I only made it 91 miles. 106 degrees. Heat Stroke.

I only made it half way through day 2! It was 106 degrees in the shade, with full Iowa humidity. Most of the first day, i was feeling great! We stayed with my aunt and uncle in Iowa for a day before the ride started, so i was able to go to the grocery store and stock up on fruit. The night before the ride, i cracked open a gallon of bottled water, and finished it right before i started riding. I started off fully hydrated, and pissing clear every half hour. I started off with plenty of fruit. I had 2 whole pineapples, already cut up, a pile of nectarines, several pounds of grapes, and i started off the day with bananas. I ate what i could at every stop, and i never felt hungry or tired, the whole ride.

But then the heat broke. Even at 98 it wasn't terrible. Once it got it to 104, it was unbearable. By the time it got to 106, it was just insane. I was stopping at every other farm house, and spraying my head down with the hose. There was just nothing to do about the heat. No way to escape. I should have napped under a tree until the heat passed, but it wouldn't have helped. It stayed over 102 until after 7PM!

I started puking up all the water i was drinking. Pretty soon, i got dehydrated. With no food and no water in my stomach, i was riding very slowly the second day. I had only pissed once the night before, and it was NEON orange. Once the heat broke this second day, i found a medical mobile unit, in one of the pass through towns. They took one look at me and told me to stop immediately. I was devastated, after all the training and preparation i put into this ride, but i knew by the way i felt that they were right. I was severely dehydrated and over heated. I stopped sweating. I stopped peeing. The temp was 106. I could have hurt myself if i continued on.

That was no fun. It just gives me motivation to go back next year and try again. It hopefully wont be so hot next year. Even upper 90's isn't bad. I will also have to train harder, and we are thinking we will benefit from a support vehicle, so we can always have cold water and fruit on hand.

Also, for the next 2 weeks, i am not supposed to do anything too vigorous, and i'm supposed to avoid going out in the heat. It's back to the basics of walking and low speed cycling for a little while. As Doug Graham says, an injury is not an excuse to be lazy, it is a "cross-training opportunity". I still have a pretty bad headache, and i still cant get enough water, but simple walking and short rides are still do-able.

My RAGBRAI set up. A Trek 2012 1.1 Road Bike with a small handlebar bag. Notice the solar phone charger in the map compartment. A small bag on the rear to hold fruit, and extra water, plus toilet paper, spare bike tubes, tools, etc.

The grapes on the handlebars are only there for a stop, i put them away before riding.