Maquoketa to Clinton: 56 miles

Bill and Marilou Risser were wonderful hosts, we learned that Bill’s father was a physician and would be celebrating his 105^th birthday the first week of August.  The plan was to depart around 6:30 AM, meet in Elvira and ride the last 10 miles as a group to the mighty Mississippi in Clinton.  By 10:45 AM the entire group had assembled in Elvira, where there was a DJ spinning the latest country music hits (this music made the youngest member of our group, Kayla, head for the kybos).  The DJ failed to bring the classic Oak Ridge Boys tune “Elvira” and he was reminded of this fact every time he asked for requests.  With about 1 mile to go to the finish line the group caught up with Jim.  We re-assembled and rode the last mile together waving at the people in Clinton and passing Jason and Keyton as they documented the end of our journey.  As we crossed the finish line I patted Janelle’s arm and told her how proud I was of all the members of our group.  As a group we completed more than 8,300 miles with no crashes and about a dozen flat tires, our primary goal had been achieved as we had a safe and enjoyable ride across Iowa.  We achieved more than that however, a number of newspaper articles were written about the Pedaling for Parkinson’s team and our mission to raise awareness for Parkinson’s and to demonstrate the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle.  Every member of the team told me that at numerous times during the week someone would ask about our cause or relate to them that a friend or a loved one had or was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s.  I am grateful for all of the PFP riders and support crew; I am fortunate to now know some people better and meet new people who I will always consider my friends.  The overnight hosts were terrific in each town, thank-you for your generosity.  Thanks to all those who made contributions to Pedaling for Parkinson’s; your support is appreciated and its importance cannot be overstated.  A special thanks to Stan VanderPlaats, owner, of RV Central Inc., in Sheldon, Iowa for the donation of the RV and the trailer; these items made our life much easier for the week.  Finally, thanks to Steve Kester for keeping such a colorful journal and it is with great pain that I congratulate you for breaking my weekly FCP mileage record.  See you all again next year.

Steve’s World

7-31-04

The Final RAGBRAI Journal

I’m a little sad writing this.  On the one hand, 680 miles on a bike seat in a week can make anybody want to get that experience behind him or her, if you will.  On the other hand, I’ve really enjoyed the people I met and hung with for the last seven days as well as the whole RAGBRAI experience.

Plus, we supported a great cause.  Most of the recipients of these journals were my sponsors and, having seen firsthand the effects of Parkinson’s and the bravery of survivors, your money will be well-spent.

The last three days of the journey were from Marshalltown to Hiawatha (Thursday, 84 miles), Hiawatha to Maquoketa (Friday, 76 miles) and ended from Maquoketa to Clinton, IA (Saturday, 56 miles), where we dipped our bike tires in the Mississippi River at the Iowa-Illinois border.  On Thursday and Friday, we had heavy rains in the morning that cleared in the afternoon.  The morning sessions were grim, but I was impressed that most of the RAGBRAI-ers toughed it out.  Looking back on the week, we had 5 unbeatable days, two stinker mornings and two decent afternoons – a record of 5-2-2, which is very good in my book.

The end of the journey marked the beginning of poll taking.  For 90+% of RAGBRAIers, RAGBRAI is about food.  Ralph is the noticeable exception to this rule, so don’t ride with Ralph for a lot of reasons, but especially not if you want to enjoy RAGBRAI for what it is – biking 490 miles so one can justify feasting his/her way through the cornfields of Iowa, then drinking themselves into a feted slumber.

This next section is written by guest writer, Cathy Fraizer. 

Steve asked me to type this final entry for him (mostly to keep me from whining during our 15 hour drive home…I am stuck in the back seat in a car with 3 avid bikers and I left my book and music packed in Jay’s SUV.)

We finished this morning together as a group of 19 riding into the end town of Clinton and ceremoniously dipping our front bike tires into the Mississippi River.  To do this we created quite a backup as all of us stood side by side across the water for a series of photos.  Our support crew, “Van” Darren, Jason and our team mascot, Keyton, were there, of course to cheer us on and direct us to the RV and showers 11 blocks away.  Opting for a quicker departure over personal hygiene, showers were foregone and we headed for Roland where we had parked all our vehicles for the past 7 days.  Some rode in the air-conditioned RV and others preferred the charm of the un-air conditioned, “smells like puke or a locker room” 15-person van.  After de-boarding and separating bikes, luggage, lawn chairs, coolers, etc. and loading our individual vehicles, we said our goodbyes and the PFP team went our separate ways – back to Minneapolis, Des Moines, California and Atlanta.

The trip was quite memorable – the group meshed incredibly well, the weather was beautiful, Iowa hospitality was unbeatable and the whole ride logistics was expertly planned and executed.  Thanks to Dr. Jay!  And thanks to all who …BANG!

[We interrupt this guest writing with an announcement that Cathy Frazier has been fired for lack of production.  Three (weak) paragraphs after 4 hours on the computer ain’t gonna cut it in Journalwood.  Plus, Cathy is too nice in sharp contrast to your regularly scheduled author.  For example, she failed to point out that the showers mentioned above were abandoned because The Kids were slowed by an acute case of GI distress.]

The exception amongst The Kids was Kirk, who seems to go faster the harder imbibed the night before.  On the last day, he hammered the hills to the amazement of everyone he left in his wake.  Of course, his choice of fuel meant riding behind him was done at the rider’s risk.  Rumors were circulating that Kirk was responsible for the deaths of three cats seen on the side of the road, although there was some confusion as to whether they had tire tracks on them or died of asphyxiation.  Further rumored was that Dr. Barry tried CPR on one of the felines, but failed.  Nevertheless, he tucked the corpse in his fanny pack and deep-fried it at the Mr. Porkchop roadside stand.

All-in-all, I enjoyed my co-riders and RAGBRAI immensely.  I look forward to riding again.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed the Journals.  Thanks so much to the host families and our financial supporters.

Steve Kester

721 miles.  4 flats.  One near crash.  Serious, serious saddle sore.

Contact Pedaling for Parkinson's. 404.441.8096

Contact Frazier Cycling Inc. 770.513.8640