Routes Day 1 and Day 2

Where we've been

Where we are going today. The meeting point will be Guthrie Center, a city that has a "mowing ordinance," requiring the grass on all lawns is "not to exceed" 8 inches.

Weather starts out foggy, some chance of Thunderstorms. Temps in the 90s

All Merrows in Iowa . . . Headed East

Having navigated yet another set of potential logistical disasters, the Merrow family has managed to find one another in rural Iowa and is now making its way east with 10,000 other zany cyclists.

Arthur’s and my day started at zero dark thirty in Annapolis.

Sweet dreams of Saturday’s beautiful wedding day for my nephew, were interrupted well before dawn by the urgent need to get ourselves to the airport for a 6:30 AM fight back to Iowa.

Finding the obscure car rental return and one wrong turn into a Costco parking lot instead of onto the desired highway gave us some anxious moments, but we settled into our plane trip otherwise uneventfully.

Above is where Big Red awaited our return to Iowa, in a casino parking lot, next to the porta-potties. A quick taxi ride from Omaha to Council Bluffs and Arthur and I were cranking up Big Red, where he had spent the last three days hosting Arthur then Annie.

Annie, meanwhile, had taken off from Council Bluffs on her eastward trip by bicycle at 6:30 AM with the rest of the RAGBRAI pack. Once in town Annie had time to fully explore Minden, Iowa, the little town that was today’s mid-day rendezvous site while we tried to catch up with her.

Our meet-up plan? Simple, if texting fails, go to the post office; this worked like a charm.

Arthur and Annie joined the throng of cyclists for the run over to Harlan, the overnight spot for today.

Then it was my turn to see if could remember how to drive Big Red, all three quarters of a ton and six forward gears of him.

Tonight we have come to rest in a large open field in Harlan, Iowa with campers as far as I can see in all directions.

Time to figure out which church supper to patronize. (Annie favors the Congregational Church lasagna menu.)

Day One of the 41st annual RAGBRAI is almost in the history books.

Return to RAGBRAI

I'm now holed up in Harlan, Iowa waiting for my riders.

Arthur found Annie at the Day 1 lunch spot, Minden, Iowa (population 599 - that's right - five-hundred and ninety nine).

Minden City (as Wikipedia describes it) is spread across 256 acres - about the size of some of the farms at home. We found each other (in front of the post office, which has been there since 1875).

Minden is in the northern tier of Pottawattamie County. Minden's history shows it largely settled by German immigrants who had first gone elsewhere then came to live here.

Since February, Minden has been preparing for the RAGBRAI hordes to descend. They used their Facebook Page to keep the town in touch with planning.

The flyer on the right side of this entry shows you some of the goodies they had in store for us once we arrived.

Although Annie had time to explore the city while waiting for us to arrive, I don't know if she took advantage of one of the 16 ounce tall boys on sale for $4 at the Minden Community Club.

Minden is a beautiful area. Our distant typesetter, Will, found the photo on the left at a flickriver photo share site.

The photographer, going by the name dbrink515, is, apparently, also in the RAGBRAI ride this year, though we have not met him.

You might want to check out the photos he takes of this journey.

After lunch Arthur and Annie joined the throng of cyclists for the run over to Harlan and Sue was left to see if she still knew how to drive Big Red.

Harlan, Iowa ~ which is where I am as this is written ~ is a city in Shelby County, Iowa, and the Shelby County Seat. With a population of 5,106, it has slightly more than half the population of East Haddam, CT.

The city's website notes "...the population is well educated, its rural roots evidenced in a strong dedication to the traditional American ethic of helping others."

Volunteers maintain a library, two historical museums, parks, park shelters, and recreational equipment.

The city is able to support a four screen movie theater.

Once home of the great-granddaughter of Abraham Lincoln Mary Lincoln Beckwith, Harlan is the birthplace of two professional athletes (Zach Daeges once with the Boston Red Sox, and Billy Cundiff (who has played with the Washington Redskins).

NASCAR racer Tiny Lund was also born in Harlan.

But, as I said, now I wait for my fellow travelers so we can go out to eat and celebrate.

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IMAGE CREDIT: 1 Satellite map on Minden Iowa area - Mapquest; 2- Minden RAGBRAI food & beverage flyer - Minden Facebook page; 3- Minden Iowa area, by dbrink515; 4- Harlan Theatre - Iowa Backroads

The Wedding at the Naval Academy Chapel

Here is pic of my nephew and his bride in Annapolis.

Will found this interior photo by a Google search. This panoramic image, taken by wedding photographer Dennis Drenner, is actually a composite of 10 photos stitched together to form a grand sweep of the chapel. The picture, while grand, is still no replacement for the grandeur of the chapel itself.

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IMAGE CREDITS - 1- Coming out of the Chapel - Sue Merrow; 2- USNA Chapel composite photo - Dennis Drenner

The Big Switcheroo

As day one of the Merrow's excellent adventure comes to a close, I'm happy to report that each of us has remarkably come to rest in our expected spot.

Arthur began his day in a parking lot in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where a taxi came to the camper door at 5 AM to take him to the nearby Omaha airport.

Soon thereafter, a dear friend of mine came to our house in Connecticut to drive me to the Saybrook train station , and almost simultaneously, Annie found her carpool in a Ford Focus with three others and their bikes for the trek from Fort Collins, CO to Council Bluffs, Iowa.

All shuttles, rental car, and driving logistics gods have conspired to see to it that tonight, Arthur and I are enjoying beautiful (if steamy) Annapolis and looking forward to a wonderful family wedding tomorrow.

Annie meanwhile has found Big Red and the very camper that Arthur left at the crack of dawn.

Before he left Iowa this morning, Arthur reported that RAGBRAI riders and their support vehicles had begun to trickle into Council Bluffs.

Annie will enjoy the pre-ride festivities in Iowa tomorrow while we celebrate our nephew's wedding.

As they say, so far so good.

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IMAGE CREDITS: 1- City Taxi logo from Omaha Taxi; 2- 1920 Map of Annapolis from StateMaster Maps; 3- Wild Ride from Council Bluffs RAGBRAI.

WE'RE DOING IT.....AGAIN!

The only thing wackier than riding a bicycle across Iowa with 10,000 others in mid-July is doing it two years in a row.

The Merrow Team, with Arthur and Annie riding, and I driving Big Red, the support vehicle, will once again make our way through the corn and soybean fields of beautiful Iowa, sampling the corn dogs, ice cream, and beer as we go.

Just to make this year an even bigger challenge, our path to the starting line in Council Bluffs rivals the logistics of the invasion of Normandy for its complications. Arthur took off in Big Red, headed west, on Monday night (at last report, he was in western Illinois).

Meanwhile, my only sibling's only son will be married in the Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis this coming Saturday. We are a small family. We turn out for family events. Arthur will park near the starting line in Iowa, then fly back to Annapolis on Friday. I'll take the train down from Connecticut to Annapolis, and after some wonderful family time, we'll fly back together at the crack of dawn on Sunday.

Meanwhile again, Annie will have arrived by car pool from Colorado to Council Bluffs, found the camper, slept in it and stowed her gear, then taken off with the ride early Sunday morning.

Her parents (that would be Art and I) will retrieve the camper and catch up with the gang at the mid-day stop. As Arthur has noted, we are only one flat tire away from chaos....but the stories that will come out of this adventure will keep us going all winter.

I hope to post reflections on this adventure, cell coverage permitting, as we make our way east. Thanks as always to my friend Will who makes this blog colorful and congratulates himself that he doesn't have to pedal a bike through mid west heat [Blog copy editor's note: You got that right!] to go along on the RAGBRAI.

Onward!

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IMAGE CREDITS: 1- Moose Drool Ale - Fayetteville Flyer ; Naval Academy Chapel - Wall Street Journal; Iowa Cornfield - the website "Fields of Cake"

Starting up again

Who would have thought a year has already passed?

Things are going about a bit different this year. Art is already on the road and driving Big Red to Council Bluffs

I'll be traveling along later... much to tell. They say Lance Armstrong will be joining in the ride. I hope he knows he can only "enhance" his performance by eating corn dogs or coconut custard pie.

In the meantime, Check out this year's RAGBRAI website to find out where Art and Annie will swelter and sweat as they bicycle their way across Iowa's heartlands.

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PHOTO SOURCE" Des Moines Register photo archives