RAGBRAI update, Day 6
That's right. Garbage bags. That's the garment of last resort out here when it's rainy and cool. And it was rainy and cool - for all 76 miles Thursday.
It rained in Chelsea, which was devastated recently by floods. In fact, throughout the day, riders saw standing water in fields and ditches.
Granted, it makes the cornfields a bit muddy, but that's not an excuse for riders stopping at the side of the road to relieve themselves. A few words for them: Step into the corn. The ditch isn't a urinal, and everyone is watching you answer Mother Nature's call.
There are plenty of buses and motor homes out here - burning tons of money in gasoline. But perhaps the most important one is the 40-foot medical motor home from the University of Iowa.
In Belle Plaine on Thursday, Dave Dierks and Lee Ridge were spending their first-ever week on RAGBRAI helping take care of about 40 riders a day suffering with everything from sore joints to concussions.
The staff of about 15 includes five emergency room physicians from University of Iowa Hospitals.
"Helmets. Helmets. Helmets," said Ridge. "We've seen probably 20 broken helmets. They did their job."
The haul from Belle Plaine and through the Amana Colonies to the end was cool and long. A day with 3,100 feet of climb means riders are going pretty slow. But those out on the road didn't much care about the time.
The stream of 10,000+ RAGBRAI bikers is endless!! 
Today's Route: Mileage: 65 miles Climb: 3,051 feet
The ride out of North Liberty brings the cyclists through the twists and turns that make up the area around Lake Macbride State Park and the Cedar River Valley. A highlight of the day will be the ride through the Cornell College campus in Mount Vernon. Most of the major hills on this 65-mile-ride arise after Martelle, and with the any luck riders will have a tailwind to push them on to the overnight stop in Tipton.
GO NICK!
