Yo Mosquitoes!
That time is coming very quickly! We only have a few short months to get organized and be on the road for RAGBRAI. It also means that things have to move very quickly so that I can get everything done on time. Please return your shirt orders as quickly as you can, so that I won't screw many of them up this year. I may even get Cory and Michelle their shirts this year!
First I would like to wish Klink a quick recovery from the whole team and let him know that we are all praying for him. I believe that most of you know that he was in a major car accident on May 12th and is recovering at St. Lukes Hospital in Cedar Rapids. We all know how tough he is! I mean, if he can drink all of those beers that he does and still have energy to stay up all night riding his bike across the state (or watching an old western) then this isn't going to keep him down. Our prayers are with you Klink! You'll be back in no time.
The next order of business is the shirts. Since this is our tenth year as a team, we wanted to do something different with the shirts, and we have found some tie-dye shirts that are way cool. I think it will work very well. The informal poll that I took showed that most people were ok with this idea. We are going to have the tie-dye only. It gets pretty expensive and confusing if we have too many different shirts from different places. Majerle isn't going to like this but that is too bad, because he lives in California now! The poll that we took for the motto turned out to be very close, so all of the ideas were great. I want to thank all of you for giving me your ideas. The one we are going to go with will say something like this: After a decade we realize that We Still Suck, but you blow! This ties into our first year motto which was, We really Suck! The order form is attached and is due back a little earlier than usual this year, due to the different kind of shirts that we are having. The tie-dye are hand made and are going to be a few dollars more than last year because of it, but that is the price for being way cool. Please send me the order forms, so I have them, by the first of June. That is June 1st. Do not delay or you run the risk of missing out on the greatest shirts in RAGBRAI history.
Does anyone have any sponsors? I only have a few this year, which may jump the cost of our ride up a few bucks. We do have some maintenance on the bus to do. We got the fuel system going, but now are having trouble with the clutch. It should be ready to go by the Mosquito ride if things go according to plan. Please let me know about sponsors ASAP. The cut off date will be June 15th for these. It is also time to be paying your first set of dues for RAGBRAI. The first installment is going to be $60 each. If you are not going the whole week, please enclose $20 for the first day and $15 for each day after that you are riding (this will be all of money you "partial weekers" will need to pay). The next installment will be in about a month, so you can all plan on that. It will be somewhere from $40-$60, depending on the sponsors and bus repairs.
We managed to all survive the Bud ride in North Liberty. From what I could see, it turned out to be a big party. The Bud DJ's were there and kept everything going very nicely. The only trouble that I encountered was that there were two bikes stolen. That theft thing seems to be getting worse. Make sure you have a lock if you own a nice bike and make sure that it is insured. On a side note the Bud DJ's are going to have a party set up down in Kansas City for the Iowa/Kansas State football game. There are several of us going down there if anyone is interested. Only a couple weeks until the Mosquito ride. Don't forget about it on June 17th. Again, if you need more information, sign onto the web page at www.teammosquito.com I can usually be reached at 319-373-0514 also if you have any questions. The following weekend (the 24th of June) is the River Ratt ride and there is also a ride up by Okaboji. Both are a great time, from what I have heard. If you are interested in either of these rides call me and I can give you some info, or check out the "Mosquito calendar of events" on the web page.
Well, I hope that I covered everything that I wanted to. Hope to see you all on the Mosquito ride and please get your shirt orders into me promptly. Have a wonderful day!
Blaine McLaughlin
Team Mosquito Guru
