Happy Birthday to me

Because nearly two weeks have past since my last update and because I celebrate my 68th birthday today (Aug 5), I thought I would do a quick update.

We have had absolutely fabulous weather during the past two weeks and have gone out on both our motorcycle and on our bicycles.  

The previous week we pointed our motorcycle west and visited the Löss Hills in western Iowa.  After stopping off to see a Danish windmill and a picture with (a replica) of the statue to “The Little Mermaid.”  The original is in Kopenhagen, Denmark.


This statue is to commemorate the fairy tale by Hans Christiaan Anderson, who was of Danish descent, and whose story was brought to fame by Walt Disney. 
We went on to Bronson, in NW Iowa.  
There we spent the night with dear friends.  The next day we went back to our home in Johnston, but we had to stop at the (non-continental but none-the-less important) Missouri - Mississippi divide in central Iowa.  

Then last week we rode around the central Des Moines area.  The trip took us around Gray’s Lake and into waterworks park.  Waterworks park reminds my of my home area in the Netherlands.  Flat, rustic, and lots of water!  Just a few pictures to feast your eyes.

SUMMER FUN (2)

Over 10.000 bicycle riders are again riding across Iowa this week. The 37th year for this annual trek. It is called RAGBRAI which is an acronym based on the origin of this ride: Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. “The Register” is the Des Moines’ newspaper. You could find out much more by going to the website (http://ragbrai.com/)

This is the second time that our children, Monique and Rick, are riding the whole route. The first time was a year after Rick’s back surgery for spina bifida and also to commemorate their uncle Eddy Kamstra. Eddie was an avid biker in the Netherlands; although he had lost his right leg to cancer, he rode many miles for pure enjoyment and challenge. Many times he would ride to raise cancer awareness and to raise funds for cancer research. He planned to ride in 2007 with Rick and Monique as part of their team, but cancer got him first, Eddy died in January 2007.



Last year his wife, my sister, was here for an extended visit from the Netherlands and she got to see and greet RAGBRAI riders in Ames, Iowa.






This year I was enticed to ride a few miles, into Indianola, on July 21. If I want to do more, I would definitely have to get in much better shape. Yet, it was great to see all ages of people and all kinds of bicycles pass by us as we were waiting to join the team for the last stretch. As at the previous time, Duane and Evie Elgersma provided support for the team. We all shared a delicious diner at the end of the ride on Tuesday.