Iowa is as good as any other state to meet other cycle tourists.  It was on RAGBRAI--Iowa's famous annual, weeklong, cross-state bicycle extravaganza--that I met my first serious bike tourists.  Unlike me and 99% of the other RAGBRAI-ers, those riders included the tour as part of a much longer bike trip, and they were carrying all of their clothing and camping gear in bags attached to their bikes.  "What a strange, yet intriguing concept," I thought to myself.  

Those folks were doing it the hard way.  I admired that.  It was their self-sufficiency that inspired me to combine my two favorite outdoor activities (backpacking & bikeriding) and get into this business called "bicycle touring."

It was also in Iowa, in the midst of a very dangerous bike tour, that I met with Jeff Arnim--cyclist, journal writer, and founder of Cycleblaze--for breakfast in the tiny town of Baxter.  I could not believe my ears when he told me he had recently relocated from Washington to the great state of Iowa.  Pretty smart!  (I must add that I was in even greater disbelief when I read his 2023 journal and learned he had moved AWAY from Iowa.  That's just plain crazy. LOL)

Enter Mark Bingham, a Cycleblaze writer I've been following for a while.  I like his journals a lot.  I sometimes comment on them.  He sometimes comments back.  I like how he sometimes comments on my journals.  I like his humorous style.  I like how he used to live in Minnesota.  I also like how he moved to Iowa on his own volition and is happy there.  And most of all, I like how he saw the page in my last journal, in which I wrote about having to move my dad and his stuff into an assisted living facility, and e-mailed me an offer to drive 100-miles north to help with that daunting task.

He got lucky in that an untimely blizzard put the kibosh on his offer, but I appreciated it nonetheless.  And we agreed we should still get together sometime in the next couple months to meet in person.

After a few more e-mails and texts, we finally worked out a time to accommodate his busy work schedule and my sporadic trips to Iowa for my dad's medical appointments.  It would be in Cedar Rapids, the largest city between his town and my dad's town. 

************

Just as I was about to enter the restaurant we had chosen for our meeting place, I looked back and saw a car pulling into a parking space.  The driver was waving from behind the windshield.  I couldn't see his face very well, but I assumed it had to be Mark.  Luckily, I was right about that.  I would have looked pretty foolish had I walked up to a complete stranger with my right hand extended and a goofy smile on my face.

He wasn't a complete stranger, though.  As with a lot of other Cycleblazers, I kind of felt like I knew him a little bit by way of his journals and our guestbook interactions.  Yet, there was an awkward silence as we waited to be seated, and it continued for another minute after we were shown to our table.  I knew I had a lot to talk to him about, but I just didn't know where to begin.  I think maybe Mark felt the same way.

Finally, I broke the ice in a somewhat indelicate way.  "From your first couple of words out in the parking lot, I could tell you still have a little bit of that Texas accent," I blurted out.  Smooth, Greg, real smooth.

I'm happy to report the conversation improved steadily after that.   Without going into too much detail, I learned we have a lot in common in our lives, and in our approach to touring and traveling and journaling.  I honestly had a blast talking with him for a couple hours.  And the food was good too.  It was a Good Friday indeed.

Heart

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Rachael AndersonGreat photo and how wonderful he has offered to help!
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7 months ago

Mark BinghamAnother insightful post by Greg. As I was driving home, I was thinking about our visit. In addition to noting that I had a great time with a super nice guy, what really struck me is the thing we have most in common: both of us still have a kid's love of riding a bike. None of the other stuff (gearing, clothing, mileage, etc) matters. Just climbing onto that saddle and turning the crank....

He's also right about this being a community. I feel like I know many of the people on Cycleblaze and, in addition to hanging out with Greg some more, hope to meet other folks as well.
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7 months ago

Gregory GarceauTo Mark BinghamYou're absolutely right about or mutual kid-like love for just "climbing onto the saddle and turning the crank."
Anyway, yes, great visit. Thank you for that.
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7 months ago

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