Day 2 - Atlantic to Carroll, 65.4 miles, 4,719 feet of climb

Another great day for the ASI team! The weather this morning was perfect for a bike ride. It was somewhat overcast and definitely cooler then what Iowa had seen over the past few weeks. A cool morning makes for a great start to RAGBRAI. Everyone was able to hit the road around 6:15 AM again and made it to the meet up town with enough time to relax. In fact, the support team had such a great location in the meet up town that the entire team sat around talking and watching the other cyclist for nearly 3 hours. The team is a great mix of different personalities that make the ride a lot of fun for everyone.

Little did they know they would need the rest for the hills that were yet to come! If you look at the route elevation on the RAGBRAI map, there are some sharp spikes in the graph right at the end of the route. Those are some killer hills! By the time the team made it to that part of the route, the clouds had cleared and it was MUCH warmer. In fact, it was downright hot. Everyone made it up the hills, but it was a challenging way to end the day. The air conditioning in the gym where the team is sleeping tonight felt refreshing.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) could be the toughest day yet. Everyone riding tomorrow has decided to go for the century loop, meaning they'd like to complete 100 miles in a day. Check this blog and Facebook for updates on that tomorrow night!

Now for some photos!

Eugene at the top of one of the hills going into Carroll. 

Tai and her pilot, Eric. 

Bob, a fellow hand cyclist on RAGBRAI.