RAGBRAI 2024 – Days 1 and 2
DAY ONE RAGBRAI, July 20, 2024, Glenwood to Red Oak (41.9 miles; 2,435 ft. climb)
On the first day of RAGBRAI, we ride from Glenwood, Iowa to Red Oak, Iowa. No rain at night or during the day. We did have fog, which lasted until a while after Silver City, which was 8.8 miles. We’ve been to Silver City many times over the years, riding the Wabash Trail from Council Bluffs. You could hardly recognize the place, as it was packed with bicycles, bicycle riders, and vendors all sorts and sizes. We planned to eat Chris Cakes, but I couldn’t locate the vendor until after I already bought something else. Shawn was lucky enough to find them and enjoyed Chris Cakes! Chris Cakes is one of the oldest vendors at RAGBRAI, and they sell pancakes and orange juice. They always put on a show as they flip the cakes off the grill.
The only time we’ve had Fargo on the RAGBRAI route has been in southwest Iowa. The last time was riding out of Shenandoah, where the fog was so thick that we couldn’t see each other or determine which way was up or down without going over to the fence to see which way the fence was built.. The fog was not thick this time.
The remainder of the day was beautiful with modest temperature. Our 42.9 mile ride today included 3,092 feet of climb to Red Oak. We arrived about 1:30 pm, took showers, and went looking for church food. Church food is the key to RAGBRAI. It is good, wholesome, high calorie food like spaghetti and lasagna.
We were not successful in our quest for church food, so we returned to camp and chatted with RAGBRAI riders until dark. Everybody had plenty of stories to tell which was fun. We were in bed by 9:00 pm, so we could get up at 5:00 am to report for Day Two of RAGBRAI.
DAY TWO RAGBRAI, July 21 2024, Red Oak to Atlantic (40.7 miles; 1,702 ft. climb)
The first town out of Red Oak is Elliot, Iowa. My brother, Shawn, researched our ancestry, as we determined we have ancestors from Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas, but we’re not aware of any Iowa Elliotts in our family tree. We went to the Cass County Museum in the town of Griswold, Iowa, which has a treasure trove of information which was really interesting.
One of the residents of Griswold from the 1930s to the 1980s built models of many homes and barns. The collection included round barns which were designed so one man could feed more livestock by throwing loose hay down the central shaft. He also built a home named Hitchcock near the underground railroad, where runaway slaves were transported out of the south to the north.
The Register says this Day Two has the potential for being the best ride of all. We would tend to agree because it was short enough to be fun. The temperature was great and there were no wind problems. We rode through much farm country. In my early days of riding RAGBRAI, Edie would join me. I told Edie that they did not grow corn on hills. Therefore, if she saw corn growing, she did not think she was not peddling uphill. She bought that for a while, but she finally figured out I was telling a tale. We arrived at Atlantic about 2:00 pm, which allowed our search for church food to start earlier. We wound up at the Methodist Church, eating chicken, noodles, mashed potatoes, and rice, as well as great cherry pie with ice cream. Our first choice was the Lutheran Church which served lasagna, but by the time we got there, it was all gone.
Please don’t forget Minden, Iowa, and Greenfield, Iowa, as the need is so great to recover after these cities were hit by a devastating tornados.
Make your donation by sending a check payable to Midstates Bank, Minden Relief Fund, and mail it to Pete Phillips, care of Pork Belly Ventures, 412 Forest Glen Drive, Council Bluffs, IA 51503, and visit
https://www.adaircounty.iowa.
to make your donation to help Greenfield.
Of course, please keep the Boy Scouts Grand Canyon Council in mind when making your donations.
https://host.nxt.blackbaud.
Sam Kelsall