Just heard on the news that RABRAI is going through Forest City, Becky’s town, next summer. For those who don’t know (could there be anyone????) it’s the Registers Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. Are there any readers who have ridden all or part of RAGBRAI in the past?
Vicki is the only one who sent pictures – from BoraBora!
I’m still working on red and white “trash triangles” – I think that’s what I’ll start calling them – those little triangles leftover from trimming connector squares. They should go in the trash but I’m sewing them up. Of course they’re not all the same size exactly either making it a challenge to put them together. What was I thinking? Haha!
Goodnight from the blog about nothing – for real.
A few other highlights: our gear was hauled in a Penske truck. At each overnight, the Register’s crew unloaded it at whatever park we were camping in. It was EASY to find our orange tent bag and duffel bags because usually we were last ones in! In marshalltown the evening entertainment included their drum band bugle Corp parade through camp. We were already in a Ben-Gay induced stupor! Thinking it was REVELRY we crawled out and started to dismantle the tent. The folks next to us asked where you going? LOL 😂
Bonny – your account of your RAGBRAI experience is hilarious and you really should send it to the Register – they’d probably pay you for your story! I read your comment to Rick and he even laughed about the bike chain, the shoes, your bikes – too funny!!!!
A man from our community rode the RAGBRAI many times and loved to answer our questions about his experiences. He was an attorney and had the beautiful RAGBRAI posters displayed in his office.
I had eleven ads to click this time when I read the comments. All were the same ad but the one at the top of the page. So many times I get the ads about getting rid of mice, or cleaning the house, or how to have a dust free house. It is crazy!
I have a showbox full of cut off triangles but very rarely use them. I like to make wonky stars with them rather than half square triangles.
For those trying to close the ads with Xs they are replaced by three dots. Just hit them instead and they will close. They are trying to keep us on our toes girls.
Have a good week.
Beautiful fabrics!
I rode RAGBRAI in 1978 along with some Ohio friends and an Iowa cousin. The ride started in Sioux City. I recall overnight stops in Storm Lake and Iowa Falls. We camped in various parks in the overnight towns. As they often say, it’s a ride where you can eat across the state, There were 4-H groups, church groups, etc. selling pie, watermelon, sloppy joes, etc. At Iowa Falls, I left the ride and rode up to Britt, as it was the same week as the town’s Centennial celebration and annual Hobo Days.
I’ve also ridden the ride Diane spoke about from Columbus to Portsmouth, OH, It’s called TOSRV (Tour of the Scioto River Valley). I rode it three times in the later 1970’s. Twice we slept in the school gym; the third time another woman and I got a hotel room.
Although, some rode these rides as races, they weren’t. One could ride as fast or slow as they wanted.
Beryl BC – wow, good for you! After sleeping on the ground , how could you possibly ride a bike the next day? Of course, young people bounce back but the gym couldn’t have been much better. Well done – you have my admiration!
LOVE the colors of the shawls and fabrics shown from Bora, Bora! That’s what we need in a cloudy Wisconsin winter!
Our son has done RAGBRAI 4 or 5 times, tent camping along the way. Once he borrowed Dad’s Prius and provided pickup service for his bike team (They are getting older, it seems). Once he had to cut his ride short because he had to work. Another time he rode with a full bike repair kit of nuts bolts, extra chain links, tools, tubes, spokes, pumps, a box of jumbo Band Aids, adhesive tape, extra water, and I don’t know what all. He had a chance to help 4 or 5 riders and felt pretty good when he actually completed the ride and had some fun and pork chops, watermelon, and pie, too!! Check it out online! It’s a crazy time, great hosts on the route -water slides and ride-through showers free photo ops, great stories in the Register, and much bigger than RAW, the Ride Across Wisconsin the week before…but check that out, too. Good luck, riders! I guess I got a little carried away. It was even fun to read about!
Hmm, Jamie was right, only 1 ad to click on today, All the rest were from Temu with no X’s. Kris in WI
Kris – I love reading these comments about RAGBRAI and it sounds like your son had it all figured out – just what everybody would end up needing. It is really a big deal and I wish I had been part of it.
Vicki, those fabrics are beautiful! My granddaughter and I bought lots of batiks when we were visiting Bali but unfortunately I’ve used them all. Guess I need to go back to restock.
STP is the bike ride from Seattle to Portland and is still held each summer. The little town we lived in (pop 11k) was the overnight stop and boy was it fun for the business people. The locals not so much if they had to go anywhere. My husband and I would buy hundreds of ice cream bars and hand them out as the riders came by. We had a blast.
Mary, being the bad influence she is, compelled me to dig out some of my little saved triangles and make something with them. Much muttering and bad words later, I have exactly one 5″ square. One. This will obviously be a long term project.
I have quilts to share. I just get sidetracked and forget. I’ll do that as soon as I get off here.
Take care all
Pat – haha! Those little triangle squares are a pain, aren’t they? I don’t dare put these away and start something else because I’ll never go back to them. Once again, what was I thinking???
I save a lot of things, but I won’t sew them. I also love the fabric and shawls. They are just beautiful.
I have tons(at least it seems like it) of “Trash Triangles”. I just can’t bring myself to throw them out. I usually store them in baggies after I do a project but honestly, I find them everywhere. Some are sewn and trimmed to size, some just sewn, and some just waiting to pass through the machine. And I have made quilts with them. Most are 1 1/2 ” size. They make cute little friendship stars and little churn dash blocks.
For years, EVERY Mother’s Day weekend, my husband rode the 100 miles from Columbus to Portsmouth, OH. I am not sure what it was called, but they spent the night in a gym and then rode home. The kids and I picked him up afterwards and then I cooked dinner!! I like to bike sometimes, but not that far for sure.
I am working on getting my ‘trash purple triangles” together to stitch, too. Don’t hold your breath.
“Trash Triangles” – great name for what they are! You can press them, sew them into pinwheels then trim to a uniform size. Makes the trimming chore a little less.
I have heard about the bicycle race. The couple who service my longarm participate in it every few years. They train all winter at the YMCA. They really appreciate the Iowa hospitality.
Those triangles will be fun to put together. I have a 2 gallon jug full of them w/ papers torn off. Our neighbor, who sews some but does not quilt, helped us tear off the paper last summer. She called it porch club😁 For several evenings, she would walk her dog over and we would sit on the porch, talk and rip the paper off. ( ice cream was her reward😊) It reminded me of snapping peas with Grandma. Mine are 2 1/2 inch. I am going to make scrappy 16 patch squares with them. I need to stitch up some more sheets as porch season is coming🤞
I can not Not sew those cut-offs! I use them as “leader-enders” and when I want to do something mindless, I press them open and square them up. I actually have them organized according to size. I see all these amazing HST quilts and know (think) that someday I will make some! (We’ll see!) I’ve been coughing (hacking) for almost 2 months. Called to see if Dr. would refill my prescription for cough medicine over the phone on Friday because it has gotten so bad, but he wants to see me and I can’t get in until Monday afternoon! Hubby went to the Dollar store and got some over the counter stuff, so am biding my time until tomorrow. Do Drs. not work on Fridays??? This coughing is keeping me from my sewing, I just don’t feel like it. – My hubby knows from that that I must not be feeling good if it keeps me from sewing! Hope everyone else is feeling ok!
Christie – I don’t think drs work on Fridays anymore – I could be wrong but it’s very hard to see a Dr – that’s why I didn’t bother trying to see my dr after I fell and hit my head. It would have been days.
Christie-No one should cough for two months. You could have pneumonia or a blood clot in your lung. Can you go to Emergency Room to be seen if you can’t get into a doctor? Send your hubby out to grocery store, Walmart, Walgreen’s etc. and get some Mucinex. It is a liquid, easy to take and it will open up your bronchial tubes, loosen secrets and it’s easier to cough.
Old nurse here-I coughed until I almost passed out. Couldn’t catch my breath-I had a PE (blood clot in my lung). Have you tested for Covid? I hope you’re better soon Christie.
I can’t wait to see what you do with the triangles. I save them, too. Have bags of them!
My intent is to make 16 patch squares w/ sashing for a scrap quilt.
Bonny, You’re a hoot and had all that fun to look back on.
Well I don’t have an experience like that but my sister does. She’s from Denver and she rode the AGBRAI back in the day. Wasn’t this to prove that Iowa isn’t flat? Lol My sister Ann is a quilter and she rides her bike still at 75. Usually along the Platt River with her riding buddy, a friend who also quilts. My sister has so much energy, she gets so much done. She did the Iowa race sometime in the 80’s I believe.
Thanks for sharing the Bora Bora pictures, Vicki. Lovely colors and artistic talent.
Mary, those little triangles are magical. Mindless sewing and then trimming to same size and then making them into a pillow, a table topper or who know what. Trash to treasure!
There is, or at least used to be, a bike weekend from Seattle to Portland. Totally not my thing. I’m glad to see you sewing the red leftover triangles together. I follow Bonnie Hftunter’s advice and do it before I clip Em apart. They are fun to play with!
Hi Mary, bora bora would be magical!l have been to Tahiti,new Caledonia, Vanuatu, tonga, Fiji, and lived in New guinea as a child, the pacific islands are wonderful, lovely people and beautiful dance and singing!The fabric shown are great for wearing over swim suits etc.
We had our quilt guild garage sale yesterday, got some scrap bags and a set of mariners compass blocks,so planning an applique border to go with it(like l need more projects! )Take care everyone, best wishes from Sandy
This was a weird day for the ads. Only ONE had the X so I could close it! Hoping I’ll be able to close more when I come back tomorrow to check the comments.
Mary in Idaho, received your card today with lovely message. Thank you!
1974 college roommate and I decided SAGBRAI ( yes the 2nd) it would be fun. She had 5 speed, I had 10 speed girls Huffy and 6 ft of log chain to secure my bike. LOL. We rode the whole thing doing basically everything that made it rough…drinking rural water and resulting diarrhea, salt tablets, cut off jeans shorts, $2.00 Keds, realizing you really are exhausted when the sight of a water tower brings tears, and when learning Nixon resigned was less important than know distance to the next town! Oh ! The memory!!!
Bonny – this memory is priceless! You should send it to the Register!! Haha! I don’t know how you did it!!
I can’t think of much worse than being on a bicycle marathon with diarrhea! I’d rather have a root canal without anesthesia!
Bonny, your account of your 1974 SAGBRAI experience is wonderful, so well written with details specific enough to pick me up and plunge me back into that time of my life. Mary’s right that this should be published, and if you’ve got this kind of memory for other remarkable experiences, you should definitely be writing them down to share. You struck a cord with me when you talked about the Nixon resignation – I was standing outside the gates of Buckingham Palance with a zillion other tourists when someone held up a just-off-the-press newspaper with that remarkable headline. Thanks for the jaunt down memory lane!
Bonnie’s comments made me laugh out loud!!!! With the Iowa humidity!!! They weren’t into the comforts of the RAGBRAI. Roughing it all the way, but she didn’t say how they spent their nights. I was born and raised in Iowa, but would NEVER even attempt that experience. Lots of people do it and will never miss me.
A few years ago, a family member rode another race from Seattle to Washington, DC. His parents were raised here and were camping. Their son and the whole group spent a few days resting here before they started the next leg of their race. My biggest shock was HIS shorts were PADDED!!! I was laughing when I discovered it and thought it would help? I was never easy on the younger generation. He became a colloge professor in his ‘adult’ years.
Betty in Rapid City-