Three days, 198 Miles
Today we road 60 miles from Algona to Clear Lake, Iowa. While this was shorter than the 68 and 79 miles of the previous two days, we had a headwind coming right at us for about half of the ride, which was very difficult! We left at 6:00 a.m. and pulled into Clear Lake at around noon. I’m really glad we got here early as it is now about 100 degrees here in Clear Lake. Each day we’ve ridden hard, had some great food along the route, and gotten into the overnight town hot and tired. But the towns have all been very, very friendly and opened high school showers or public pools for the riders to...
Read MoreTeam B.O.B. Departs!
(L to R): Robert Hellman, III, Bob Hellman, Jr., Michael Mahon & Mike Mahon. (Not Pictured: Richard Wojan) Team B.O.B. departed from Sioux City yesterday. Check back in for more Team B.O.B. RAGBRAI...
Read MoreHeading to the RAGBRAI Expo
We flew into Sioux City last night and grabbed a pizza at the local pizza shop which was, fantastic! Great thin crust with all the toppings. Uncle Mike and Cousin Michael pulled the 30’ RV in at about 2:00 a.m., so the team is coming together! We spent the morning getting equipment for the RV (including those all-important water nerf guns). We are excited for the bike ride to begin. It is amazing how many donations and pledges have come in so far and we really thank all of our donors for helping both support Build Our Ballpark and put their faith in our efforts. Ironically there is a youth...
Read MoreAnatomy of an Autograph
This is the third post in the series “The Art of the Autograph.” I’m writing this post by leaning heavily on my graphic design experience, knowledge of the players and their backgrounds, and vivid imagination to make these observations about autographs. No empirical research, no in-depth study of Graphology, no founding in fact … just personal opinions. With an apology to Otto Preminger for taking liberties with his 1959 movie title: “Anatomy of a Murder.” Several years ago I began to notice the difference between the beautiful and carefully written signatures of yesteryear’s players and the...
Read MoreTales of a Misspent Youth
This is the second post in the series “The Art of the Autograph.” I am a kid again when asking for an autograph from anyone wearing a Major League uniform – from the stars to the youngster just brought up from the Minors for a “cup of coffee.” For a half century I’ve been a collector. I’ve watched promising rookies develop into stars, and I’ve watched them retire – some gracefully, some not. But I have their autographs as a part of their history and mine. The collection officially started in 1962 when I met the “Yankee Clipper,” Joe...
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