Leaving for 471 Mile Bicycle Ride Tomorrow Morning!!! RAGBRAI

The Des Moines Register, a newspaper in Iowa, decided in 1973 to have a bike ride across Iowa and invite readers to come along. Now, on the 40th annual ride, there are about 20,000 riders expected to do the 471 mile ride. 

My dad did the ride in 1982, 30 years ago, and has been telling me about it my whole life. I have always wanted to go. This year will be my first year, and my dad's first year since then. My sister is also going. 

We leave tomorrow morning!!!!!! 

The ride starts Sunday morning, and goes for 7 days. The longest day is about 85 miles, and the shortest is about 43. I have a bag of khadrawi and zahidi dates packed for snacking on each day. There are plenty of places to get food along the route, and there are plenty of varieties of food available, from fruit to bread and noodle type dishes, to animal products, and everything in between. I hope to be able to afford to get enough calories from fruit, but i am afraid i may have to branch out into rice/potatoes/juice if fruit is not available, or if i run low on cash.

Until i leave, i'm just eating all the fruit i can, and i plan to eat a big green salad later, too. I'm also drinking all the water i possibly can! My bike is tuned up and adjusted, and i have been resting my legs all week (Less than 10 miles a day). 

I will be taking pictures and videos along the route, so when i get back, i will post some pictures and links to whatever i upload to youtube. I hope to see the "Banana Team", which is a team themed as bananas, and they dress up like bananas, and have a tandem dressed up like a banana. 

Wish me luck!!! The next time you hear from me, i'll have really sore legs, and some good stories to tell. 

2 days, 11 hours, 37 minutes, and 48 seconds left!!!