Independence RASH Bicycle Ride Moved from June to August in 2019

My husband Jim and I heard in advance that the well organized RASH Ride, a tradition with us, was not scheduled for June this year, as usual, but for August -- maybe because it was so wet in June. Independence was flooded badly in March and might still have been wet in June.

We rode 28-30 miles total. As I rode up one steep, long hill after another I imagined ride scouts looking all over Buchanan County in advance for a strictly uphill route with few, if any, downhills.

"They got 'er done!" I thought to myself.

Later, at Bill's Pizza Restaurant in Independence, Bill Versilius, the owner, explained that two bridges were out in the area and road construction was all over rural areas of the west side of town, so they had to plan the ride for the east side of Independence.

Downtown Independence was all torn up too.

The east/southeast headwind was so strong I had to pedal except on the few and far between, really steep downhills, which relieved my tired legs as we got closer to Independence.

We rode on the shoulder of a busy, steep highway as we approached Winthrop. Most cars and trucks were considerate, but once in a while a car would drive for an instant on the rumblestrip right next to me and scare me half to death.

A bicyclist at the Winthrop bar said she wasn't riding on that highway again. Her nerves wouldn't stand for it. Fortunately, the route took us away from the highway on the route to Quasqueton.

On the highway I completely lost it when a tall male bicyclist silently passed me at my elbow and didn't say a word. He passed me very, very close and at first I thought he was a vehicle.

"Say 'on your left!' you [rude individual]," I shouted. His sneaking up on me like that scared me to death. That incident took all the wind out of my sails and I started walking my bike up the rest of the hill. The official RASH Ride sag wagon stopped and asked me if I wanted a ride. I recognized the driver, Steve.

"Take me to Winthrop," I said shortly.

When I clambered aboard the pickup truck I sat next to a nice older woman who greeted me in a friendly way and I remembered my manners though I was still pretty shaken.

Fred Smock, who runs/owns? Dunlap Motors in Independence, and Bill Versilius, who owns Bill's Pizza in Independence, cheered me up. They recognized me and Jim from past RASH Rides and from RAGBRAI. Fred's a cheerful soul and Bill came over to talk to us while we were eating supper at his restaurant.

Turns out Bill rode the RAGBRAI preride, which is by invitation only! He knows T.J. Juskiewicz, who organizes RAGBRAI, and pays $300 to cover breakfast, lunch, and dinner (and accommodations?) for the preride. Bill considers it a heck of a deal. He gets a bib out of the deal, too. (And shorts?)

Bill advises restaurants on how to set up for RAGBRAI through-towns and overnights. Some restaurant owners listen, Bill said, and some have set plans on how they want to do it and don't listen. When Bill senses an owner doesn't "need" advice he leaves them alone.

"You're a consultant!" I said. "You shouldn't have to pay anything!"

"No," Bill said. "I'm happy to pay just to go along."

Jim sought out some locals to talk politics. One local man said he voted for Trump in 2016 but he's "disappointed" in him now because Trump meddled in the grain markets. He wouldn't commit to voting against Trump, but he and his wife are both wavering. They're from the general rural Independence area. It's only anecdotal evidence, but it's interesting.

Jim said they were both really nice.