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!