Hey Mosquitoes
The time is approaching fast for us to get on our bikes and ride. I hope that I get an opportunity to do that before RAGBRAI, so that I don't bring up the rear of the pack. We all know that it is important to win this big race! I am going to make this rather short if I can so here we go!
We need to welcome the newest Mosquito into the family. Congratulations to Joe and Becky Lesnik on the birth of their son, Luke Xavier, who was born on 6-8-99. Joe already has a wrestling mat in the basement.
We had a wonderful time on the Mosquito ride for all of you who weren't able to attend. You sure missed out on a memorable weekend. First of all we started the trip with a leaking coil in our keg cooler. Big bummer there! Then about half way to Waucoma, the bus stopped running. We messed around for several hours and it brought back some memories of another time we sat around in a ditch. Finally the man from California, Majerle, came and got us in Tom and Marsha's motor home, the silver bullet. Luckily we were able to make it to the bar before it closed. Tom was able to find someone to fix it also. Once again, the best drivers in the world came to our rescue. I don't know how we ever functioned without them. We had great weather on the ride and very cheap drinks. It was almost perfect and we even obtained another sponsor, Kuennens Tap in St. Lucas. Wish you all could have joined us.
Speaking of the bus, it should be ready for the big week with a little priming. We have all been looking for a weekend to get together and work on the bus and I have the solution. On the 17th of July, the week before RAGBRAI, there is the Pickle ride, which is put on by one of Klink's work buddies and is a ride around CR/Marion. Several of you have shown interest in coming, so I decided we could work on the bus that weekend. I will try to have it down here on Friday night, so we could do some work then, or we could do something on Sunday. Our house and yard are open if you need a place to stay, just let us know. Saturday is, of course the ride, so that shouldn't be interrupted unless it is early. Let me know if you will be around to help. The bus work will occur at my house, which is also the location that the bus will take off from on Saturday morning before RAGBRAI. Klink's place is going to be in transition to its new renters, Beaver and Bill. We won't be able to put anything in their house, so we will be leaving from Marion. From there we will be cruising up toward Waterloo, and therefore will not be going through Des Moines as we have in the past. I hope to hook up with the Red Eye's for the journey, but have yet to talk to Bart about the situation. We plan on leaving at 7:00am on Sat before RAGBRAI. Yes, that is 7:00AM Don't forget! I believe that we will still drink some beer the night before. I plan on inviting all of the neighbors here, so we shouldn't have any trouble with them if we are up past 11:00. If we have a lot of vehicles, we can take them to JB's for storage if they won't fit in the driveway.
I need to have the second installment for the dues. It will be another $50 which brings the total to $110 including your yearly dues. Please send that to me ASAP so that we can allocate the funds toward their proper areas, like my checking account. Kidding. If you aren't going the whole week, we will still need the $10 yearly fee and $15 per day. That can be mailed to Team Mosquito, 2970 Winston Circle, Marion, IA 52302. A map should be enclosed so that you all know how to get to my house for the two upcoming weekends. Things to bring on RAGBRAI are, money, bike lights, sunblock, and a great attitude. My phone # is 319-373-0514 if you need to call. Tattoos, stickers, shirts, beer and lots of fun are on their way, so be ready and we'll see you all soon.
Team Mosquito
Blaine McLaughlin
