Day 6, Grinnell to Coralville

The team is off to Coralville! Here is a map of today's route.

Click the map for a larger view.

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.

Day 2 - Atlantic to Carroll

Here is the map of today's ride...

Click map for a larger view. 

Updates will be posted here and on Facebook soon!

Day 1 - Glenwood to Atlantic

Here's the map!

 Click for a larger view.

The team left Glenwood this morning at 6:15 and is making great progress towards Atlantic. Updates will be posted to this blog as they come in.

Last RAGBRAI training ride

A few members of the Adaptive Sports Iowa team participating the the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) gathered this past Sunday for one final group training ride. The weather was not desirable with a forecast heat index pushing 110 degrees. Originally scheduled to leave at 1:00 pm, the departure time was pushed back to 8:00 am to try and beat the heat.

This ride was used not only as training for the members of the team cycling but also for the

support crew. Both of our support guys were a valuable asset for the team this day and will prove to be instrumental during RAGBRAI next week. Over the course of the 50 mile ride we were able to meet up with them in four separate locations to rest and refill our water bottles.

The route we took was a 50 mile out and back on the new High Trestle Trail running from Ankeny to Woodward. It was the first almost everyone on the team to see and experience the new bridge. As always, the first reaction is jaw-dropping disbelief. Here in central Iowa we're so lucky to have such an awesome structure like this. As a rode across the bridge this weekend I took a short video on what it looks like.

So anyway, The team heads out to Glenwood on Saturday, the 23rd for the 2011 version of RAGBRAI. Remember, you can follow our progress in this blog.

RAGBRAI or Bust

We have been planning since February the first adaptive team to participate in RAGBRAI. After all the planning and organizing it's finally time for the event. In all the team is comprised of 24 members including support crew, volunteers, and riders. The jerseys are printed, the banners are ready, the sponsors are in, the vehicles have been rented, the overnight locations have been booked and confirmed, the supplies are packed, and the equipment checked. It's officially time to get our RAGBRAI on!

From July 23 to July 30 you can follow the team progress right here. I'll be uploading photos and videos right from the route, reporting the daily activity, and keeping all of you informed of our experience. I welcome all of you (family, friends, and fans) to follow our progress and add your own comments and reactions.