Packing in the thunderstorm

A thunderstorm with strong winds arrived just in time for Team SAU’s packing on Friday. Once the storm blew through, the guys worked together to fit 19 bikes and numerous tubs in the Penske truck. Guess what the team was asking as packing was almost completed? “Where’s Bob?” Yes, Bob was nowhere to be found during packing. He showed up after nearly everyone else had gone. He didn’t want to disappoint his devoted fans by being on time!

Bob Rides Again

Team SAU will be leaving for Sioux City Saturday morning.  Several familiar faces will be joining us for a week’s worth of adventures:  Bob, Kevin, Steve, and Mike White.  We’ll have a few new riders taking on the week’s ride too.  On Tuesday evening, we’ll have three daily riders join us, and by Wednesday evening, Team SAU will be at full capacity with a total of 24 riders. 

Alumni and their family and friends have been kind enough to offer Team SAU housing throughout the week.  Our riders appreciate our hosts’ hospitality.  It’s nice to know they’ll have places to pitch their tents each night. 

Stay tuned for Team SAU updates!

TEAM SAU 2010

Greetings Team SAU!

We are asking your first—do you want to be part of the Team SAU again this year?  The Alumni Office is starting to form Team SAU for RAGBRAI 2010 and we are going to start spreading the word very soon to others.

Team SAU only has 14 spots for week long riders and only 10 spots for day riders per day.   According to RAGBRAI, we can start collecting “paper applications” for our team on November 15—we can secure your spot at anytime with your support fee payment.  The deadline to submit completed RAGBRI applications for Team SAU is February 01, 2010 (or sooner if the team is full).

If you are interested or have questions about RAGBRAI 2010 and Team SAU 2010 please contact me, Chad Gaul, in the Alumni Office (563) 333-6030 or gaulchadm@sau.edu.

We look forward to another great RAGBRAI and Team SAU!

Chad

View, order, and add photos

http://stambroseuniversityragbraiteam.shutterfly.com/

I created a shared site for our team so that we can all share photos and order them.  Just click on the link above, click add album, locate your files, and click upload.

If you want to order them…click on a photo…look at the right hand side of the page when you can click to add to your shopping cart and go from there.

Any problems?  I am happy to help.

Amy

Video of SAU Team

TV-11 (Duke Schneider  and Matt Carroll) made the trip to Mt. Pleasant to get footage of the SAU team.  You can find all the videos by clicking on the link below:

http://web.sau.edu/tv11/RAGBRAI.htm

Thoughts, Thanks, and training with Bob!

I wanted to share a few thoughts about this past week. It was an absolutely wonderful experience to be a part of this group and to be able to participate in all the activities. After we returned Saturday, I went down to Bix fest and it reminded me of what RAGBRAI was like. A week long Bix fest on wheels. It was the neatest thing to be able to share the adventures and roads with Steve, Mike, Paul, Mikey, Susan, and of course Bob. I learned a lot about biking from them all and look forward to getting to ride with this group again some day soon. I have our memories of each one that I’ll never forget. The day riders also added a whole new dimension to the ride and group and enhanced the experience even more. Seeing rural Iowa and all the small towns pouring out their hospitality is unbelievable. The food and festivities were all memorable and made the hills worth the while. I was very proud and humbled to be a part of this group. I was also amazed at the number of people who knew of St. Ambrose or had some connection. Everyday there were people stopping to say they were an alum, had a relative who had or is attending, or just had some sort of past connection.

I also want to share my thanks for all who made it possible. First to the St. Ambrose administration for piloting this adventure. In the usual Ambrosian tradition, they put all they had behind it to make it an outstanding experience for all involved. Any one I talked to was awed at what a great set-up and support that we had. And it was neat to have so many people ride up and start talking about their experiences and connections to Ambrose. Many were excited to know that we had a team and hope to join in the future. I especially want to thank Clare, Chad, Amy, and Angie for making this a reality. Their hospitality, work, attention to making sure everyone had a great experience went above and beyond the call of duty and they took their job to a whole new level. This would NOT have been the same if it wasn’t for them. And it was great to just get to know them, hang with them, and travel with them. I have no idea how much time they put into this ahead of time, but it made the week go so smooth. Unbelievable!! Thanks also to our wonderful hosts. Again, an aspect that made this week even more enjoyable and just took so much worry and hassle out of the week. To know we had a place to go and stay was very comforting and made it relaxing. And they all poured out the hospitality when we were there. Not just letting us use restrooms and showers, but having treats, meals, and warm / dry places to sleep. And of course thanks to our families and everyone who allowed us the time off to participate.

Finally, I am ready to start training again for next year. I already had my son and daughter out for a short 15 mile ride today. Like Steve said; EVERYONE should try this, even for just a few days. And THIS was the way to go. I hope we can do this again as an Ambrose team again next year. I know the group that participated this year were all ready to sign up for next year. And Bob even came up when we got home and said he had a new ‘bike’ in his garage that he knew he’d be able keep up with me on. I knew he had it in him and I eagerly agreed to get out and start training for next year!!! I just didn’t know that Harley Davidson made bicycles! Hey, wait a minute Bob………….!!!!!!

Kevin Farrell

Saturday Recap

After a great night’s sleep at the Schneider household (sleeping inside and not worrying about the storm was awesome), the team woke up and was on the road by 7:30.  Steve had a flat tire so he had to change this before taking off…I hadn’t witnessed this before so it was interesting to see him pull out all the tools needed and expertly change his tire within just a few minutes.

The team gathered near the flag so we could take a team photo.  Everyone had their jersey’s on and they looked great! 

Saturday’s ride was 44 miles with a trip through Geode State Park.  There were some hills with sharp turns at the end but Team SAU handled these turns.  Some of the team members wanted to ride Bob style for the last day…it ended up being Susan, Paul, and Bob…the trio from earlier in the week and they spent a few hours at the beer garden in Geode State Park.  They were able to meet some St. Ambrose connections and some friends they made throughout the week.

While the team was on their final leg of Ragbrai Angie and I were meeting up with all the other support drivers on Bluff Road.  Burlington organized all of us together so that the riders could find us afterward.  They turned the two way road into a one way.  This was a huge logistical operation and everything went smoothly. Many of the support trucks had to be emptied so that riders could “pack” in their bicycles.  It was a sea of luggage and people!

 Angie and I took the opportunity to relax a bit (because our team was so well organized when packing!).  We put out the SAU Flag, pulled out two chairs, and relaxed with a view of the Mississippi River.  Many spectators and other support drivers came by…it’s amazing how many SAU connections there are. Throughout the week, we met lots of parents of SAU students and it was great to hear about their experience (all great of course).  And, we met people that had been reading the blog.  Team SAU has lots of fans!  We also met many strangers.  This is what RAGBRAI is all about.

The riders started arriving in about 10:30…since it was the last day we didn’t the luxuries the hosts gave us such as showers and a place to change clothes.  Each rider just climbed in the back of the truck…closed the door and changed.  This is a resourceful team.  Team Bob arrived about 12:50 and we set to packing the truck.  I think you need an engineering degree to do this job.  It was great to watch the team work together trying to get the bikes in safely and all of our stuff. Susan was even able to get in a small nap…she just layed down on the cement and closed her eyes.  She said, “This is the most comfortable cement I’ve ever slept on.”!

The RAGBRAI tradition is to dip your tire in the Mississippi River and it’s hard to explain the chaos that ensues. Thousands of riders are excited and proud of their week long ride and you have to wait in line to get to the river.  It was fun to watch people organize their team photos and hold their bikes above their heads in celebration of the week.

After a great week for Team SAU, we headed back to the Quad Cities around 2:00 and we arrived at the Rogalski Center around 3:30.  There were lots of families, some of the day riders that returned early, and the St. Ambrose TV-11 cameras waiting for our return.  Within minutes the truck was unloaded and everyone was heading home back to their “normal lives”.

I can’t explain what a great week it was for the team.  From the host families, to the small towns visited, to the food experiences, and the downtown festivals…RAGBRAI is a special part of Iowa and now St. Ambrose.  We hope that this can become something that Ambrosians look forward to doing together each year.

What would Bob do?  He would do RAGBRAI every year!

Amy

Friday Recap

We all had a great day.  Many of the riders (including Bob) got an early start so they arrived in the early afternoon (well, Bob arrived around 6:30 but he found a party just a mile down the road–but otherwise, he said he was “being good”).

Team SAU took advantage of our host house along the route to watch a lot of the race.  We had fun doing this…waving to people, commenting to them, many yelled their home states to us, and we had fun checking out all the costumes.  Myself and Angie enjoyed this part because we hadn’t been able to see this stuff yet.  Many of the riders (SAU) commented that it was fun to watch the race for a different side.

Joan was fun…she started cheering the riders on…yelling things like “only two more hills and there’s free beer.”  There really weren’t any more hills or free beer…but we all chuckled!  We also kept asking everyone if they’ve seen Bob.

We decided that we should post a sign for Bob on the route “What would Bob do?” (Someone else had posted a sign asking someone to marry them so it’s only fair that we got to post a sign for Bob).  When he arrived in camp…he brought the sign with him.  We decided that Bob would say yes!

After watching many of the riders go by, we went to Pizza Hut for the Ragbrai Buffet Special…and it was special!  They were really busy so Mike Waskowiak carried on the SAU tradition of service to others by helping the busy wait staff to prepare our tables.  He cleaned them, arranged the tables, and escorted us to our seats.  We thought we should start calling him the “New Chad.” He is also offering his fashion services…for example…he didn’t think that guys should ride without their shirts on (some of us disagreed).  He continued to offer fashion comments throughout the day–it was great entertainment.

In the St. Ambrose way, we invited in an injured rider to our team.  She was walking along the road and we asked if she needed anything.  She was really hurting and Dr. Kevin Farrell took a look at her knee…we gave her an SAU koozie, some water, and she got taped up.  Then the leaving members of our team took her into town.  We hope you are feeling better Kim (she was visiting from Florida–she didn’t realize how many hills Iowa has).  She didn’t realize what she was walking into…she had about 10 people hovering over her. 

We have moved indoors for the evening…too many threats of thunderstorms.  The Schneider clan has really been taking care of us from cutting watermelon, to getting us chairs, to getting us maps for tomorrow.  They’ve all been great!

A few of us went into town to explore the downtown area.  They had some fun things like cut-outs of space ships (I insisted that we take photos here and all obliged) .  Duke was busy getting video of stuff…including some new “Amy Jones Food Critic” episodes.  More on that later.

The team really has been tremendous!  Everyone pitches in to help with stuff and just gets along great.  We lost some of our team members today–Karen, Jackie, Joan, Kathy, and Missey headed back to the QC to prepare for the Bix 7 tomorrow morning.  Good luck!

Tomorrow is the last day…everyone is meeting to dip their tires in the Mississippi.

Goodnight!

Amy

A BIG Thank you

As we head into our final day of RAGBRAI I want to give a BIG thank you to Claire, Chad, Amy and Angie for the exceptional job that they did on this inagural SAU RAGBRAI. They definitely went above and beyond the call of duty for us. Second I would encourage any one who rides to consider riding at least a day or two of this traveling roadshow on two (and sometimes three or four) wheels. It is something that really needs to be experienced. So once again thank you to the Alumni staff and I hope that we can do this again.
Steve C.

even more photos

check the link below again…more photos added from various cameras.

Everyone is LOVING the showers, as well as some watermelon and cantaloupe that Duke Schneider brought with him.  People have been seeing our flag and stopping by to say hi…maybe they are a parent, or student, or alum…

Dad of student Rachel Meyer stopped by and chatted with us.

Ray Cassady joined our team last night and returned from his first ride.  He was having a great time stopping at the various food stands.  He is enjoying a shower at the moment.

Whoopie has been the favorite food of the day so far…after the fresh watermelon and cantaloupe!

Duke and I are having fun taking pictures of everyone.  Soon we are going to interview people for a TV-11 exclusive story.

We have all been wondering what kind of fun Bob is having…we made a sign that said “What would Bob do?” and posted on the route…we’ll see what happens!  He has to be tired.  He slept outside last night(tent) and there was a bar across the street that had outdoor karoake…they were terrible singers.  Bob figured “if you can’t beat them, join them.” So he did.  He did get an early start today though…around 7 a.m.

more later…we are heading into town tonight to see what Mt. Pleasant has to offer.