RAGBRAI 2006

In 2005 I got stationed in Omaha Nebraska. I was previously stationed in Omaha from 1986 - 1995 and it is pretty close (5 hours, that is close for a military guy) to my home in Illinois. One of the best things about moving back to Omaha was the chance to ride in the RAGBRAI http://www.ragbrai.org/ RAGBRAI is the Register's bike ride across Iowa. It is a 7 day 500 plus mile biking party. We started in Sergeants Bluff in the northwest corner of the state and road to Muscatine on the Mississippi River which is only 45 miles from were a grew up.

I was very lucky and got to ride with 100 other Air Force Cycling team. http://www.airforcecyclingteam.com/ I wasn't the only cycling personality to do RAGBRAI, Lance Armstrong road for two days. I didn't get to see him on the road but a few of the guys from the team road with him for a few miles.

We road from 60 to 100 miles each day stopping for the night in little towns across the state. Each town was like a festival with lots of Pie, church stands, pork chops and did I say pie. I actually gained a few pounds during the week from all the pie. The towns really opened their doors to the cyclists especially the military guys. One guy was retired Air Force and he let us use his shower. It was great having a hot free shower as most of the showers along the way were neither hot nor free. A couple of inter sting sights along the way were the Albert the worlds largest anatomically correct model bull and the singing nuns.