RAGBRAI 2024 – Days 3 to 7
DAY THREE RAGBRAI, July 23, 2024, Atlantic to Winterset (82 miles; 4,519 ft. climb)
Our third day from Atlantic to Winterset was 82 miles of hills with a gain of 4,519 feet. Winterset is the birthplace of John Wayne, whose father was a pharmacist in Winterset. Winterset is where the delicious apple was discovered and the movie Bridges of Madison County was filmed.
DAY FOUR RAGBRAI, July 24, 2024, Winterset to Knoxville (75 miles; 3,041 ft. climb)
Day four of our ride was from Winterset to Knoxville, 75 miles with 3,041 feet of climb. It was a very hard day, although the weather was still in the low 80s with no head winds.
DAY FIVE RAGBRAI, July 25, 2024, Knoxville to Ottumwa (62.9 miles; 2,502 ft. climb)
On our fifth day, we rode from Knoxville to Ottumwa, 63 miles with 2,502 feet of climb. Ottumwa is the home of Radar O’Reilly from M*A*S*H.
DAY SIX RAGBRAI, July 26, 2024, Ottumwa to Mt. Pleasant (84.8 miles; 3,160 ft. climb)
Day six was from Ottumwa to Mt. Pleasant, 85 miles with 3,160 feet of climb. Our first stop on the way was Agency, Iowa, where we treated ourselves to Chris Cakes, and filled our tummies for the remainder of the ride. Mt. Pleasant is the home of the Old Thrashers Museum. The Old Thrashers Museum has barns full of thrashing machines from the early 1900s, which are displayed in the Thrashers Show which takes place the five days before Labor Day.
DAY SEVEN RAGBRAI, July 27, 2024, Mt. Pleasant to Burlington (46.5 miles; 1,016 ft. climb)
On day seven, we rode from Mt. Pleasant to Burlington, which was a pleasant 46.5 miles with 1,016 feet of climb. We did have some head winds on this last day of the ride. The real challenge was in Burlington, where I had to ride 3 miles of really steep hills to turn my bike in for shipping. Then, Shawn and I took a car ride back, grabbed showers, and hurried back to the bus so we could get out of there by 4:00 pm. The bus left promptly at 4:00 pm, and we arrived at Bluff at 10:00 pm. We stood around the parking lot for a long while, saying goodbye to all our friends. The next day, we got up at 6:00 am, so Shawn could do our laundry and put his bicycle together. We both had early afternoon flights which was pushing it on time quite a bit, but then my flight was delayed 45 minutes. I believe Shawn’s flight was on time. We met three people from our ride who were flying to Long Beach. My plane was loaded, and it seemed like it was never going to get off the ground. We took off and were finally airborne, and I arrived in Phoenix almost on time.
Thanks for reading about my RAGBRAI ride this year. Please do not forget the Boy Scouts. Here’s the link to make your donations:
https://host.nxt.blackbaud.
Also, please don’t forget Minden, Iowa and Greenfield, Iowa. both of which were devastated by tornadoes in April and June of this year. Greenfield was the meeting town on day three, where we rode through the tornado swath that took down 150 buildings in a mile-long strip.
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.
Thank you for your interest. See you soon.
Sam Kelsall