New Taco Ride eating record is set!

Now that I've sucked you in with the attention grabbing headline......No Maddie didn't best the current record of 6. And yes I know we don't normally accept partially eaten taco's as part of the records. However I am going out on a limb and saying that Maddie established a "tween" record of 7/8th of one eaten. I'd also bet that Ed's son or someone similar will come along and beat it.
It was a fun night for Maddie and I at the taco ride. We surprise several people by showing up on the tandem. I think that more were surprised when we held a pretty good speed through the trees. It's getting easier each time we take it out. Next time I will have to let the others give it a try.

Off road tandem fun

Hannah and I did alittle scouting trip last night on the tandem. We loaded it up on the car and drove to Ashworth pool and then proceed to see what trails it wouldn't fit on. I've taken it on Denmans before but had not tried Coaster or Hillside. We started with Rollercoaster. No problems except the 1st switchback where we scraped bottom. We also had a few problem on the last 100ft of the exit. Othwerwise werode the whole thing. Denmans was not a problem. Had to walk it over the large logs and the tight trees at the end of little Italy. Then we headed for Hillside. I didn't know what to expect up there.....but it was great! We rode most of the normal loop that I take before running out of time. No dabs, not even on the double switchback decent to the bridge. Depending on who is riding the Taco ride tonight, I might bring it (and Maddie) for some fun.
I was surprised to only see a few on the trails. Maybe they have been taking a post RAGBRAI break like I was.

RAGBRAI Day4 (tandem w/Hannah)

Holly drove to Indianola to swap twins. Hannah and I enjoyed the great evening weather and stayed up until close to 11pm. The 6am alarm seemed mighty early for both of us, but we got up anyway. Breakfast omelets in Indianola and we were on the road. The fog had burned off by the time we left town and we had a great sunny day. 45.3 miles later we rolled into Chariton, slightly sunburned but happy that we had an enjoyable day together.
Hannah did beat her sister in the top speed category today with a 42.6. She stared at the GPS as we held out tuck and I heard a loud "WooHoo" as she saw the new record.
Hannah's stats: 45.3 miles; 42.6 top speed; cheese and egg omelet; pudding; doritos; no-bake cookie; a couple of Gatorades; shaved ice; beef brisket sandwich; sweet corn; choc ice cream; strawberry/banana smoothie and two rolls of "Smarties" (power pills).

RAGBRAI Day3 (tandem w/Maddie)

What started as a cold and soggy day, slowly turned to cool and sprinkles. We still had a blast and the day eventually turned to warm and sunny. Maddie rode like a trooper and was smiles all the way (as evidenced in the picture). Her stats were:
78.9miles; 6hr ride time; 37.9 top speed; double choc muffin; smoked turkey sandwich, chips & soda; shaved ice; cup of sugar cookies; leftover gummy bears and corn nuts; and several gatorades. Plus it is likely that I missed a few items :)
A few more pics on Flickr.

Red Oak to Greenfield

A cool picture from today's ride. This huge American Flag was hanging outside of Stanton. It was an overcast day with sidewinds or tailwinnds. Great little towns as well. I think the end number was 75miles for the day.
Madison and the tandem were delivered for me tonight. It has been raining since about 5pm and more is expected tonight. Hopefully tomorrow will be mostly dry.

RAGBRAI Day 1

Georgeous morning and perfect temps. About 57miles of fun. Jason and I did a bar day. Ride hard for an hour and then hit the beer garden for an hour. More pics on flickr.

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Ride out to RAGBRAI

Bob, Jason and I had a firend drive us halfway out on I80 and then rode the rest of the distance to Council Bluffs for the start of RAGBRAI. 77miles with a good quarter headwind and several good hills. We did have a great 10miles or so through the Loess Hills Scenic Byway.
The real deal starts tomorrow and it won't be anything like what you see in the picture above. Today we saw a total of 7 other riders. Tomorrow they expect 20,000 riders.

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Need one of these in Des Moines

I've been in Vancouver, WA all week and I haven't ventured more than two miles from the hotel or work. Just too busy. I thought about driving to Portland this evening, but I really need to work.
So my treat tonight is a little sushi place near the hotel. I've forgotten about the fast food version of sushi. Colored plates tell the price of the item and the conveyor belt just keeps it coming. Check out the 2nd language on the tip jar :)
Back home tomorrow and then onto RAGBRAI.

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What does your work health facility look like?

This week I am in Vancouver, WA for a work trip. My hotel is across the street from the Nautilus headquarters. When I lived here 20yrs ago I remember Nautillus as the weight machine company. Of course they've expanded substantially and their HQ reflects that. The picture is of their "backyard". Fieldturf football and baseball field as well as a b-ball court. I'd bet that they have their machines available inside. Click on the picture to see if it does the place justice. I'm not big into field sports, but if I worked here I'd give it a try.

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Another tandem ride with Maddie

The end of the ride pic

Maddie and I grabbed the tandem for one last ride before RAGBRAI (I travel next week). We did a quick ride out to Adel anf then she wanted to ride around the courthouse square on the brick streets. I have to say that Iowa does have some cool courthouse squares.
However, we didn't rest and kept pushing back to Waukee and a milkshake. We paused for 30min and looked at some old cars parked at Mickey's Pub before going home. 23.2 miles and no complaints Just a lot of bell ringing from the new bell that I installed on the back handlebar. "Dad... guess what song this is." dingding dadingding dingding dingding dadingdingding Me: "I have no idea." "Rudolph the red noes reindeer"
How could I miss that one :)

Too tired for a rest day?

Is it possible to be extremely busy and yet come away feeling lazy?
Vacation in Montana, then drive to Sioux Falls for work, then 8hr drive to Okaboji to drop the girls off at camp. Week at home that was busy at work. Drive to Okaboji to get the girls. Now another busy week at work.
I've riding and traing quite a lot over the past three weeks. I had hoped yo ride through this week and then take next week off (work trip to Portland). My body apparently has different plans....I haven't ridden in a week and I still feel like I'm recovering.
Oh well, at the last taco ride I did 43miles and felt strong the entire time. I'll ride hard for 5 days during RAGBRAI (two on the tandem with the girls). I should be stronger and ready for the rest of the MTB season.

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