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RAGBRAI

A few weeks ago I wrote a short post about heading off to RAGBRAI. While I'd hoped to write a few posts during the week-long ride, most nights I didn't have time, energy, or reliable Internet access to get any words and pictures put together.

I finally plowed through the few hundred photos I captured of the Adaptive Sports Iowa team during the week and have posted them here on our website. Go and check them out when you have a few minutes. You'll see some amazing disabled athletes pedaling and handcranking their way through the rolling cornfields of Iowa. I had a great time with the group--some hilarious personalities and genuinely fantastic people to spend a week with. I'm glad I got to be a part of the team! 

Here are a few of my favorites from the gallery. 

I'll write more in the coming days and weeks about the experience. As a native Iowan on my 3rd RAGBRAI, I knew what to expect. It was my parents 9th or 10th RAGBRAI, so they knew the drill, too. But this was our first RAGBRAI since my dad was paralyzed, which definitely made for a completely different experience. The custom built Utah Trikes handcrank tandem got them across the state together, and with a smile on their faces...most of the time (except during the frigid rain storm--that's a story for another day). 

Thanks for a fun trip Mom and Dad! 

by beth

Thirsty Thursday: Past Waterfalls

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2010 Ancient Peaks Petite Sirah

Perusing through the archives a bit tonight and I stumbled across a couple of decent waterfall shots from an Oregon hike in the fall of 2012 that I never posted.  As I recall, the best part about this hike (besides the waterfalls) was when my Uncle and I finally reached these falls and stopped to rest. I went to take a couple of shots while he decided to rest his eyes. We had the Mas with us and, in addition to securing the ever dangerous perimeter, she noticed that my Uncle was laying on the ground and not moving. Being the astute pup she is, she felt it was her duty to ensure that he was still alive....so, she trotted over and proceeded to lick his face a few times....just to make sure he was okay. So much for my Uncle resting his eyes. #diligentdog #goodgirl #safetyfirst

For good measure, I'm throwing in another waterfall from the same hike but near Punchbowl Falls (previous posted on a Two Word Tuesday) and a shot of Massey leading my Uncle to the next waterfall.

Thirsty Thursday: Music

Drink in Hand: 2010 Ancient Peaks Petite Sirah
Rambler: Terry

Are you ever awake for the sunrise? I'm not most of the time. I've always been a night-owl if you will. But, if you've occasionally caught a sunrise, do you hear the music in your head? I do. I don't know if it's punk rock, classical, or somewhere in between...but it sure is good.

Thirsty Thursday: RAGBRAI Bound

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: Ginger Ale...its what I drink on all domestic flights, no idea why

Hey hey hey, Thirsty Thursday here again! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. I am pretty excited for my weekend plans; plans that will continue all the way through next weekend. 

Being from Iowa, and having grown up in a family that was into cycling, RAGBRAI was a summer fixture in our house before our family summers were devoted to driving my sister and I to soccer tournaments and camps all over the Midwest. I'm headed back to do the week-long party across the state of Iowa on a bicycle with my parents, but under slightly different circumstances than RAGBRAI's past. 

Two years ago, my dad had a freak thing happen and he is now paralyzed from the waist down. My parents used to spend a lot of time together on their tandem, but once my dad was paralyzed, that wasn't an option anymore. As part of his recovery he started handcycling and mom would ride along with him on her road bike. Differences in speed made staying together difficult, but they still wanted to experience cycling together. Enter Utah Trikes. 

Utah Trikes built a super awesome handcrank tandem tricycle for my parents...mom sits in the front and pedals while dad sits on the back and handcranks. Pretty amazing. I was able to visit Utah Trikes a few weeks ago when they picked up the custom built rig and was thoroughly impressed. Ashley and his team at Utah Trikes are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet, and they are incredibly talented engineers and fabricators. I captured these images of the team hard at work to finish up the tandem for my parents. 

And here's what the first spin looked like (still a work-in-progress in this image, but you get the idea). 

On Saturday we'll head off to start RAGBRAI XLI, which I think is my parent's tenth and my third. They are doing the ride on their new tandem with support from Adaptive Sports Iowa. I'll be along to document their experience and help out the Adaptive Sports Iowa crew (ASI has roughly 60 riders they are supporting throughout the ride). I'll be using the hashtag #RAGBRAIstroz on Instagram and Twitter as I capture their experience. Should be fun!

Thirsty Thursday: A weekend in the woods

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: Ancient Peaks 2010 Petite Syrah

Thirsty Thursday here again! Time to pour something yummy and make some weekend plans. Last weekend we took advantage of the three-day holiday (Happy Birthday America) and went backpacking at Graveyard Lakes. It was, as usual, an awesome weekend of exploring some high alpine lakes...minus the 100,000,000,000,000 mosquitos that also wanted to great outdoors on the Fourth of July. The 8-mile hike in was probably one of the easiest approaches we've ever done (very little elevation gain), which left us with plenty of energy to explore and enjoy the weekend. 

Here's a few photos from the first day out. More to come from this trip--as usual, we took way too many photos. 

Get out there and find your own wilderness to explore this weekend!