.