RAGBRAI: A Quick Update After Day 2

We have had little or no cell phone service or internet access for the last couple of days and I am on a shared computer right now, so this will be a quick update.  We have finished Day 2 of RAGBRAI, so we have covered about 130 miles so far.  The route yesterday and today wound through southwestern Iowa, from Glenwood to Atlantic last night and on to Carroll, Iowa tonight.  Both days have been pretty hilly, with over 4,000 feet of climb each day.  Fortunately, all of the training we did for the Savage Century paid off.  We finished each day feeling like the climbing wasn't too bad.  It was not a sentiment shared by our fellow riders.

This is, by far, the most crowded cycling event I've ever done.  Ten thousand riders do RAGBRAI each year, so there is never a point where you are alone on the road, in town, or in the campgrounds.  In the mornings, the road is particularly crowded, but it thins out as the day goes on and people take breaks.  Every town we pass through has a festival, including great food.  Every organization in the pass through and overnight towns is out there selling great food to raise money.  All of the churches sponsor lunches and dinners.  We have sampled a wide variety of pie, cinammon rolls, pork chops, and lemonade, among other things.  Today, I had a huge pork chop straight off the grill and gooseberry pie for lunch.  We are eating our way across Iowa.

I will try to update more later and add pictures when I have better internet access.