Giant Corn, Giant Kybo, Giant Flag, Giant Fun

RAGBRAI LIII Day Five

Iconic Iowa

A rather large flag in Reinbeck

Merida’s Ride

Ron and Merida ready to leave Marshalltown, Iowa

Today was an opportunity for riders to go 100 miles, or 250 kilometers. Ron and Merida were having none of that, and rode 45, hitching a ride from Leonard and Catherine in the meetup town of Reinbeck. But it was an eventful 45 miles.

The first leg of the ride took them up rolling hills to the town of Green Mountain, Iowa. Hills are pain, but they mean great views. Mature trees and deep green fields painted the countryside. An old-fashioned windmill was foreshadowing for the next part of the ride.

On the way to Beaman, giant modern windmills towered over the landscape, making the already alien-looking world of fields and silos appear even more otherworldly. Merida was so deeply in awe, she forgot to take a picture. But it was the type of scenery that needed to be experienced firsthand. Like the top of a mountain, the ocean, or the Grand Canyon, photos would not be enough to convey the beauty of the rolling hills of Iowa.

Wildflowers, including large expanses of echinacea, colored the world between Beaman and Morrison, Iowa. And the route was diverted onto a wild, packed dirt trail for a small distance on the way to Reinbeck. Ron and Merida rode through trees and flowers in the shade.

Despite the wonderful small towns, the best thing about Day 5 to Merida was the ride between them. Even so, this wasn’t enough to convince Ron and Merida to finish the rest of the distance. Sore saddles, sore legs, and for Merida, a numb left finger made continuing on seem like a bad idea.

Meeting one of two Santas in Reinbeck, Iowa

Catherine’s Drive

The drive was much prettier this morning, although Legolas the Tuxedo kitten slept through it. The zig-zag route wound through gently hilly Iowa farm country. Mist rose off ponds and creeks.

Pie Report

Cherry pie and blueberry coffee cake

Catherine had cherry pie from the Lutheran Church in Reinbeck. They used real pie cherries, nice and tart. Leonard had blueberry lemon coffee cake and reports it was very good.

Ron got another slice of blueberry pie from Iowa Fruit Pie in Green Mountain, Iowa, despite it being “inferior” to Catherine’s cooking. But the cinnamon and sugar dusted piece of fry bread in Morrison, he must have thoroughly enjoyed it because when asked about how it was, he got a far-off look in his eye and said it was “really good” with great enthusiasm.

Meetup Town - Reinbeck

When your main industry is agriculturally-related

Catherine and Leonard arrived early to the RAGBRAI Day Five meet-up town of Reinbeck. The gentleman assisting them to park in the support vehicle lot told them the history of the town and the Pioneer seed company.

Conveyor belts move corn seed to different buildings for drying, sorting, and bagging.

A shady place to sit and enjoy murals and sculpture

Downtown was shady and charming. Besides the usual vendors, there were many fundraising booths. Churches, the library, the school band trip to Nashville, and various local projects accepted donations. The band group had old broken instruments repurposed for balloon battles.

Catherine enjoyed getting a little Jesus from enthusiastic girls in Reinbeck. We also got sheriff’s badge stickers.

Small Town of the Day - Morrison, Iowa

Ron and Merida prepare to use a giant, inflatable outhouse.

A giant “kybo” greeted Ron and Merida as they rode into Morrison, Iowa, population “around a hundred people.” A local resident took their picture in front of the big blue inflatable outhouse. She told them she had lived in Morrison all her life, and the population hadn’t changed much over the course of her lifetime. Old houses had been demolished, new ones built, and lots were available for building. Beautiful views of wide-open spaces surrounded Morrison. Ron sampled fry bread and Merida listened to live guitar playing.

Tonight’s Camp

Leoglas approves of tonight’s spacious, grassy camp in Independence, Iowa

Today’s Favorite Entertainment

Leonard witnessed trombone fighting in the streets of Reinbeck

Weather Report

A pretty flower in Reinbeck where every growing thing thrives

The overnight temperature dipped into the upper 50 degrees F. The highs promised to get no higher than the mid-70s F.

Blue skies, dotted with whipped cream clouds. Cool temperatures and minimal wind for easy riding.

Corn!

Catherine learned about seed corn processing, and poses with an ear of Reinbeck corn

Corn is definitely king in Reinbeck. The Pioneer seed company processes seed corn farmers use to plant crops.

RAGBRAI LIII

• Catherine and Leonard are crewing for Merida and Ron at the 53rd Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa! Our team name is “You may not rest now, there are monsters nearby.”

• Meet Strider and Legolas in furson.

• We’re bringing books and will be happy to sell and sign copies!

Sunday, July 19th - Saturday, July 25th

All day, every day! Check out the route here!

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Where to find us:

Catherine’s Website - https://catherinedilts.com/

Merida’s Website - https://merida-creates.com/

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Catherine Dilts is the author of the Rose Creek Mystery series. Her short stories regularly appear in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. Recently retired from a career in environmental compliance, Catherine now writes fiction full time.

Merida Bass almost wasn’t an artist. Fear of criticism resulted in her teaching remedial algebra to unwilling college students. After ten years of torture, she grew a backbone and threw herself into art, writing, and training for endurance events.

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