My Iowa Adventure: Part 3

This is long overdue! Should've finished my writing on the RAGBRAI bike event months ago and written several other entries for this online journal about dealing with Parkinson's, too.

Back in July, we (Billy Bowman, Jim Robbins and I) drove to Iowa to ride bicycles across the state in a week's time averaging over 60 miles a day. Talking with others who had ridden the event in past years, it appeared my training was well below par. "You should be logging twice as many miles on the bike to get ready for Iowa". I heard them, but I didn't heed. Instead, my training consisted of the weekly routine below.

• Cycling: 4-5 days; 50-65 miles weekly

• Cross-training: in 4 boxing classes weekly of 1 hr/class

So, at 67 years of age with PD as an added burden, I rode my bike 6 of the 7 possible riding days just trying to prove that I could. Total distance ridden was 341 miles at an average of 14.5mph for the week.

In the western hills of Iowa and nothing on the highways but bicycles as far as the eye could see. Well over 10,000 bikes, in fact.

Day One was most difficult because of the constant rain, added to adjusting to riding in bike traffic like I'd never seen before, along with continuously rolling hills. Only managed to average 12.5 mph for the 57 miles and 2,644 ft of elevation change. My slowest day, by far, because after that, I averaged 15.0mph for the rest of the week.

Left to right; 1) My "Pedaling for Parkinson's" kit compliments of Dr. Jay Alberts at Cleveland Clinic, 2) Jim Robbins riding on rain-soaked Day One, 3) Fire station converted to a pancake house, 4) Passing thru towns that seemed to always be on a hill!

Day Two was the beginning of the sunny, dry weather we'd be blessed with for the balance of the week. So, I picked up speed and rode the 66 miles at a 14.2mph average.

1) Watermelon stop; I looked for them every day!, 2) Every town was so crowded that dismounting was a must, 3) Choices for refreshment were all over the town.

Day Three was Parkinson's Awareness Day for RAGBRAI and our 70+ riding team turned out in the Evel Knievel-inspired kit, again thanks to Dr. Jay Alberts and Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Jay's story of how he became a neuroscience researcher and proved with clinical studies the benefits of cycling in reducing PD symptoms is compelling, even if you don't have PD. Listen to his story on the Podcast at this link. https://www.davisphinneyfoundation.org/blog/podcast-how-to-exercise-live-better-with-parkinsons-with-dr-jay-alberts/

1) Me and Dr. Alberts, 2) Beer Stop; a.k.a. how to dismount thousands of cyclists by 9:30am, 3) Food truck, veggie taco and naptime, in that order!

Day Four was a rest day for Billy Bowman and me. So, we took full advantage and booked a pedicure. The most brilliant decision we made during the entire trip! Can you say, "rejuvenation from the ground up"?

1) Me and Billy getting the full treatment, 2) Mornings always had plenty of food and beverage you could count on, as well as, long lines for the Porta-Johns, 3) Q. Why do cyclists allow pink flamingos to roost on their helmets?

Day Five was all about the people you meet along the ride route. Cycling friends from your home state, like Chuck and Barbara Inman from Oxford. Pedaling for Parkinson's teammates I tried in vain to keep up with in their paceline (must've been their Evel kits!). David (or, Dave) from California who was cycling on solar power across the country when he stopped to camp the night before RAGBRAI began in Omaha. Imagine going to sleep oblivious to RAGBRAI and waking up to find 10,000+ other cyclists surrounding you. He'd never even heard of RAGBRAI, but quickly fell in with us and enjoyed the company and food services through Iowa.

1) Chuck & Barbara Inman, 2) Pedaling for Parkinson's teammates, 3) Dave and his electric assist bike rig, 4) Me and my burrito, 5) My dinner fare with Dave

To be continued........

Richard Beattie

October 13, 2019

Greenwood, Mississippi