A Note from Norman: Boy, oh, do I have a treat for you beavers today. Jake, aka "Fall Out Boy," wrote an amazing guest blog. He actually sent it to me on the 23rd of December. A+ student, clearly.
FOB's post made me chuckle; I remember trying to explain who he was to the beavers, "well, he's this guy I went on a bike ride with once." But, I think my favorite part about Fall Out Boy is his amazing stoicism. He doesn't say much. At one point, at the party in Clinkerville, I checked in with him, "you are having fun, right? I just want to check because it's kind of hard to tell." He said he was. That he gets that a lot. And, from his blog it sounds like he did have a good time. I hope he'll join us again this year! It never hurts to have a lawyer around...
I first came upon Team Beaver in what I believe is their natural habitat, stretched out behind a sheet metal fire station, a steadily rising pile of empty tallboys at their side. Yes, I thought to myself, these are people I need to get acquainted with. In the beginning, my connection with the team was tenuous to say the least. When friends and family would ask who I was riding RAGBRAI 2014 with, I would stare at the ground and mumble “my neighbor’s college English teacher from a few semesters ago…and some people she knows…I guess…” By the end of the week, however, I was rocking a customized Team Beaver koozie with my name written on it in Sharpie marker, the ultimate sign of RAGBRAI acceptance.
With thirteen RAGBRAIs under my belt, I thought had
seen everything this ol’ ride could muster.
My time with Team Beaver, however, opened up a whole new side of things. I think it best to fill this guest post with
some of my new found knowledge:
1. 1. It
is possible to not own biking gloves, yet still possess a sweet pair bicycle
rain goggles. I thought I had acquired
every piece of cycling accouterments known to man. Tad Johnson, you not only proved me wrong,
you gave me a nice addition to my Christmas list this year.
2. 2. There
are songs which can “kill RAGBRAI”. It
appears that nothing can stop a group of rowdy, hard-drinking cyclists quite
like a Lee Greenwood patriotic ballad.
When Mr. Greenwood’s vocals lit up the speakers, the Clarksville beer
garden stopped its hug dancing and merrymaking, unsure whether to rock out to a
classic American anthem or stand in silent reverence until Cotton Eyed Joe
started up again. It was then that Lauren and Beth explained to me that “God
Bless the U.S.A.” was one of the few songs which could stop a RAGBRAI party in
its tracks.
3
3. 3. No
one restarts a RAGBRAI party after Lee Greenwood kills it quite like Team
Miller High Life. Seriously, who could
deny that the dude with the crazy blonde hair and bandanna had some moves?!?
4. Even
with RAGBRAI rocking nearby, it’s still illegal to drink a six-pack of Coors Light
outside a Kum & Go in Bremer County, though the sheriff’s deputy will let
you “drain’m quick ” if you complement his hat.
5. 4. The
very best way to wait out an epic rainstorm is huddled in a tight circle around
the Touchplay machines in the “Trip-O-Lah” American Legion. Ingest a steady stream of Old Milwaukee (heavy)
and fried egg sandwiches for good measure.
6. 5. It
is possible to get Korean BBQ in North Central Iowa.
7. 6. It
would appear from Norman's FaceBook post there a number of Team Beaver members
I haven’t had the opportunity to meet, including my high school English teacher
(Jennie “Ms. Lippold” I was the very tall guy in your American
Literature class a few years back who liked to write about John Steinbeck), and
I look forward to meeting you all in 2015!
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