Day 4 Winterset - Knoxville
Day 3 of RAGBRAI was all about conquering physical challenges, but Day 4? That was a test of parental endurance.
Being the spendthrift that I am, I made the unfortunate decision of only buying three pairs of biking shorts, leaving me to ride day 4 in running shorts. I'd trained without biking shorts, but had grown accustomed to the extra padding over the previous three days. I tried to compensate for a lack of padding by slathering an extra dose of Chamois Butt’r to prevent chafing, but without the chamois, I'm not sure it did much of anything. Meanwhile, Lionel seemed to have grown overnight and proudly declared, “Daddy, I can buckle myself in!” making our mounting routine much smoother.
The ride out of Winterset was exhilarating. I felt like I didn’t pedal once as I coasted for what felt like 20 minutes. On the descent, I chatted with a member of the Air Force Cycling Team. These folks are like the guardian angels of RAGBRAI, speeding along to help with mechanical problems and handing out cool swag to kids. Lionel scored an Air Force towel, two shoelaces, and a challenge coin (his current pride and joy). I met Caleb, who also has a six-year-old riding a Weehoo. We saw Caleb each subsequent morning and always rode together for a bit of a chat.
The first town, St. Charles, had a “Beep, beep” theme. My plan was to speed through like the Road Runner, but Lionel had other ideas. At 7:30 a.m., he opted for a slice of pepperoni pizza, as is typical on RAGBRAI. The port-a-potties in St. Charles had a tricky locking mechanism, and I had a moment of panic when I thought Lionel may lock himself in. My fears were doubled moments later when I couldn't find him after leaving the port-a-potty. He jumped out from behind two of them, shouting “Boo!” and asking if he scared me. We had one of our many mini life-lessons right then and there.
In St. Mary’s, a clever 8-year-old entrepreneur was charging people to sign his cast and actually had a line of bikers. Since St. Mary’s was only five miles from St. Charles, we pushed on to Indianola, where we encountered “Backward Will,” a TikTok sensation who nonchalantly rode the entire RAGBRAI backwards. This is Will’s second RAGBRAI riding backwards; he set a world record at last year’s event. He can bomb hills at 40 MPH, and the only conflict his unorthodox style of riding causes is whether to say “On your left” or “On your right” when passing.
On the outskirts of Indianola, there was a shaded playground where Lionel played while I prepared turkey sandwiches. As I bit into my sandwich, Lionel took a nasty slip on the shaky bridge, rolled under it, and landed on his back and head. It all happened in slow motion, and I feared our RAGBRAI experience was over. Fortunately, it was more of a scare than a serious injury. After some kisses, a fruit snack, and some cooing, Lionel was back to his old self. We met a wonderful couple from Duluth who asked Lionel all about his RAGBRAI experience. He kindly shared some Goldfish with them. After they left, Lionel and I discussed why he fell and how to cross the shaky bridge safely. He then crossed it three more times independently and set a world record for the slowest descent down the fireman pole.
As we pulled into Indianola, I kept my eyes peeled for Brenda. Luckily, the first-aid mobile was on the main strip, and Lionel restocked his fruit snack supply.
In Milo, with its Jimmy Buffett theme, I prayed for a margarita but got a migraine instead. As we filled our water bottles, I overheard someone mention a slip-n-slide we missed. Upon hearing this, Lionel began to shout at me for missing this once in a life opportunity and proclaiming that we needed to bike 20 miles backwards in order to redeem myself. I tried to reason with Lionel, saying that there would be more slip-n-slides in the upcoming days and maybe even one in the afternoon, but he wouldn’t hear any of it. He refused to buckle himself in and went on stoker strike as a form of protest. The next hour was filled with moans and groans from both of us. Lionel complained that his leg hurt and he could no longer pedal. It seemed like every biker that passed it had the same quip in passing, “Hey! the guy in back isn’t pedaling” which only exasperated the situation.
When the chants of protest finally ceased, Lionel then began crafting appropriate punishments for me missing the slip-n-slide. I tried to placate him by promising we could stop every 40 minutes for his favorite story podcast, Safety Sheriff Labrador. As we pulled into Lacona, I pulled out some granola bars and sat in the grass. I tried to play a story for Lionel, only to see that we were once again off the grid for T-Mobile’s service plan. At that moment, I wasn’t sure which was radiating more heat—the Iowan sun or my son’s face. I spotted a playground in the distance and suggested we go play. Although I could see the metal baking in the heat, I needed something to divert my son’s anger. As we turned the corner, we had another heavenly encounter. There on the side of the hill was mana from heaven in the form of a blessed slip-n-slide. Lionel’s frown turned upside down in record time and he was down to his underwear before I had my first shoe off. Lionel went down the slip-n-slide ten times, ending with the “okay, last, last, last, final time I pinky promise” run, which still took some chasing afterward. He left Lacona with a mile-wide grin and a destroyed pair of underwear.
After Lacona, we were in the dead heat, and the pedaling was slow. Both Lionel and I were not at our sharpest. At the previous watermelon stop, there was a miscommunication where Lionel didn’t snap the chin strap of his helmet, something he has always done himself, and thankfully a fellow biker made sure to comment. Twenty minutes later, I heard a scraping sound from the back and realized that Lionel’s leg had slipped off the pedals and was tapping against the pavement. It was time for another stop, and wouldn’t you know it, the entire state of Iowa seems to be one big room of requirement. About 100 feet up the road was a lemonade stand with water balloons and an inflatable water slide.
Nobody can go in and out of REM-like sleep as quickly as Lionel. Within seconds, he was back in his undies playing on the water slide. That evening, we had an interview scheduled with a local newspaper reporter, a commitment that didn’t seem to hold much gravitas for Lionel at that moment. When we finally made it back on the road, we still had some meat on the bone until Knoxville. Lionel still complained about some leg pain, and I no longer thought he just malingering in protest. I pedaled through sheer grit and determination to finish that day’s ride.
We pulled into our campsite in Knoxville, right beside the national sprint-car track and museum. The campsite also had a large playground where Lionel, of course, injured his hand on the slide. After our interview with Donald from the Oskaloosa Herald, we had a wonderful pesto pasta dinner with veggies. Although the meal was tailored to satiate semi-overweight adult men, which Lionel polished off the plate by himself. The highlight of the campsite was the cooling misting fans, where Lionel camped in front of while finally getting a chance to listen to his stories.
In the shower that night, I examined Lionel’s legs where he was complaining and saw he was beginning to develop a heat rash. I made a mental note to have Lionel ride with more breathable fabric for the final three days. Day 4 had a lot of tears and fears, but we made it. We were definitely over halfway through our journey. It was a learning day for both of us, and I learned to always brake for watermelon and slip-n-slides.
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