The Crash. Day 4: Winterset to Indianola

This morning we got up and had quite a few extra people to get ready for the day.  Jeff's sister and her boys were going to ride out with us.  Braden was driving the van and Margaret the Awesome was in charge of the RV.

There was a lot more silliness while getting packed up and ready to go.

Jeff's sister provided some "power bombs," as she called them.

When everything was ready to go, we all loaded up in the vehicles and drove into town because the place we were staying was on a gravel road and we didn't want to ride out on that, especially with the kids.  But all the bikes were completely covered in dust when we got to the parking lot where we planned to start our ride!  So first we had to clean off the bikes.

It took awhile to everyone situated and ready and a nearby team was playing some funky music, so Kolton and I took the opportunity to get in some dancing (watch the video for some footage of our awesome dance moves.)

But finally we got started and headed out of town.  Leaving the overnight town is always a little bit difficult because it's always the biggest number of bikes out on the road at the same time.  We were in a big pack when Jenny's wheel hit the rear wheel on her son's bicycle and she went down.

She's ok - so please don't worry.

When she fell, her sunglass broke and cut her face right around her eyebrow.  Fortunately a nurse had just gotten a flat tire and was right there on the side of the road.  She assessed Jenny's injuries and was able to reassure everyone that she needed stitches but she was okay.

Braden was driving her van with the other support vehicles and so he turned around and came back to bring Jenny to the hospital.  She wanted her boys to keep riding because she didn't want the accident to ruin their day.  She was really a trooper. (For more details, check out the video above)

We also had help from one of the Air Force Team riders and from a woman who lived in a nearby house.  Thank you to all of the people who helped us out!!!

Despite the significant delay, we made it to the first stop (Howell Tree Farm) before they shut down the food, so the kids all got their breakfast burritos.

It took a while to get to the meeting town, but everyone made it.  Jeff, John, Josh, and Kolton rode in the afternoon as well because Josh, who is 10, really wanted to complete the full ride.

We stayed in the middle school parking lot in Indianola and they let us use the showers!!!  Unfortunately, the showers in the girls locker room were freezing, but it still felt good to get a full shower instead of the dripping in the RV.

I did get some sunburn on my arms and legs and my allergies are still raging.

That night when everyone else went to bed, Jeff and I went downtown.  There was a concert going on and a lot of drinking.  We took a bus there and this guy was being super annoying.  I had a severe sinus headache, so I was resting my head on Jeff's shoulder.  This dude kept turning around and telling Jeff not to let me fall asleep.

We just walked around and had pizza and talked for awhile, which was nice.  RAGBRAI date night!

Current Mood: sleepy but good, relieved that Jenny is okay
Predictions: Tomorrow will be a less dramatic day
Best Part of the Day: hanging out with Jeff's nephews, date night
Worst Part of the Day: The crash