…was enough for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the 39.9 mile (i.e. 40 mile) ride on Day 3 of RAGBRAI from Winterset to Indianola in central Iowa. Glorious weather, fun biking companions (my docent friend Judy and her friend Carole, from Fort Dodge, and Carole’s daughter.).
The ride wasn’t as hilly as I feared – but hilly enough, which was a challenge for me psychologically (not to mention physically) because after breaking my arm twice, I’ve become even more cautious. I braked a lot on the downhills, which were further complicated by the often rough condition of the roads (a big crack down the middle at times, bumpy patches and other cracks). Sadly, the danger I perceived was real — three riders landed in the hospital, some with what sounds like serious injuries. Part of the issue too is that there were so many riders and I’m partly to blame for that. Like many Des Moines residents, I jumped on the ride for a day because it was coming so close to home.
As we arrived in Indianola, after some hills that felt gratuitous to include on the route. I was surprised to see a big hole in the center of the square where apparently the old courthouse is being replaced with a new “justice center.” Apparently the festivities were actually nearby — on the Simpson U. campus. (News to me.) I did find Outer Scoop on Jefferson, for some great and much-deserved ice cream.
We were on our way to hear 19 – yes 19 – Democrats vying to be the presidential nominee in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation presidential contest. We were braced to be hungry — the Democratic party event in Cedar Rapids promised to be long, with little to no food. So what better time to visit the new cleverly-named Caucus Bistro in the small town of Ladora, Iowa — about midway between our house in Des Moines and the hotel ballroom in Cedar Rapids where Democrats including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand (see photo op below), Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke, Amy Klohbuchar and “Mayor Pete” (so-named because I can’t remember how to spell his last name, although I think I now know how to pronounce it).
Word has it over 900 people showed up last Saturday night (June 1) for the Des Moines Center’s first show to feature the artwork of LGBT&Q artists…The crowd included many members of the “queer” community, some drag queens, no shortage of presumably straight folks and me. It was a great celebration – with food, drink, music – and, of course, work by 15 artists that is well worth a visit to see! Oh and it also won a major prize from Sotheby’s: 
We somehow managed to drive from Des Moines to Chicago last night without directly encountering any of the storms that were popping up all around us. Outside Iowa City on I-80, we saw scary looking white clouds (which may or may not have produced the tornado we learned touched down about 25 minutes before we passed through) and in Illinois, lightning lit up the dark night just south of us and north of us off and on. Needless to say, we were very happy when we got to Chicago around midnight.
Today, the weather was much more pleasant than anticipated in Chicago, sunny and warm instead of rainy. We spent two hours at the scoula on the second floor of eataly, taking a very fun cheese and wine tasting class that emma and rocket got me for my birthday. Great gift idea and we sampled 6 cheeses, and 3 “natural” wines and learned everything we ever wanted to know about to cheese from the cheesemonger.
I stopped at a 19th-century drug store. And in the town square, I admired the ceramic cowboy boots adorning the street lamps by the Fremont County Courthouse. 
In Red Oak, I admired Montgomery County’s elegant red court house.
TakeBetsywithyou 