RAGBRAI comes to an end... :(

We rolled into Austin about 3:00pm this afternoon and the vacation finally came to an end. :(

What a great RAGBRAI. Weather was hot, but rain stayed away when we needed it to.

Special thanks to John (my future father-in-law) for agreeing to going with us this year and providing transportation along the way. It was a joy to have him along and share this unique RAGBRAI experience. Thanks John! I hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed having you!

Thanks to all of the blog followers and readers... I hope I provided some fun and informative information. Since this was my first blog ever, I would really appreciate some comments or recommendations on my blog. Things you liked or things I could have done better. You can email me at barneyka@gmail.com.

I am not 100% sure there is going to be another RAGBRAI in my horizon, but either way - I enjoyed 2011 RAGBRAI and will cherish the memories forever... :)
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Sunrise at the Kansas/Oklahoma border

Left Wichita about 6:10am.
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Arrived safely in Wichita

After driving west to Des Moines, crossing a 120 mile corner of Missouri, and heading southwest through some heavy rain storms, we arrived at our hotel in Wichita about 9:15pm.

Excited to sleep in a nice, soft bed tonight with a fluffy pillow. AND it has no zippers or sounds of locusts singing!

Good night!
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Sunset in Kansas

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Heading home...

After a great day in the rolling hills into Davenport, a short 65 mile day got us into town about 11:30am. We dipped our front tires in the Mississippi River and then went and found John at a predetermined street intersection. We loaded our bikes and off we went. We stopped at the I-80 Truck Stop, changed, grabbed lunch and now back on I-80 heading towards Des Moines. From there, we will hit I-35 and start heading south. We did make a hotel room reservation in Wichita, KS which is about 455 miles. Wow! That is the same distance as RAGBRAI this year! Crazy! But instead of biking that distance over 7 days, we are going to drive and it should take about 7.5 hours.
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We did it!

454 miles, 7 days, we made it to the Mississippi!
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Pickle on a stick...

... in last stop before Mississippi River. Happy and sad at the same time. :) :(
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