We started our culinary experience the day before the ride at the 6th Annual Mid-America Ribfest in Council Bluffs, a separate but conveniently simultaneous event. Growing up outside Chicago, I had exposure to many genres of food, and spareribs and pork chops were certainly part of my mother’s arsenal of supper offerings. This place was an entirely different world. It may look like a “most banners” competition, but pork products were first and foremost. I am partial to pulled pork, and I was not disappointed.

6th Annual Mid-America Ribfest, Council Bluffs, IA

This was my first RAGBRAI, so I relied on the veterans on our team to help me with choosing where to eat along each day’s route. To be honest, as long as you have cash, and depending on how hungry you are, anywhere you stop is a good place to eat: the vendors who follow the tour each day, to the churches, schools, and local organizations of each town we pass through. Come to think of it, every time you stop is a good time to eat. Here I present the more memorable food stops.

Pastafari's Penne Ariabata Pasta with Rosemary Encrusted Salmon

The regular mobile vendors each had a special appeal, and I was most impressed with Pancake Man’s production line and delivery method. Farm Boys wrapped a nice breakfast burrito which, paired with a bowl of oatmeal, provided more than enough energy (for me, at least) to make it to lunch. Not that there wasn’t a town every ten or fifteen miles, and someone selling food at several places in between. Lunch was the next big meal you ate if you already had breakfast, or if it was noon, or whenever. Mr. Pork Chop is more than a food vendor, it is an experience. Riders are enticed with cries of “Pooooooorrrrrrk Choooooooop!” and there is always a line. A cluster of barbecue grills produces a lingering haze as riders enjoy inch-thick chops served up in a paper towel. Not elegant, but all the hungry, sweaty, Lycra-clad cyclists sing nothing but praises. The school bus decked out like a huge automotive pig is worth a stop in itself.

At the suggestion of our team captain, I stopped at Pastafari one day and shelled out $14 for penne arrabbiata pasta with rosemary-crusted salmon. Pricey (for RAGBRAI) but delicious. The vibe was kind of upper-crusty laid back, and a little contrived. I must admit, I like their logo. Kelly’s Pies falls decidedly in the dessert category, but that didn’t stop us from grabbing some wherever we encountered her stand. I think one pie had seven different berries in it, but all the pies were great.

Pancake Man's Semi-automatic Production Line

Our team developed a routine, at least for the seven days we trekked across Iowa, of visiting one particular vendor each morning. This vendor played an important role in maintaining our good spirits throughout the week, and was definitely a high point of each day. The mission of the Little Farm Fair Trade Coffee folks is to spread the good word about organically grown coffee, family farms, and Fair Trade. We looked forward each morning to delicious all-you-can-drink coffee (for $3.50), intelligent conversation, and live music from a couple who were on their way from Alaska to somewhere South-of-the-border (on bicycles, of course). Although the proprietors hail from Missouri, they had become a recent favorite of RAGBRAI participants. Political shenanigans, however, cast a little bad karma when Little Farm was prevented from selling coffee in Montgomery County because they had not purchased a permit, required by a new ordinance effective the day before through the day after (hmmm…). They let people “steal” what coffee had already been brewed before the sheriff put the kibosh on the operation. We were lucky to get away with some coffee before it ran out and just paid the next day. It all boils down to protecting Iowa-based vendors and organizations from profit-sucking out-of-state sellers. Never mind that Little Farm probably at best broke even after the week. They care more about spreading the word about Fair Trade, anyway. Sadly, Little Farm has opted out of this year’s RAGBRAI due to suspicions of even more ordinance shenanigans and favoritism. We will need a new morning caffeine dealer this year.

Craig suspects Jim of stealing coffee.

Now, about those local folks- RAGBRAI wants as much of the the profits from selling goods and services as possible to first go back into the state of Iowa, then the counties, and finally the communities participating in the ride. We were often at the mercy of whoever was next up the road when hunger struck, and if it wasn’t a school or church offering fruit or some pork on a stick, it was an Iowa-based company hawking their product. In Henderson, the fire department provided sandwiches and chips, and we all supped at rows of folding tables in the garage, out of the blazing sun. A Stanton bar opened its doors early in the morning, so we could enjoy bloody Marys and observe traditional Swedish folk dancing by local youth. For the best lamb-burger I ever had (okay, the first lamb-burger I ever had), I stopped by the Madison County Sheep Producers food stand when we paused for lunch in Truro.

These guys can cook a mean double lamb burger!

A light rain fell as we arrived in Greenfield, but that did not deter us from dining on gyros on the steps of City Hall in the public square. Following my ride around Rathbun Lake, an optional loop which made the day a century ride, I stopped off at the Landing (a.k.a. Krazy Connie’s) for a pulled-pork burrito and some real beer. Now, I hate to go back to the financial side of RAGBRAI and related political hoo-hah, but there is one aspect I was not particularly fond of: corporate sponsorship. More specifically, sponsorship by the makers of weak American mass-produced “beer”. I was a good sport, and drank Miller with the masses, and did not refuse an Old Style if offered at our charter group’s après ride tent. I was privately overjoyed to hear from a fellow loop-rider that there was good beer up the road following the loop, and I found it at Krazy Connie’s. There I enjoyed both a Goose Island Nut Brown Ale, and a Beach Bum Blonde Ale. Yes, Beach Bum is from Anheuser-Busch, and was certainly the lesser of the two. Still, if given a choice, I would choose it over a Bud every time. But, I digress.

We often joked about the prospects of eating “<insert any meat product here>-on-a-stick,” and we found a school in Pekin serving pigs in a blanket on a stick, which combines one of my favorite breakfasts with, well, a stick. Entertainment was provided by a local high school jazz band. On our last morning, VFW Post 7641 filled our tummies with more pancakes and sausage. Since a big part of RAGBRAI is promoting Iowa and supporting the small towns therein, I was happy to “eat local”.

Team meeting over a good cup o' joe.

RAGBRAI XXXVIII now looms three days away, and I am thinking of how I want to handle the whole eating thing this time. Last year, we sought out the popular vendors who served up the best whatever (according to those who had previous RAGBRAIs under their saddle), but I want to try to hit the community organizations where possible for meals, especially if I can get breakfast sooner than fifteen or twenty miles out (I could use a good coffee before we even start, for that matter). A Clif bar only takes me so far.

To those teammates who just don’t eat breakfast (shame on you): you go on ahead- I’ll catch up!

Next Installment: Reflections on RAGBRAI XXXVIII

How about 3' sidewalks? Can we talk?

“No sidewalks” is apparently part of the city charter. I think it’s time for “the City that Time Forgot” to forget their outdated charter and start over.

Update 9/19/09:  They  indeed voted “No”. Maybe it’s a “historic preservation” thing. Certainly not a pedestrian preservation thing. No matter, I still ride in the street where there are sidewalks. Too many pedestrians!

Yesterday, Carolyn made a point to mention news of two bicyclists who were killed by hit-and-run drivers last Friday. I understand her concern for me, as I ride among the cars during morning and evening commutes, but I insist that I can take care of myself on the road, that I am acutely, painfully aware of all the cars that approach from whatever direction. The woman killed in Royal Oak and dragged 100 feet was riding down a 6-lane main thoroughfare at 1:30 AM. Was she dressed visibly? Did she have lights? What the hell was she riding on Woodward for in the first place? There are sidewalks there, and probably few pedestrians (not being the bar district). Was the other person killed riding safely? Wearing a helmet? My guess is that these people were riding without regard for cars and without regard for their own safety, like most kids I see. I have seen people riding in the wrong lane against the flow of traffic. I see many without helmets. I see some wearing headphones. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I maintain that I am perfectly safe as long as I follow the traffic laws (as I am required to as a vehicle on the road), keep visible and predictable, and be prepared for drivers to do the wrong thing.

I urge my two girls to weat their helmets (and shoes) whenever they go out riding, even around the block. I am sometimes successful. What was I expecting? I never wore a helmet when I was their age (I’m not sure they even made children’s helmets thirty years ago). I’m sure I rode barefooted, and I don’t remember getting a light until I was a teenager, although they existed (and were required by most municipalities for night riding). I’m older and certainly wiser now, and I don’t really care who thinks I’m a geek as I pedal past with an LED headlamp and a blinking red taillight mounted to my helmet. If they think I’m a geek for wearing fluorescent orange shirts and shorts with reflective trim, then they must have seen me, right? Mission accomplished.

Yep, I’m a bike geek. Just add that to my geek repertoire, alongside engineer, trombone player, photographer, graphic artist, and computer nerd. There’s more where that come from.

Resting at DENSO during my trial commute from home

So I started limited bicycle commuting two weeks ago. This is nothing new to me; I commuted two or three days a week several years ago, but since having children (okay, Carolyn had the children, I was a bystander) and moving five miles farther from work (from 14 to 19), I gave up on it.

To be honest, I pretty much gave up on any physical activity beyond mowing the lawn and carrying children up the stairs. And down the stairs. And to the car. And back to their own bed at 1:00 in the morning.

Tell it to me straight, Doc

For many years I have enjoyed good health, with nothing much more serious than sinusitis, stomach flu, and astigmatism. The results of my last two physicals revealed, however, I was starting to fall off the wagon, as far as my triglycerides and cholesterol were concerned. I lay the blame squarely on poor diet and lack of regular exercise. Not to say my diet was all that great before my wife and I had children, but at least I kept up a regular workout routine of weight training and cycling to counter the effects of Oreos® and pizza. At my worst, I was almost 30 pounds heavier than I was just before I got married, when I was about ten pounds lighter than I should have been. My doctor also believes the mysterious knee pain I have experienced over the last few years is due to weakened leg muscles not supporting the joint. I had stopped exercising a few years before even that started, so no wonder.

It’s a Gas

Whatever the cause may be: market forces, speculators, or greedy oil companies, gasoline prices are going to stay high for good. This is my completely unresearched and fatalist opinion, but it ties for second as a motivating factor in my decision to bike commute. My ’03 Odyssey doesn’t get stellar mileage, but it’s better than my wife’s ’97 Cherokee. I can save a couple of gallons of unleaded each time I ride to work, with the added benefit of not polluting the atmosphere. For my round trip of 38 miles, using a conservative mileage estimate, I save two gallons of gas and prevent almost 42 pounds of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. If I achieve my goal of three days per week (98 miles round trip total) that’s about 5 1/2 gallons of gas and almost 108 pounds of CO2. Save money and save the environment- such a deal!

But, saving gas has also cost me money, through the purchase of bike stuff. Amortized across eight years, the cost is reasonable (at least to me- Carolyn has a different perspective). I own two bikes, the youngest of which is about fifteen years old, and by this time the only original equipment left on either are the frames and forks. And, clothing doesn’t last forever, so I have to replace my biking wardrobe. It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make for the sake of the environment and the local economy.

The Road Less Traveled

Pedestrian path construction on Long Lake Road

I wish I could find one.  At least I don’t have to ride along Telegraph Road for very long, but I wish there were a real sidewalk. I am encouraged by the ongoing construction of sidewalks along my route through West Bloomfield. I will selectively use a “pedestrian walkway” depending upon the likelyhood of encountering a walker, runner, dog or car. Simply put, a driver pays less attention to what’s coming down the sidewalk than what’s coming down the street at an intersection or end of a driveway. A driver would never pull into an intersection without looking, but will routinely stop across a sidewalk. In some cases I am safer riding in the road where drivers are more likely to see me and, hopefully, give me ample clearance. I think most of the sidewalks in the townships I ride through are considered multi-use and open to non motorized travelers. In the actual towns with the more traditional narrow sidewalks, I stick to the street.

Where am I going with all this?

Carolyn fears for my life when I do my commute, and I fully understand, but I have much more riding experience than she, and I am comfortable alongside cars. I would prefer an open road where I did not have to hug the white stripe, but I take what I can get. My commute is long, and I don’t recommend it to just anyone. A ten mile commute would be perfect; it’s a good workout in a more reasonable amount of time. I have no intention of moving, however, at least not while I am still working for my current employer. I am using this bike commute to challenge myself back into shape with the added benefits of saving gasoline and reducing pollution. Maybe others will try commuting, if they see what I can accomplish- then maybe more atention will be paid to accommodating more cyclists and pedestrians in this region. It has to start somewhere.

Find tips, advice, and encouragement at Commute By Bike, Bike Commuters,  and 6 Myths About Commuting by Bicycle