Nathan, one of our team members reported today (4 days after the ride) his wallet that was lost during the week, was safely returned with all the money and cards intact! WOW!

Our final day arrived and it is hard to believe we have over 450 miles under our legs. Just a short 55 mile ride today, fairly flat and looking forward to our roll to the Mississippi river.

The day started out sleepy with a rousing from my brother and the rest of the team eager to get on the road. Thanks to Raymond for letting us set up camp in his yard and use his awesome downstairs bathroom! After a few minor repairs to the bikes (somehow I became the official mechanic for the team, ha, ha) we were on the road headed out of my home town of Tipton.

Oh and I might add that the evening of fun was a good one and was able to introduce the boys on the team to the local bakery and their world famous crescent rolls with the special cream filling!

6 miles into the ride, thump, thump, thump, no, not another flat! Yepper, this time the rear tire. This would be my third for the entire 500 miles and felt pretty good considering some people had major problems with flats and tacks on the road (yes believe it or not there are some who re not happy about the millions of dollars and fun we bring to the state). After a quick change I was back on the road and off to the next town for a breakfast burrito and ham/egg and cheese biscuit and a banana chaser.

Today was another day of riding a moderate pace with the rest of the team so we could all have the satisfaction of finishing together in Le Claire. After seeing another couple of accidents and arriving with all the members of Team Kick Butts intact we arrive in Le Claire to the cheers of the locals and support crews.

After a steep descent down to the river, we waited in yet another line, not too bad, as our turn arrived for the official dip of the front tire in the river and team pic. YEAH WE DID IT!

Then back up the hill to find the team bus and rides home. What a melee, there were riders and buses everywhere. And traffic on Interstate 80 was backed up for over 4 miles. All the joys of RAGBRAI! It was a great experience and I would go back and do it again in a heartbeat!

Look for more pics and a wrap up with more stories from the peloton.

This nice elderly gentleman was riding for Team TuTu!	Riding into Eldridge was like riding in a 4th of July parade and we were the main float.	My brother Todd on the left and me on the right, what’s with all this corn, oh yeah it is Iowa!
Ok so the sign said World’s BIGGEST HORSE, so I pulled off to have a look, what I did not see what the next sign that said “almost”. My teammates were giving me a hard time because of this and because Jimmy Buffet did not show up in Tipton on Friday night, which I reported earlier the rumor was.	This family of 4 from South Dakota rode the entire way children I believe were 9 and 7. There was also a bike built for 5 but did not see them.	Finally we are almost there. Oh wait one more hill!
RAGBRAI had Interstate 80 backed up for miles as team buses and support crews had Highway 67 backed up trying to pickup their teams.	It just keeps going and going. Bet the truckers loved us.	Take me to the river, drop me in the water.
A welcome sign off to the right, DISMOUNT AREA!	Team Pie Hunter was in search of the best pie the entire week. And I informed him that I did find the best pecan pie at the Methodist Church in Ames. Mmmmmm, pie!	Everyone was patient as we waited almost an hour to dip our front tire in the river.
They kept us entertained by watching the big screen.	Team Kick Butts dips their tires into the Mississippi! We Made it!	Nathan, did not sleep well and with both knees hurting did not look like he was going to make it on the last day. However, he triumphed over the pain and tiredness and rode the entire way.
Wade waves goodbye as we make our way through the tons of buses and support vehicles trying to locate riders and head out of town back home!	As we were leaving town I caught site of this poster in the window of a convenience store.	This is July, even though she was not born in July, she was a cat at Raymond’s house in Tipton. Funny thing, I was sitting on the ground after just finishing our ride (no shirt on) and she ran and leapt from about 5 feet back and landed on my back with claws outstretched digging into my back, OUCH! We later saw her do this to several trees, guess she thought she was climbing a tree. Goofy little cat, I did want to put her in my bag and bring her home!
This is Raymond’s daughter, she was wishing she could go on RAGBRAI but had to settle for her cousin pushing her around in the driveway.

Here we are already at day 6 and I can’t believe it’s almost over! After a great night of seeing my sister Linda and her husband Tim with their awesome bike (Honda Goldwing) and having a great dinner with most of the team, we were ready to head for home.

Today’s 65 mile ride and pace were not easy by any stretch with over 3,000 ft of climbing. However, we had a good break in the weather with easy winds and overcast skies to keep the temp down.

Team Kick Butts worked the paceline like a pro team headed into Paris on the last day of the Tour De France. No real major mechanical problems or crashes or slippery roads to report. It was kinda sobering to see the lady laying in her own pool of blood on one of the turns between Lisbon and Mt. Vernon. Not to be morbid. But I thank the Lord for keeping everyone on our team relatively safe during this trek. I sure hope she is ok as the ambulance crew was taking good care of her. Just goes to show us how fragile life can be and to treasure all the moments we have.

I must say one of the biggest perks of this trip has been the food along the way. Booth upon booth of good food. In fact today we had some fresh Cajun Gulf Shrimp that were huge. Some of the guys passed as you had to pull the heads off and peel and eat. We have had the pleasure of tyring collaches (Polish pastries), potato pancakes, kraut and dogs (homemade), and plenty more I am sure I am leaving out.

As we rolled into Tipton it was great coming home and seeing lots of people as we rolled through the streets who recognized my brother and I. I even rode the 3 miles out to our old house to visit a neighbor (Mona) who was shocked and surprised to see me and was able to visit shortly with her.

Now we wrap up our wonderful trip tomorrow with an easy 55 miler headed towards the Mississippi river and then back to reality. More wrapup later.

We rode into Mechanicsville, a small town just 14 miles from my hometown and were greeted by this big red fellow. At first I thought he was flipping me off and the lady with the shrimp thought so as well, she kept telling him to put his claw down! LOL	Waiting on the train again.	While waiting, me playing with the camera.
Many stops used water troughs rather than bottles, thought is was pretty green until you see all the water that runs down the street. Hmmmm.	Welcome to my hometown!	This is the house I grew up in. Not much has changed except the trees around the house are much bigger now.
This is the creek behind my house. Fortunately during the floods earlier this year, Rock Creek was spared.	Guys from Team Kick Butts and Butt Ice hanging around the bus trading stories.

5:30 came way too early this morning as we were in the overflow campground last night which was the corner of a grassy lot in downtown Toledo. It ended up being ok, we traded a shower to a lady from Team Gumby for the silence of her teammates boom box next door to us.

Rain started to fall during the night and continued till about half way through the ride. It was rain jackets and slick roads (oh and plenty of hills) to start the morning.

Everything was pretty uneventful until flatting on one of the climbs, no biggy deal, as I have become the team mechanic and changing a flat for me takes just a few minutes. In fact the kids at the farmhouse asked if they could keep the tire and tube and even autographed it for them (living like a rockstar, baby!) Things got even more interesting with a second flat just several miles later and after another quick change we were on the road again.

After a breakfast burrito in the next town at the fire dept. we rolled on in the rain. With more drama coming without warning, in a paceline doing 18 mph a lady jammed on her brakes in front of my brother and I much to my dismay I crossed a wheel and somehow miraculously after coming unclipped from my pedal and firmly planting my foot on the road, I stayed up without going down (all this in a matter of about 2 seconds). Phew. Disaster averted!

Today we worked well as a team and had 7 of our team members riding together. And at one point we had over 30 riders join us in a double paceline rolling down the road making for a great day of cycling considering the elements.

Tomorrow we roll to my hometown and everyone is excited for a Friday night party with only one more day after tomorrow’s ride!

Check out today’s photos, be sure to click to enlarge.

Riding in the rain the group readies for more slick riding.	We stopped in a small town that just a couple months ago had over 5 ft. of water fill it’s downtown. See the line on the building that is where the water was for almost 3 weeks. I stopped to use this guy’s hose to clean the mud off my bike from the sidewalk that still is there and he told a story of how he was evacuated, amazing!
This guy rolled by us with huge legs and I asked to photo him, Jamie from Boston, oh yes he was riding a fixed gear (pedaling all the time) with no rest or changing gears or freewheeling (coasting). Holy crapoli! Oh I might mention there are a couple unicycles as well.	Everywhere there is a line and most everybody is cool with it. I have yet to really meet someone who isn’t nice and asks where you from and start up a conversation.
Oh this was at the last feed stop before arriving in North Liberty, there were 4 more rows like this!	Had to stop and take a pic of this classic for my Signature Flight friends. This guy has his own airstrip in his backyard.
Yes riding a different kind of saddle! And they had a live bull for you to pet as well.	Just to give you an idea of what I see for most of the day, spending anywhere from 4 – 6 hours each day in the saddle. Handlebar bag - $12 from Target, Purple horn - $3 from Target, riding across Iowa PRICELESS!
This has been my favorite host town entrance. They were handing out rubber bracelets that are red and black and look kinda piratey.	Arggghhh! This poor guy never made past the 100 mile second day! Oh don’t forget national Talk Like A Pirate Day is September 19!

After 50 miles of relatively flat rollers we turned south and headed for Tama and Toledo. And it quickly became apparent that our mode would be survival rather than hammering. Things were pretty quiet out on the roads today and not much to report in the way of wackiness.

Also have been looking at the weather report and calling for winds out of the southeast and possible storms, hmmm, just so happens, THAT IS THE WAY WE ARE GOING!

And to add injury to insult with today’s killer ride, my brother, Todd, and another rider collided in a slow speed crash that resulted in both hitting the ground. And even at slow or low speeds (less than 10 mph) I have seen guys break collar bones or wrists or arms. He has been icying his wrist since we arrived in camp around 2pm (only 4.5 hours on the bike today). We will see how he fares for grabbing the bars in the morning.

We are in an overflow campground with about 100 or so other tents and will get some pics once all the other riders arrive and set up. My shower was taken on the side of the bus (inside our little shower stall), pic coming as well, cool, but refreshing.

And just rode up to the town square 3 blocks away to the sounds of a live band up on stage and a carnival atmosphere as the whole town comes out to welcome the cyclists as if we were rock stars. I have all the amenities of home and sitting now in a Iowa Telecom internet trailer, and just received the best massage on my legs I have had in a long time. Oh, and will be heading to the Methodist Church down the street for dinner, I think tonight it is Pasta & Salad for $7!

Pics from the day. Click to enlarge.

This little girl totally struck a pose after one of my team members handed her a sticker, soooo cute!	Ok, so I had to do it. This little guy was sooo cute and I figured it was safe as he pooped on the guy before me.
Team Kick Butts working the paceline. In fact it makes it about 15-20% easier for the guy behind.