R16 31 Steven's Remorse, Drama Spark, and Random Poses with the Pale One

Hey there, ho there. It's Steve-o.

Normie and I had successfully accomplished our goal of getting Beavers nice and tipsy on the rollout. The Goose Chase was a ton of fun and we could already see how the new little virgin Beavers were fitting into our team. Smitty rolled in after having picked up B at the Omaha airport and they made quick work of the bike unloading. The Ark rolled in and a clan of drunken, excited, bewildered Beavers made their way to the basement.

Normie and I were introduced to "Cause" and "Effect" -- one of Tad's buddies from MSP and one of Tad's buddy's buddies from high school. Did you catch that? Although the nicknames were cute (good work, Ma. Sing. Ga.), it was obvious they were not going to stick...Koz was waaaaay to outspoken, drunk, and sassy to walk away with that clean of a naming process.

Believe it or not...the only pic I could find of him on that day was this one. But, it is worth posting again.

Koz's Beaver moniker, coupled with route discussion, would soon become the spark that lit a bit Beaver drama. But that will have to wait...because there were other random shenanigans that need to be documented first.

First -- Pokes was deee-runk. And I randomly convinced her to jump into the pool with all her clothes on. She instantly sobered up just enough to begin questioning why she had just done that. I felt really bad and worked to help recover as quickly as possible. Cash laid out, clothes in the dryer, Pokes tucked in for a quick Beaver snooze.

Pillow not needed.

Makin' it rain.

Meanwhile, the music was playin', the High Life was flowin', and the Beavers were enjoyin' their natural habitat.

Later, Too Much did what he does best -- posed dramatically with sexy Beaver eyes.

The sprawling Glenwood homestead was littered with Beavers. Some in the basement, some in the pool, some in the mancave. We respresented all parts of the drunk spectrum -- buzzed, tipsy, drunk, and hungover.

Soon, dinner would be ready and we would all converge on the mancave, which is where things would get a bit interesting.

R16 30 A Wild Goose Chase

Steven, here.

I first heard about Goose Chase at a professional conference I attended in June. It is an app that allows you to create scavenger hunts that others can complete using their smart phones. I thought about doing using it for the whole week, but decided to test it out on the rollout instead. You can assign point values to each item and can take submissions via photo, video, or text. You can edit it real time and save all the submissions.

Points.

Real-time adjustment.

Save the evidence.

Obviously a beaver dream for fun on the #rollout.

Normie and I had a good list brainstormed before the #rideout and kept adding to it along the ride. I passed many miles by thinking of different items to add to the Goose Chase. I had created a Beaver Tale for the #rollout that Pokes got  printed and handed out once the RV had started rolling.

So chipper and ready to #rollout

Beavers logged into the app and the fun began. One drawback that I didn't realize is that it limited the number of people that could join -- a snafu that didn't bring the Beavers down.

As the #rollout continued and the Goose Chase submissions came rolling in, we started customizing new challenges to better involve virgins. We had also hidden a little gem that we new Beavers couldn't resist...an item referencing Marne.

The par-tay was on.

Here are some highlights from our end in Glenwood:

Notice Koz's shirt in the background.

Ma. Sing. Ga.'s Specialty

Oh, virgins.

Too Much proudly looking on...Koz looks the same.

Goose Chase customizing to virgins involved -- the ol' ice down the beaver pants trick.

Beaver talon

And...my personal favorite that encapsulates all the greatness that is the #rollout

Suns out. Bebop out.

Soon, the Beavers would depart and things would get wet and real. A story for another day.

R16 29 Masinga's Rollout

Oh, the Roll-Out…

It is such a magical time for me. One of my favorite parts of the entire Ragby experience. This year proved to be no exception. The party ark was full of fun and the Beavers were ready to par-tay!

Let me roll back a few day/hours. This year I, Masinga, was accepting the great challenge of conducting graduate school course schoolwork, including a final during Ragby. I had to plan ahead. That meant I worked hard to pad my grade for the course, create a schedule for the week, and most importantly stick to it. More on that later though. I was packed two days before the Roll Out, less a couple pieces of cycling clothes I wanted to wash. It was my smallest pack job ever. See!

I met up with The Boss and Norman a couple days before their Ride Out to see if there was anything I could help with. I offered to pick up beer contributions for Normie and myself. And I had a few extra hours to make some goodies. You’re welcome Little Beavers!

Finally Saturday morning was here! I pulled the final items together and loaded up my car. My pops arrived and we drove up to Roosevelt, which was looking to be a much better meeting spot for me. Physically closer means I’m on time! I pulled in with moments to spare before the agreed upon meeting time. I was one of the first Beavers there. I swiftly unloaded my bike, gear, treats, and beer. Told my pops I was good to go and he proceeded to talk peoples’ ears off. Love him, but he spins the same yarn over and over again, for hours on end. Sorry for that Beaver Friends and Family.

I eagerly paced around waiting for others to get there. A couple cars rolled in and Beavers trickled out. Yes! This is happening. I said good morning to Pochy and she kind of waived me off. I tried not to take it personally. It was going to be a long week. I let her do her thing. Within about 20 minutes, we had all the bikes in or on the vehicles. Most of the beer was on ice. The gear was piled in. Then Smitty and Too Much (I think) took off. I was confused. As I asked Pochy for the deets on what was happening, I got the immediate information that they were dropping off the car. And then I got a little more backstory on what was really wrong. There was a potential problem with the dogs and their sitter for the week. Oh man. No wonder Pochy was a little salty. I was worried. I had never seen her like that before.

Eventually all the little Beavers were in our den on wheels and we were off! As we settled in for the ride, we were reminded that the Roll Out 2016 included a Goose Chase. It was finally live! Yes! But what did this entail?? We had a variety of tasks assigned and needed to get photo or video documentation for many of them. Interesting. The competitive side of me took hold and I went for it. Especially given that one of the challenges was guessing how many beers Masinga would drink on the Roll Out. I answered and then I kept drinking. In my mind my answer was 10. Apparently my actual answer was only 8. I kept drinking. I was hell bent on winning.

It was a lovely drive. And all of a sudden we were getting off the Interstate and making a stop. WHAT??  Oh, we’re getting off the Ark to party? Okay. Oooh, there are challenges for this party spot??  Challenge accepted! I walked in the door and instantly made friends. I cozied up to the bar with the Delaware Blue Hens team and convinced their team president to buy Masinga a shot! Baller!

 We Little Beavers did all the party things. Jell-O Shots in syringes. Sand volleyball. Slapping TB stickers. The Dale was smiling. Everyone was pretty happy! Then I noticed that all of a sudden there were more challenges on the Goose Chase. It was getting wilder. Dammit you sick and sneaky (probably drunk) Beavers sitting in our Glenwood den. There was very little chance of us finishing most of these new tasks. Still, we tried.

We wrangled the Little Beavers up in the time frame suggested and disembarked again. I vaguely remember taking back roads to I-80 as to not back track. I think there was a little gravel too. It was all a little cloudy because I kept drinking. I had to hit that 10-beer goal. Yikes.  We were back on the main road reminiscing about Marne already. This needed to be a part of our annual Ragby tradition. My only concern is our early departure timeframe may be too early for the real party in Marne. Beaver(s) in Chief take note: If we’re going to really party in Marne with other teams, we may need a later departure time.

As our Roll Out and Goose Chase adventure came to a close with a lovely home in Glenwood, I was a little sad. I don’t remember unloading my bags and greeting the hosts. I can say I accurately predicted my “Get off da bus” behavior. I face planted on the floor and took a little beaver snooze.

I was going to own this Ragby, just like I owned the Goose Chase. BTW, was there a prize? #masingadit

R16 28 Happy Holidays Little Beavers! (Guest Blog from Pochy)

Present Day Beaver Announcement (PDBA): I hope you all are enjoying a wonderful holiday season, filled with friends, family, food, and booze! (and also beautiful Mexican beaches if you are Deb, Dale, Norman, or the Captain)

This year, Team Beaver decided to try out two new holiday things, and I think they were a huge success!

First, we ordered Team Beaver Christmas Cards and sent them to all 2015 and 2016 host families.  I tried to write little notes on the back of each one, such as, "Thank you for the amazing taco bar and also for building a beaver pond for us," (which was obviously sent to Ottumwa 2016).

The other Beaver Holiday event that was new this year was the Team Beaver Secret Santa!  It was fun to think about gift ideas for people on the team, but my favorite part was reading all of the commentary on Sunday night when everyone guessed who their Secret Beaver was!

Now, as we look ahead to 2017 and all of the exciting adventures that we have in store, I'd like to remind everyone that we have a table at the RAGBRAI Route Announcement Party, and I believe there are still 2 seats up for grabs!  All Beavers are welcome and we would love to have you there! Please contact Masinga if you are interested! 

R16 27 Goose Chase & Marne aka How the Rollout Got Crazy (Guest blog from Pochy)

With Norman and The Boss already holding down the fort at our Glenwood homestay, it was up to Too Much, Masinga, Deb & Dale, and me to ensure that all those virgin beavers were properly initiated on the Rollout - big task!  I wanted to show up to the RV being the Champagne-Guzzling Eager Beaver that everyone knows me to be, but instead, I showed up stressed out and cranky because I had been dealing with an angry dog-sitter all morning (apparently our husky was terrorizing her cat and she was threatening to back out on our dog-sitting deal).

As quickly as I could, I tried to manage the stress, crack open a beer, and get swept up into the magical chaos that is The Rollout.

Bikes, bags, beers, and mountains of random gear were being unloaded out of cars and piled into every available space of the RV and Smitty's van.  All in all, it seemed like a very efficient RV-packing experience and I really loved the new location!

Now, on to the fun part.  There were 2 new things that made this year's rollout experience unique; 1) GooseChase - a scavenger hunt app where submissions can be viewed and new scavenger hunt items can be created remotely, which allowed The Boss and Norman to essentially micromanage our Rollout and laugh at us/with us the entire time, and 2) Marne.

1) GooseChase
Norman and The Boss know this team like the back of their sneaky little hands and I'm sure they had a blast creating all of these scavenger hunt items.  The entire RV ride (which seemed to go really fast) was consumed with winning points on GooseChase, drinking, dancing, and randomly shouting "rules" at the virgins.

Champagne Shenanigans:

Like A Virgin:

Gold Digger:

Choose Your Own Adventure:

2) Marne

Here's the backstory: Luke and I were riding bikes one day and we ran into some guys (I think they were from Team Wind?) who asked if we were stopping at Marne.  I had never heard of Marne, so they told us a story about a RAGBRAI of years past (I found it, it was 2001, you can read about it here: The 2001 Route Change Incident) where the small town of Marne was suddenly left off the RAGBRAI route due to a last-minute route change.  Marne had prepared for RAGBRAI and the people there were really sad.  The riders felt bad for them, so decided to go off-route and descend on Marne for the greatest party of 2001.

Now, every year, buses full of RAGBRAI riders stop at Marne for a mid-day rollout party on their way to the official start down, regardless of where the start might be.  This year, Marne was right along our route, so I convinced everyone that we had to stop and see what that party is all about!

I guess the party in Marne doesn't really start until after 9:00am.... or until Team Beaver rolls in! When we arrived there was only one other bus (Delaware Blue Hens), but we rolled into that bar with all of our gear on and promptly slapped on stickers and ordered shots, followed by a nice mid-morning game of sand volleyball.  Soon enough, other teams started to arrive!

Team Beaver definitely started the party in Marne, and I would love to see the Marne stop continue to be a Team Beaver Rollout event!

R16 26 Champagne, Nail Art, and Knife Collections (Guest Blog from The Bandit)

Friday July 22nd. Bandit’s log entry #1.

Bike? Check. New bike shorts? Check. Sunscreen? Check. Underwear? NO. WHY WON’T THEY LET ME WEAR UNDERWEAR?! This Ragbrai virgin is learning. I’ll be fiiiiiine.

I definitely won’t get saddle rash (wrong)

I definitely won’t get sunburned (wrong)

I will definitely feel fine in the heat (wrong)

Friday July 22nd: Too much, Biscuit and I roll out of MSP. Biscuit takes the reigns of locating an Arbys for the drive down. This beaver bandit requires road trip food. Biscuit agrees with a resounding “Daddy likey” (gag).

I force the boys to listen to my new favorite podcast (my favorite murder) which is dominated by two galpals chatting. They didn’t love it. We transition to music and discuss Biscuit’s love life until he gets a call from The Outlaw (who we have yet to meet) wondering where we are, how we’re doing, what we’re talking about. He reports that he and Pochy have been prepping for our arrival over the grill and we are promised jalapeno poppers + beer when we arrive. Biscuit hangs up and states “daddy likey.” (gross).

We roll into DSM and are greeted by two perfectly giddy and expertly drunk beavers. The Outlaw is so excited about our arrival that he throws his drink against the refrigerator. Pochy hands us beers and we even get hugs. Ragbrai is here.

We are given a tour of the house, including The Outlaw’s extensive knife collection and their rad cabana where the bikes live. I like these people! (Though, that night I drape a towel over the axe collection. I’ve been listening to A LOT of my favorite murder...) I give Pochy a team beaver manicure, and Biscuit allows me to adorn one toe!

Beaver tails, on point

We chat about what to expect, plans for the next day and prize loot Pochy has collected.

We go to bed. Too Much protects me from the knives. Biscuit sleeps in the cabana, protecting the bikes.

Saturday July 23rd: In the morning Pochy helps to outfit me with a team beaver sporty shirt, trucker hat and full belly of captain crunch.

Smitty comes to load up our bikes in the space van, which somehow fits 15 bikes a pop. I learn Smitty is a Wizard  (It will take me about 5 days to realize The Wizard that Brad keeps talking about was his dad. The Wizard does not just do bike magic, he is also caring for baby beavers, M and Z while we ride.) Too much and I snap a twinsie pic to document my pre-ride virgin status. A lot is about to change in the next several days.

Beaver partnersssss!! Look at the innocent Bandit

We load up the back of the truck, The Outlaw regals us with stories of being shot at near the taco bell, and I lay my eyes on the Holiday Rambler for the first time. Apparently we’re stopping at a place called Klinkerburg. I’m handed a glass of champagne and begin a goose hunt lead by a woman named Steven I have never met. Here we go! (Daddy likey.) ((Nooooooo))

Morale saver, buckled in for safety

R16 25 Merry Christmas Beavers

"Dear God, why is she driving?" 

That was the response Steven got when she sent a snap chat of me to El Cap. (He says "that's appropriate.")

Yes, Steven and I had wheels! We didn't need to eat Kraft Mac and Cheese for dinner. We could go out on the town! Of course, driving Mark's fancy Outback after having not been in a car for 3 days was a bit of a challenge, but we managed. 

Sara and Mark had given us a few recommendations and we found our way to the Bowling Alley/Pizza Joint where we managed to scarf down a massive pizza in record time and make a few friends with the locals (they were not prepared for the shit storm in their future). 

Then, because it was about 5:30, we decided to go out for a beer. We managed to pilot the Subaru around the cordoned off streets and festival parking to get to the Keg Creek brewery, which was packed with cyclists, Bike World staff, and locals out to get a glimpse of the brewing chaos. We tucked inside and ordered a couple beers--The Mayor and I had been in this exact same brewery during my second ragby, and they had just opened, so they didn't have any of their own beers--now they had a salted lime gose which was amazing. Like a margarita. 

Tasty salty  beer that is not Bud Light Lime!

We did a bit of chatting, but mostly just stared at our beers in a bit of shell shock. 

We might need this.

After we left the brewery Steven and I decided to stop by the grocery store to find some fresh supplies for Saturday. We didn't know when the beavers would arrive and we didn't plan to leave the air conditioned splendor of Mark and Sarah's house. We found a bunch of tasty treats at the grocery store and some additional supplies at the Big Lots next to that. And then we popped into the liquor store at the end of the strip mall. We bought a 6 pack of good beer and found that they delivered. Good to know...

After our supplies we decided we better get Mark's fancy car home so we drove back to the palace and settled in for an evening of beers, dogs, and reclining on the Love Sack. 

I bet El Cap that there were more breweries per capita in Iowa than Minnesota. I was not correct.

We had just settled down in the basement for some Tiny House Shoppers or some other bad and mindless television. It wasn't late in the evening when we heard the dog Rocky start barking, angrily upstairs. Then we heard the front door open and someone heavy walking around on the first floor. Steven and I looked at each other. If it was Mark and Sarah (who weren't supposed to be back for a long time), why would Rocky be barking so crazy? 

The two of us crept up the stairs, peering around the doorways. We got to the first floor and looked out the front door. There was a car that hadn't been there before. Rocky was out in the front yard, circling angrily. Who was here? 

Then we heard someone coming down the stairs from the second floor. "Hello?" we called up. On the landing we saw a large serious looking man. He looked a bit like Mark, enough so that we wondered if perhaps it was Mark, like we didn't recognize him well enough to know it was him. "Hi," he said and looked at us suspiciously. 

"Hi," we said. "Uh who are you?" we asked. 

Rightly so he asked who we were right back. It turns out it was Mark's brother. He lived in Pella, but he was also in the National Guard on a weekend in Omaha, so he was staying at the house for the evening. "Oh, okay," we said. "We'll see you later." And then we scurried back downstairs still not convinced we weren't going to be murdered in our beds. 

That night I slept on the bed in the private room. Steven on the couch. There was a huge thunderstorm that blasted the evening air with lightning. It brought with it a break in the intense humidity and an end to our adventures on the #RideOut. Tomorrow our friends would be arriving in the Beaver Ark and then the rest of Ragbrai would begin. 

Single serve vodkas? Yes please. 

It had been an extremely challenging three days on the road. I found new wells of suffering and pain and self doubt that I couldn't reach the bottom of, but I was so grateful I had Steven with me. Indeed it wouldn't have happened without her, and as I am getting older, I am realizing that the greatest gift of all is the gift of quality time with the people you love. I love you Steven! Thanks for both getting me into and laughing me out of some of the stupidest things of my life. 

Or stupid.

And Merry Christmas little beavers! I hope the great beaver in the sky brings you all the sticks and mud and ponds you need to have a happy, healthy, and busy year! 

R16 24 Christmas Comes Early for the RideOut Beavers

And the beavers arrive.

Riding out of the Lake Ohana Market at about 3:30 that afternoon was perhaps the hottest time we spent on the bike. The air was shimmering with heat. It was radiating off the asphalt. The pavement was melting and so was my brain, despite all my recent hydration. 

But, there was one upside. With Steven still a few beers behind me in tolerance, I got to take the lead! And bring us on home. It wasn't far. Just a couple turns, a few ups and downs, and then one downhill before our right onto the gravel. At first the gravel was fine. But then, it went up. Up, up, curve, and up. Fuccccckkkkk. 

I made it about a quarter of the way and hopped off. Steven was about 3/4 of the way before she hopped off. And then we pushed. And you know what? Pushing was just as bad. Inch by inch we creeped up the hill. Near the top, the driveway switched backed, so I could see Steven directly above me. "Just push up this little hill," she said, directly down at me. Ha! 

After what seemed like a Hereculan effort, I made it to the top, pulled onto the driveway and rode up to the house. Steven was in the garage--a massive yawning 3 car number, talking to the homeowner. Next to the house was an above ground pool from which 3 scrawny pre-teen girls came running from. "Who are you?" they asked. 

"I'm Norman. Who are you?" They told me their names and pointed to the one who lived there. Up ahead, Steven was getting escorted to the beer fridge and putting her bike down. I joined her and met our hosts, Mark. Mark was a big, handsome dark haired guy, who was quiet initially but was really welcoming. "Is that Miller High Life? I love Miller High Life"*.

We took off our shoes and went inside to the palace. The house was massive. Just sprawling. And inside lived Sarah, Mark, their two lovely children, and two dogs (one big, one small) and a very fluffy cat named Cupcake. 

Sarah and Mark were soooo nice. They were actually going to a concert that night, Counting Crows or something similarly 90s band, but they had said it had been fine if we stayed at the house. We got a tour of the palatial digs in store for the team. It was a beaver dream come true. On this night Steven and I would have a bedroom and a huge living room with a massive sofa and our own bedroom. The next night, the team could stay down in the man cave in the pole barn. 

This is the life.

We grabbed a couple beers and went down to the pool where the girls were swimming. We hopped in the pool and immediately were ensconced in the games the girls were playing--we had to toss the pool toys and then see who got back with them and then maybe who had the best free style slide down the slide. And then chicken, which involved manic children practically drowning an exhausted and mostly drunk Steven and myself. With her keen teen sense, Steven discovered some drama going on with the gals. Maddie and Kendra didn't get along with Brayden because she was so bossy. Or something like that. 

RideOut Dreads

Eventually we went back in the house, showered and hung out with Sara and all of her amazing-yoga arm mom friends. They were hilarious. And Sara showed us the huge pantry where Mark stored the massive amounts of snacks (an ocean of Goldfish, a mattress full of chips). Sara even filled us in on the girl gossip and also the drama that was going down with her team. 

This is the normal dog.

When Sara and Mark were getting ready to leave, we joined them in the kitchen. "Okay," Mark said. "Here are the keys to my car so you can go to town and get some dinner. Just go in and out through the garage." And then they were gone. 

And Steven and I had wheels. 

*Later Sara told us that initially when Mark had heard we were going to be there on Friday night he hadn't wanted us to stay in the house. "They can stay in the mancave" he had told her. He didn't like the idea of strangers being in the house when he wasn't home. Then, we showed up with Miller High Life, his favorite beer. And that was all it took. We were his people. He gave us full access to the house, the beer fridge, the pool, the TV, the bar, and his Subaru Outback. 

Booo.oooo.oooomm.

R16 23 Meanwhile, In Des Moines (Guest Blog from Pochy)

How to stay busy while Norman and The Boss are on the Ride Out:

1. Fill the Piñata

2. Remind Luke not to over-pack

3. Get all the stuff from Norman

4. Pick up a last-minute-printing of a Beaver Tale

5. Remind Luke not to over-pack, again

6. Finalize logistical details with Smitty
7. Spend some quality time with the dogs while relaxing in air conditioning

8. Sit back, get drunk, and daydream about being on the Ride Out

Norman might try to tell you that the Ride Out was difficult, you know, because of the extreme heat advisory, hills, and bike riding, but the one thing more difficult than the Ride Out is sitting at work with nothing to do while impatiently waiting for a vacation to start.  One of the things I like to do before RAGBRAI, as a way to keep my Team Beaver energy up, is make a ton of stuff that the team may or may not actually need (but definitely suggested when they were drunk on ragbrai the previous year).  This year, I made Team Beaver trucker hats, stainless steel pint glasses, and of course, the booze piñata. 

With all of the logistics and small details finally planned and ready to go, all I had to do was sit back and wait for the Northern Beavers to arrive on Friday night! 

R16 22 Aloha! But First, Coffee!

Getting there. 

"Mmm, you probably should," Steven told me. I had gone full on bagger feral. Rocking the vest + sports bra on a Friday morning in the middle of small town Iowa seemed like a great idea! But I took Steven's advice and pulled my jersey out of my pannier. 

Inside was the coolest coffee shop. Honestly, El Cap and I were in the hippest coffee shop in Nashville, Tennessee (which is the self declared hippest place ever) and this coffee shop was nearly as cool--old industrial fixtures, white and gray paint, mirrors and tin ceilings, but because it was small town Iowa there was also some old folks hanging out having their coffee clutch. 

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I stepped up to the bar and ordered--a cappucinno, and wait, what is this? Homemade ice cream. Yes please. Who cares if it was barely 9 am. I was in heaven. 

Steven and I took a table and started our ritual of consuming beverages, applying sunscreen, inter netting, mapping, and talking with the locals. I am glad we did because they confirmed that the old Henderson Gap was real. Just a longish stretch of gravel. 

Then we had to decide if we wanted to go through Silver City or Mineola. Silver City had a bar, but we called and we couldn't confirm that they would be open. Mineola had a somewhat well-known steak house, but it didn't open for lunch until 11:00. 

The bike trail goes through Mineola, and apparently, every Tuesday, the biggest organized Taco Tuesday ride happens from Council Bluffs through Mineola to Silver City--the more you know. We decided to go the Mineola way. We heard a rumor of a cool gas station/bar/restaurant that was owned by a Hawaiian guy. It sounded promising. 

Way too soon we were out in the heat again. I took my jersey back off and put it back in my pannier where it belonged, and then we were bombing down the hill out of Treynor towards good old L-55. The hills kept piling up, but with my music to distract me, it didn't feel so very bad. And, I was actually kind of enjoying myself. 

Hill #19

There were some doozeys though, like one that went up, up, up, very gradually, then down a bit, then up, then down a lot, then back way up. What did that count as? Steven was waiting at the top and we had a discussion about it. When we turned west again there was a beast of a climb, but I stayed on the bike and cranked away, enjoying the music and ignoring the massive trucks on the steep, winding hill. 

In Mineola we cruised through the shady and curvy town and crossed the bike path. I found Steven sitting on the side of the road, in a sliver of shade next to the restaurant. It was not open yet. There wasn't much room to sit. It was a steep little embankment next to the road, but we stopped, had a snack and debated what to do. Keep cranking along to the Hawaiian bar? Or wait a half an hour until the bar opened up. 

Onward. Out of Mineola the road curved and swooped through some gorgeous fields. We passed the first option to head into Glenwood, and then we started to climb. I couldn't believe it but the hills at the end of the day were even bigger. Soon we were climb, climb, climbing. Up, up, up. I was counting away. 1, 2, 3, 78, 79, 100. 1, 2, 3, 100. By the time I reached the top I am pretty sure I had gotten into the upper 400s. In the middle some trucks were departing a quarry, and I felt bad when they waited for me to pass them because it took, well, it took a bit. 

Crown Royal Quilt 

Hill 29 was the biggest, baddest mother out there. Just long, straight, and reaching into the sky, with a horizon so high, you hurt your neck looking for it. And then, before the very top, I saw Steven turn left and cross the road. We had found it. The Aloha market! Actually it was called Lake Ohana Market. 

Crown Royal Mount

I caught up with Steven as she was disembarking her bike, and I followed her inside. The front of joint was a gas station/super market. The back was a bar with food. And taxidermy. It was about 11:30 in the morning. And this is where we would remain for the next four hours. 

We made it: mostly. 

We parked at a table near the bar, ordered a pitcher of water and a couple of beers and told the bartender to keep them coming. I ordered the fried chicken special and more beer. And we sat and drank and talked and drank. We drank beer and water. We chatted with the locals and learned about the slip and slide festival and the founding of Lake Ohana. We talked about work, about our relationships, about RAGBRAI. There may have been a few tears shed! There were many laughs. We were sweating all over those vinyl seats. It was the best. I honestly count it as one of the best afternoons of my life. 

#MCMBW

But soon, happy drunken almost finished time gave way to oh-shit-we-better get cracking time. We did happily discover that our homestay was way north of town, but only about 3.5 miles from where we were right now. We did know that the last half mile was gravel, but we were tough! And were on touring bikes. We got this! Right? 

Taxidermy heaven!

We knew we wouldn't want to leave the house on bikes again, so we decided to buy enough food stuffs to get us through the evening and the next day. Our homestay had graciously allowed us to stay with them the night before, but we wanted to be self-sufficient. We bought mac and cheese, toast strudels, a Chelada, frozen burritos, and various other snacks. And we bought a 12 pack of Miller High Life. As we divided up the groceries, I offered to put the beer in my pannier, but no, once again, old bungee-strap MaGee wanted to attach it to the top of her rear rack. What we didn't know was that beer would be the key to our destiny! 

Just a little ibex