Miscellaneous Missives

WAM This week I spent three days at the WAM (Weisman Art Museum) Teacher Institute.  We talked about art and writing and teaching and... Act I:  Participants and Presenters On Tuesday I was pleasantly surprised to see a former co-worker in the room.  She's been home raising her babies who are off to kindergarten this year.  It was great to see and talk to her during the three days of workshop.  In addition, one of the presenters was also a former co-worker.  It was a grand three days! Act II:  Ideas and More Ideas Although I already use the Perceive activity , I thought of new ways to expand these critical thinking questions in my classroom.  We were given a folder of resources and new activities which is currently sitting on my table.  For one of the final day's activities we were supposed to share an idea that we would incorporate in our lesson.  My idea will be used on the first day of school (?), so I'm not thinking about s...

I don't really know how to put the RAGBRAI experience into words, so this is my last post about the ride.  My guess is that everyone's already heard enough anyway. Act I:  Team Wimpy Would I cycle all seven days of RAGBRAI again? Absolutely.  I would ride with the same team because of the variety of riders.  There were super fast riders, slow riders, drinkers, heavy drinkers, and non drinkers.  It truly was a eclectic mix of people.  I rode with some of the heavier drinkers, but I was able to moderate my drinking and enjoy the festivities.  Each night a circle was formed.  It was similar to a campfire with no fire (since we were staying on someone's lawn).  This was a great time for me to connect with the cyclists I didn't see during the day. Act II:  Small Town Love One of my favorite small town activities of the week was not the water slides set up in various farm ditches, but the throwing of cow pies in Ackley, Iowa.  It...

The worst part of camping was living out of the two totes. Everything was always damp and smelly. When I decided I was in for the full seven days (and nights) of RAGBRAI , I started to freak out (really freak out) about the camping aspect since I'd never slept in a tent.  Actually, I sat in a tent for approximately 30 minutes for the first time two or three summers ago.  While I could prepare for the cycling, I had no way to prepare for the camping.  Friends helped me with the needed materials (tent, pad, sleeping bag, tent light...).  At one point I needed to go to Midwest Mountaineering for a couple additional supplies, the guy helping me asked if it would be a good idea to spend a night in the tent before I left.  I told him I was freaked out and thought it best to wait until I had no way of backing out.  I'm proud to report that I handled the camping fairly well.  Fist to five = solid 3! Our first night was an amazing location next to ...

I wish I had a picture from Saturday because one could literally see the heavy air caused by heat and humidity.  It's difficult to stop for a picture when one's trying to keep riding. While we were setting up camp the first night of RAGBRAI (the night before the first riding day), a handful of " The unauthorized and unofficial BAR GUIDE XLIII " were delivered to our site by Brewhaha:  Ride Hard.  Party Harder.  Not only did they give bar locations in every town with a list of the craft beer locations, they also gave the mileage and climb between each town.  It was a great resource to have in order to gauge the toughness of the days route. Before RAGBRAI, training tips were posted on the RAGBRAI blog .  One talked about the four H's of RAGBRAI (hills, heat, humidity and headwinds).  In my mind, I only really battled three of the four, but some of the hard riding has disappeared from my memory leaving only fun memories. I can't seem to ge...

For those that think Iowa is completely flat... The people (thousands and thousands) of RAGBRAI really make it more than a bike ride.  Although I could tell story after story of the kindness on the ride, I only have three events for TAL.  As far as towns and locations, the week seems to have blurred together. Act One:  Wednesday's ride brought riders hanging out at the nursing home.  The nursing home had signs welcoming RAGBRAI riders to come in for an indoor bathroom and a place to relax in the shade.  They also invited riders to stop and talk to the residents.  As we rode past, we witnessed riders sitting next to residents.  It was so sweet.  Later I wished that I had actually stopped and talked with the residents.  It's a great idea.  RAGBRAI is about more than riding; it's about talking to people and enjoying the stories of others. Act Two:  One Thursday (?) I was struggling with my asthma.  It'd been fairly control...

People pulling off the road for breakfast at Slipstream Organics Over the next couple of days I'll try to share my RAGBRAI experience although it'll be difficult to put into words.  Instead of going grocery shopping tonight, I set up a breakfast meeting for tomorrow morning.  I'll gradually have to get back into reality. Basically, my food and drinks from the last week have come from vendors on RAGBRAI.  Three of the vendors were my staples! Act I:   Slipstream Organics Each morning I stopped for coffee at a fair trade coffee stand next to Slipstream Organics.  They were always within the first ten miles of town.  Before I left camp I would have a Morning Round with peanut butter to get me started, then I would stop with some of the fellow " Wimps " for coffee.  It was the perfect way to start the day. Act II:   Mr. Pork Chop Mr. Pork Chop is a RAGBRAI legend.  It seems everyone must have at least one pork chop from Mr. Por...

My tire light has been on, so I decided to take my car to the nearest mechanic to make sure there were no leaks in any of the tires.  Since it's within walking distance (as is my hair stylist), I dropped it off at 12:30 on the way to my hair appointment.  When I was done with my hair appointment, I walked home and waited to hear from the service guy.  Since I don't have a lot of patience I called back about an hour later. Act I:  Brake Pads  According to the mechanic my brake pads were at 2 mm instead of 10 mm, so he suggested I buy new brake pads.  I said it was fine and asked when my car was going to be finished.  The estimated time was an hour, but they would call. Act II:  Rotors After waiting for 90 minutes, I called again asking about the progress with my car.  "I'm glad you called.  I was just getting ready to call you,"  said the service guy.  It seems one of my rotors had a "groove."  They could change the p...