Getting Ready to Ride! Outfitting Big Red.

Along with putting in hours of bicycle time (Annie in the foul air quality of Fort Collins, CO, just 10 miles from the wild fire now burning for nearly 3 weeks), we are getting to know what will be our camper home.

It sits on the bed of Big Red, our truck, and it will be my job to move it daily from camp site to camp site along the prescribed RAGBRAI route in support of the riders.

We bought it second hand several weeks ago and have been pouring over the manuals and consulting with experienced campers ever since. It has a sink, stove, refrigerator (currently not working), a bathroom with shower, a queen size bed over the cab, and a pull down single bed. It runs variously on the trucks electrical system, a battery, and\or propane.

Big Red has already been fitted out with new, wider mirrors (Wow this camper is big sitting back there!), and a new electrical hook up plug. Besides learning to operate all its knobs, pump outs, fill ups, and drains, we have been searching tag sales and attics for the camping cookware, plastic dishes, bedding...all the things a rolling family of three might need. (Above is a picture of Big Red all decked out.)

Once it is inhabitable, we will drive it across our hometown of East Haddam for a shake down cruise at the local campground, where patient teachers will help us make sure it is road worthy.

Then, of course, we will pack up the biking gear mid-July and drive Big Red and all to Sioux Center on the west side of Iowa to rendezvous with Annie and 10,000 other crazy people.

---