Not only is it the largest man-made grotto in the world, but it also has the largest collection of precious stones and gems found anywhere in one location – petrified wood, stalactite and stalagmite, malachite, jasper, quartz crystals, and many more. The beauty is truly in the details of this magnificent hand-built structure. (Click on …
Not only do they have the best homemade ice cream, but Beekmans also has the most unique way of making homemade ice cream. They use one-cylinder engines! As we biked across Iowa, we knew when we were approaching the Beekman stop just by the sounds! They usually had 4-8 engines/ice cream makers going at a …
The masterminding of RAGBRAI is mind-boggling. Most questions we got were around these three topics: Food. KYBOs. And overnight stays. Food There were numerous food options! A variety of food trucks follow the RAGBRAI route, setting up in pass-through towns, in the meeting town (near the midpoint of the ride for that day), or in …
The logistics amazed us. The variety of shapes and sizes and types of bikes and people astounded us. The reality of riding 462 miles over 7 days still seems surreal. And, we continue to unpack our thoughts and feelings about this epic adventure. Here are the three things that stood out most to us. Trust …
What does one need to go on a week-long bicycle tour? We are finding out! And, you might be surprised! Since the bicycle tour is RAGBRAI, we know they carry our stuff for us. Or, in our case, it will be on the bus that belongs to the local bicycling group. The local bicycling group …
We have been training for several months in preparation for RAGBRAI which is the last full week of July. Over the past two months, we’ve averaged 100 miles a week. Here’s how we do it. Weekly Rides We started riding consistently in mid-April. We started with an 8-mile loop that we did early morning, before …
After a year and a half of silence(!), we are back to share our next adventure with you! This past February we signed up to do RAGBRAI! For those that don’t know, RAGBRAI is the granddaddy of all bike rides! It is the oldest, largest, and longest multi-day bicycle touring event in the world! (according …
We are almost finished! What we thought would be a 6-7 month project is now nearing completion – after nearly 14 months! The extended time (and resources) it took to complete the project seems to be a rather common occurrence for these types of undertakings. However, we are very pleased with how it has turned …
In late February, we left our home in Sisal with mixed feelings. Our friendships with other expats in Sisal had deepened over the last 2 months. Plus, we knew we would not be returning to this home again. We had friends who were renting it for 6 months next year. As we left, we looked …
Imagine a flourishing city in the 7th century – nearly 1400 years ago! Now, imagine what it would look like today. We had the incredible opportunity to visit Palenque, located in the Chiapa mountains in southern Mexico. Palenque flourished as a Mayan city in the 7th century, then was absorbed into the jungle of cedar, …