Up a little earlier to try and beat the heat but it doesn’t take long to be back at 90 degrees again. Many riders were underway at daybreak or before, but we had a lovely breakfast at the B & B prepared by our hostess Inez and her husband.

It included watermelon cut into the shape of bears and hearts. That bear’s eye is a chocolate chip, not a seed.

The guys left from the B & B and headed to the starting area in Burlington. Today’s 63-mile ride was from Burlington to Keokuk, Iowa.

This route took them back through Middletown – which was on yesterday’s route – and crossed the Skunk River.

The route today was mostly southwest and we had a SSW wind of 12-14 mph. Nice breeze when you are relaxing but not so good riding into for a long period.

I waited for Ross in Denmark and watched this club group ride through.

While waiting, I talked to a group of local riders who knew this area well. They told me the last stretch between Montrose and Keokuk would be hard, that there were both 12 percent and 14 percent hills there. When Ross called from the downtown area of Denmark to tell me the guys were having smoothies, I left the car, got my bike, and took off for West Point.

The wind was a bit tough and there were plenty of hills as this route was close to the river. But I made it up all of them and even managed to pass a couple of people going uphill. But to put this into perspective, we were crawling.

Man and dog enjoying the ride.

Then I saw the most anticipated sight in Iowa.

This was the really good stuff.

One more hill before West Point. No worries.

I met Ross at the bicycle tower where he and Al took a photo.

Also saw these bikes carrying pretty heavy loads.

Then it was back into the car for me and on to Donnellson, the main meeting town, for lunch on the fairgrounds there.

I got to see a baby Pygmy goat.

And a few decorative hay bales.

It was still hot and there were lots of places selling pickles or pickle juice to help combat leg cramps. And there were ways to cool off including this slip-n-slide.

Other spots along homes or farms had sprinklers set up through which you could ride. And of course we also met some interesting riders. This guy was part of the Flamingos riding group.

And she was a member of the Hills’ Angels from Cincinnati. When Ross asked a couple of the group members if the helmet meant they were Vikings, they said, “no, just horny,”

This group was called ” the pie hunters” and they tracked down homemade pie which was usually available at churches along the route. They each wore styrofoam pieces of pie on their helmets which reflected their favorite choices. The front of their jerseys said, “powered by pie since 2003.”

Many of the club groups traveled in their own busses.

Then it was back to the car to figure out how to get to Sandusky which is between Montrose and Keokuk to drop Ross off to ride the last section of the route. After that I went into Keokuk and waited at Rand Park by the Mississippi.

Riders came into town via the River Road with one final steep hill to climb. It was a doozy, and many walked up.

From here, it was only a few more miles to the river’s edge where riders lined up to ceremoniously dip their tires in the water.

Ross at the river.

Jay declaring victory.

So the ride was done. It was interesting but we will look forward to next year when maybe it’s not so hot and windy. We loaded up the bikes and diverted into Nauvoo, Illinois which was only about 20 minutes away. Upon arrival we saw the Mormon Temple. This is not the original; it was burned down in 1848 by an unknown arsonist. Most of the Latter Day Saints had left Nauvoo for Utah in 1846. The new temple was completed in 2002 and the exterior is supposedly a replica of the original. I was interested in seeing Nauvoo because I had a distant relative who joined up with the Saints, helped build the original temple, and traveled to Utah as a scout for Brigham Young.

We stayed overnight at the historic Nauvoo Hotel and after Sunday morning breakfast, began the trip home along with our Iowa fly.

We hope to get back to the RAGBRAI next year with maybe slightly cooler weather. Even 5 degrees cooler is a big deal. There’s a lot of humidity there too with all those cornfields. One thing missing this year though were the Japanese Beetles which hit us in the face on the road last year. They were not around this year because the corn is way behind as a result of all the spring rain they got here. No corn tassels yet, so no beetles. Good trip with good friends.