After 9 straight days of temps of 90° or higher, it's kind of nice to see the mercury hovering around a more sanguine 78°. So here we go, less than 5 days until the juggernaut that is RAGBRAI returns to rural Iowa, where 15,000 of your closest enemies roll thru cornfields and forgotten counties. [As a reminder, please do not feed the Bear.] Yesterday's pre-Ragbrai training ride was 50 miles of fun, but only Tatara & I could sustain the 7:00 am roll call. Not that big of a shock really, given the amounts of beer consumed at the Swerve Brewery Pig Roast on Saturday night. But as I purged massive liters of alcoholic haze from my system while rolling down to Victoria, I couldn't help but think that this could be a rebuilding year for Evil Cycling. No less than 4 perennial Evilheads were talking the shit about showing up for a 7:00 am ride. Is this what we have to look forward to? Sagging on Ragbrai is considered "winning" amongst our close horde of hoochers and huffers on the Black Train of Death (tm), but come on, people! Get on the bike and ride. There's no reason to suffer across summertime Iowa with 15,000 alcoholics from around the country if you're not going to at least work for it. Or is there? I don't know, I'm just itching to RIDE across Iowa again, not drive, and of course, to enjoy the $1 beer being offered at countless farmsteads on the route. But before all that takes place... THIS THURSDAY, JULY 21, our favorite heavy metal bluegrass band SPLIT LIP RAYFIELD, return to Lee's Liquor Lounge. SLR is actually playing two night (Thurs. & Fri.) but we'll be well on our way to Iowa City and the Ragbrai Prologue, so I'll expect all you punters to be out on Thursday night, you dig?