Day 48--Reunion with C2C-ers

Friday 24 July
Mt Pleasant, IA

I was up at my usual early hour this morning. We are in two different rooms here, and my room also has the kitchen in it, so I made a pot of coffee and called melba toast and peanut butter breakfast. Bill slept in a bit. When he got up, we cleaned our bikes and cleaned & lubed our drive trains.

Bill’s friends, Cal & Rachel Litweiler, live in Mt Pleasant, the next-to-last RAGBRAI overnight city. Rachel picked us up at 9 am and drove us from Burlington to Mt Pleasant.

Cal & Rachel Litweiler

All of Mt Pleasant was geared up to host the 16,000 incoming RAGBRAI cyclists. Food stalls and bands in the square, every church and group offering dinner (we ate meatloaf dinner and homemade pie at the Methodist church Cal & Rachel belong to — guess they aren’t Mennonite, hey?); the huge Thresher Fairgrounds area filled with riders and their support people & vehicles, as well as bike stores selling RAGBRAI jerseys and all things cycling; massage therapists and beer joints doing a booming business; sexy “shot” gals in short shorts and halter tops luring guys to a local bar & grill by strutting their stuff on stiletto heels . . . .


Bill showing off the meal and pie; notice that they haven't skimped at all in filling my plate

Bill with a highwheel at one of the bike shops at the Thresher Fairgrounds

Bill and I rode around town and out to the Thresher Fairgrounds to see everything, and then asked at Info where the Team Crude bus was to be. We were told that it was scheduled to be in the 800 block of Harrison but it wasn't there when we checked. Kevin later called to tell me where the bus would be and gave me another address, part of which I could not hear. There was a lot of background noise both on his end and mine and the signal was fading in and out. He called again later to tell us that he was 15 minutes out. We waited along the route, and when we decided we'd missed him, I called him on my cell. As luck would have it, he was answering my call just as he passed us, so we flagged him down.

[Instead of “Hi, so great to see you again,” I immediately got a red-faced chewing out for not knowing where the Team Crude bus was located. Hadn’t he told me on the phone? Snarl. He invited us to come to the bus that evening, but after his dressing down, we both realized that nothing had changed, so told him that Cal had to drive us back to Burlington by a specific hour, gave him directions to the Arrowhead for the following night in Burlington, and said goodbye. Nary a smile or a thank you for arranging the RAGBRAI group's accommodations.]

Cal and Rachel opened their beautiful old home to three RVs and many cyclists who set up their tents in the shady side yard and on every other patch of grass they could find. The Iowa Hawkeyes pulled their bus into the alley behind the Litweilers’ and enjoyed music and cocktails on the bus roof patio. Bill took some pix.

Lutweiler's home in Mt Pleasant

Lutweiler's side yard garden

RAGBRAI cyclists set up camp

Setting up camp; campers were also invited into the house to take showers in the upstairs bath

Grass and shade a great place to end the day's ride

Bill with his camera at the ready

No room in the side yard, the back yard or the alley, so camp is set up between the house and the street

Iowa Hawkeye bus in the Litweiler's drive

We had fun meeting all these riders and also sat in folding chairs along the street as the riders came. We looked for our group and welcomed the others. Quite a parade. Oddly, we saw only Kevin of our group and nary a glimpse of those Red Dirt Pedalers from Stillwater who were riding, but then we did not stay curbside long.

RAGBRAI riders entering Mt Pleasant, their next to last stop of the ride

Cal drove us back to Burlington and the Arrowhead Motel about 8:30. He drove the Mt Pleasant-to- Burlington RAGBRAI route. It is only 48 miles and quite flat, so the group should have a great final ride tomorrow, particularly if the wind is with them.

Will let you know our revised route and schedule when we figure it out.