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Clarence Pickard |
Hello and welcome once again to your weekly installment of the Rivet newsletter! There's all sorts of fun toy soldier news this week, with new items from Thomas Gunn, and the Consignment shop has great "new" pieces as well!
Locally, the Olmsted County Free Fair kicked off this week, with livestock on display, amazing rides on the midway, and everything you could ever want to eat... on a stick! I hope to get a visit in this week to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of the fair in full swing, and maybe pay a visit to the beer garden to see what's on offer. Whatever your local celebration might be, I hope it's as much fun as our little get-together!
In other news, Pete and Ben are taking part in an annual tradition of their own--the RAGBRAI, or The Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. The Des Moines Register is a newspaper in, appropriately, Des Moines. In 1973, two writers at the paper decided to ride their bicycles across the entire state of Iowa from Sioux City to Davenport, in a trip that was planned to take six days. The writers invited 'a few friends' along, meaning any readers and the public at large was welcome to come along for the ride. An estimated 300 people took part in the ride that first year, with 114 making the complete trip. One of the characters of that first ride was Clarence Pickard, aged 83 years, who showed up for the trip with a used ladies Schwinn and rode all the way to Davenport including the 100 plus degree day from Des Moines to Williamsburg. Mr. Pickard's biking gear consisted of a long-sleeved shirt, trousers, woolen long underwear, and a silver pith helmet.
The Register's columns about Pickard and the ride in general drew clamorous attention as Iowans far and wide regretted missing the chance to take part in the ride. It became an instant success and now is in its 43rd year. The RAGBRAI is not a race, but rather a celebration of Iowa and her people, who graciously host participants from all 50 states and the globe along the route. Our own team of Ben and Pete brought with a familiar sight to serve as transportation for their bikes and camping equipment from here in Eyota to the ride site.
Now each year 8,500 riders take part in the ride, and more than 200 other rides have been established throughout the years taking their inspiration from RAGBRAI, including bicycle rides in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Colorado, Oregon, Maryland, Ohio, Maine, Missouri, Illinois, Virginia, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Delaware, New Mexico, Michigan, North Dakota, New York, California, Washington, Arizona, Wyoming, Mississippi, Texas, Kentucky, Utah, Wisconsin, Indiana, New Hampshire, District of Columbia, Massachusetts and North Carolina. To give you an idea of the sheer number of riders and support people that descend on the little towns in Iowa, Pete provided this snapshot:
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Portrait of an American small town.
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So wherever the road takes you this summer, keep an eye out for us--you never know where that intrepid Treefrog is going to pop up next!
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