Recap of Day 5 - June 22, 2007

RRIBT Day 5 Wrap-up

By Dean Schieve, RRIBT participant

The Food:
I think I was 13 years old the last time I ate six pancakes at one sitting, until the good ladies of Warren, MN, served up a hearty breakfast to the RRIBT riders on Friday—so that should tell you something about the quality of food along the RRIBT trail. Five bucks and all you could eat—pancakes, sausage and scrambled eggs. After leaving the Old Mill State Park campsite nearly 20 miles earlier and, as usual, against the wind, it was an energizing feast.

The People:
The story of the day was recounted during a conversation sprinkled with words of praise for the friendly people all along the RRIBT route—it happened earlier in the week in Gilby, where one very experienced adventurer was telling a less experienced rider that while he had met lots of friendly people during his many bike rides, the locals he had encountered during RRIBT had been particularly friendly…the friendliest ever…to the point that they would give the shirts off their backs for a stranger. Then, in preparing to leave the Gilby rest stop, the veteran casually mentioned that he’d wished he’d brought a jacket since the weather seemed to be cooling some…immediately a woman overhearing his comment said, “would you like to have my jacket?” and was intent on giving it to the stranger. Point made.

The Towns:
I had never been to Angus, MN, before; now I can say I’ve been there. Right out midst the brilliantly green fields, with the millions of wheat stems blowing harmoniously in the wind, making for an undulating sea-like panorama. Sherack was the only other town along the route, where neat tidy homes in town and country were the norm and quintessential red barns and white farm houses were frequently scattered along the way. The roads were good with few of the tar patch lines we’d become familiar with along the way. The run from Sherack to East Grand Forks was longer than expected (RRIBT miles explained below) so those of us toward the end of the stretched-out group were happy to see Gene Driscoll at the half-way point providing an improvised rest area from his car, refilling water bottles and handing out bars.

Casualties:
Truth in mileage was a casualty today, with the 48 miles cited in the RRIBT map increasing to 57 miles by the time wheels rolled into Sherlock Park in East Grand Forks. With time on their hands during the longer stretches of the road, some people were beginning to develop concordance tables recalculating RRIBT miles into actual miles. More sunburns—actually, sunburns overlapping sunburns—depending on the changing length of biking shorts worn on any given day. A number—lots—of the riders who had camped out overnight said they were victimized by mosquitoes…to this I say…we are in Minnesota, aren’t we.

The End:
A couple of lively bell-ringers and a local radio station welcomed the arrival of RRIBT riders to Sherlock Park. Subway provided a welcome repast at the end of the ride, with unlimited sandwiches, cookies, chips and beverages provided free of charge. One of the more experienced riders said RRIBT was “awesome” and some people were already making reference to next year’s ride. Some, on the other hand, were still in the recovery mode and just anxious for cool quarters and a hot bath to soak their sore derrieres. Some of us were collecting our “I survived the RRIBT Century” pin and feeling glad Tuesday wasn’t as warm as the 90-plus temperature at the end of the ride. No doubt all the riders were happy that rainfall during the ride was almost non-existent. Finally, a hallmark of a good bike ride is always the making of new friends or reconnecting with old ones—to this end, RRIBT seems to have been a great success.