Almost a week has gone by now since I finished the ride.  I have had some time to reflect, opportunities to share my stories with friends, and lots of thoughts about the week.  

I set out with the goal of completing RAGBRAI on my longboard.  I ended up riding five out of the seven days.  It lingers in my head that I didn't complete the whole ride, but I do have one redeeming factor.  My total mileage for the week was over 320 miles.  The state of Iowa is 310 miles across at its widest points.  So, I don't feel that I am taking too much liberty to say that while I didn't complete all of RAGBRAI, I DID complete enough miles to cross the state of Iowa in a week.  This, along with the knowledge of the effort I had put in to do that many miles, leaves me with a tremendous feeling of accomplishment.  

Aside from general questions about the ride, one of the big questions that has loomed over me this week is "Are you going to try again?".  This is a hard question to answer while my muscles and injuries are still recovering, and the hours I spent questioning my motivations while on the ride are still fresh in my mind.  When I really dig down and think about it, the only answer I can come up with is yes.  I am not one to be beaten when I set my mind to a goal.  The only thing I can say for sure is that I don't think it will be next year.  While on the ride this week I was reminded just how much fun RAGBRAI can be, and I felt that I missed out on a lot it because of being on a board.  I'd like to go enjoy the ride on a bicycle again, but this certainly doesn't rule out giving it another try on a longboard in future years.  With what I learned from my experience, I feel another attempt on a longboard could definitely prove successful. 

I have also not lost sight of my other goal, to raise $1000 for The Water Project.  My next deposit will include money collected during the ride, and will take the total raised to over $400.  I am currently pondering over ideas for future fundraising events to help reach the goal.  If anyone has some ideas toss them my way! 

I have to give an enormous thanks to those who helped me through this week.  My girlfriend Anna for believing in me, and giving me the courage to keep at it even when it hurt.  My mom Kim for bandaging my wounds, early morning rides to the route, and for being the little voice in the back of my head that said, "Maybe you should take this hill a little slower so you don't kill yourself before you get to the end."  And the biggest thanks of all has to go to my sister Chelsie.  Without her help there is no way that I would have accomplished what I did this week.  It meant so much to me that she was willing to drop everything to come to my rescue when I needed her, as well as wake up morning after morning to groggily drive me to the start again.  Her confidence in my abilities as well as my stubbornness helped give me the motivation I needed each day to lace up my shoes and get back on the road.  Thank you SO MUCH!
All in all it has been an amazing experience.  I wouldn't trade my week on RAGBRAI for anything.  If I can depart any wisdom it would be this...  There is no better feeling than setting a goal, and then doing everything you can to achieve it.  

With RAGBRAI behind me, and a whole world of challenges ahead of me, I stand confident and can only ask...

What's next?