RAGBRAI XXXV

WARNING!!! The following contains graphic pictures of people of all shapes and sizes in spandex. Proceed at your own will.

I remember oh so well the first year of RAGBRAI. I was 11 and riding a bike 500 miles across the state of Iowa. For those of you who think Iowa is flat, I would suggest riding a bike across it and then giving your opinion of it's topography.

So, some of the legacy members of Team Blarney (our biking team) rode this year--Pat and Dave Schulte, JoEllen, mom, dad and myself. Lance Armstrong also rode this year, but he's not fast enough to join our team.

I had a special request from my sister to eat the following in honor of her: a porkchop, a smoothie and homemade ice cream. Check, check and check. I was kind of glad that I went this year because it was Mr. Porkchop's last year (I got a picture with him thank goodness).

As usual, we met some amazing people. We are impressed year after year, as people we have never met allow us to stay with them in their home. And we got to see some of the beautiful scenery Iowa has to offer. "Is this heaven?" "No this is Iowa." Name that movie!! Well, a picture below should give you a bit of a hint.

My lack of training did prove to be a bit of a problem, I was glad to see Saturday and to finally finish. Let's just say...I was sore. Enjoy the photo's (as much as you can)!!