Cheryl's BIX Survival Story. With Heroic Pins and Medals!

Well, we managed to survive the BIX 7 again.   The heat... about the same as 2015.  80 degrees at the start.   The course?   Same as last time... Uphill...BOTH ways!  The results:  Cheryl placed third in her age group.  That is about the only official results we know so far.  She also took three minutes and six seconds off her previous BIX 7 time.

Cheryl in Mid Frame.

I do know that I was wrong about the number of runners.... Not 10,000.    More like 20,000!   Granted, a little over half of them ran the Quik BIX for only 2 miles.  With a crowd like that,  it was a challenge to find Cheryl in the mix.  But after carefully combing all of the "random crowd shots"  ( 721 to be exact!)  We found her!    Wouldn't you know she is right in the middle of a shot... and I never saw it.   I'm just happy I captured her at the start.

Elites wearing "The Shoes" 

There were lots of Elites there from all over.   And I have never seen so many of the Zoom Vapor Fly shoes all in one place at the same time.   Most of the Kenyans/Ethiopians had them.  A few have the newest ones!  ( They are green with a black swoosh)  There were also relay teams from Michigan and all over other parts of the world.  Top three "teams" get prize money.  I was pretty sure many of the Elites were linked up on a team effort as well.

Bathroom Visits..

Other than that,   the race was very similar to the race 4 years ago.  Then again, why would it change?   It has been the same for 45 years!  I guess this will be the last year the race director will be doing it... handing the torch to some other diplomat of running for the future.   Perhaps things will change under new management, but then again,  why mess with tradition?

Cheryl prepares to enter the gate.

20,000 people! Down there....

The race started with Patriotic songs sung badly by people who think they can sing well.   It is not just my opinion...  Cheryl agrees!   I know it takes a lot of guts to sing in front of 20,000 strangers...  But the BIX is all about Jazz Music and other genres.   You would think they could find a good singer for the National Anthem and that Lee Greenwood song.

Biker Parade.

Perhaps it is a tradition of races where they pluck out a random voice from the crowd.... or put an ad on Craig's List for "Motivated Vocalists...NO experience required."   I will never forget Boston.   That guy killed all of my favorite Armed Forces Songs.   ( Killed them!)


One thing that was missing was the Fly by from the planes.   Maybe the guy sang the song so badly that the planes missed their queue.  Or they simply were too expensive..  Or the Blue Angels were not in town this weekend.   However,  the Biker's DID show up and rode their Harley's down ( I mean... Up!)  the Brady Street Hill.  Nothing says America like a Harley.   ( or so all of the literature tells me.)

My Spectator Spot.

ESPN? Maybe...

Soon after that,  the gun went off and the race was on.   I was positioned in front of the News Station.   They looked like they had a small group of ESPN folks there doing the announcing.  I did not recognize any of them...Then again, I don't watch ESPN.

Dancing Spine. 

It took about 15 minutes for the runners to flood past.   By the time the last runner/walker was past me,  the Elites had already finished over half of the race.  I watched out for the Jane Mansfields and Dancing Spine. 

Heading for the free Beer...

Three Elvises...

There were plenty of other oddities, but I did not capture many of them, and the pictures really did not turn out very well.   I did manage to capture the Three Elvises.   They were almost to my position when they became distracted by the free college beer.  I did not wait to see if they would return to the race.

Cheryl comes in for the Finish. 

She waves. 

As Cheryl came down the hill,  it looks deceiving.    She is moving pretty fast, but the steep grade of the hill is not as apparent as it was for the people watching from it.   She thinks she may have lost another toe nail after slipping in her shoes with each step of the long hill.  I have found that running down hill seems almost more taxing than running up the things.   You constantly have to brake all the way down or risk losing control.  Lots of Wear and Tear on your knees and ankles. 

Looks easy, but it is rather steep. 

The main take away from this event was that this was the first year they offered a Medal to the finishers.   ( Another tradition that may stick for next year...) Cheryl did not stay for the Beer, Chick-Fil-et, or Wal-Mart Snacks.  She just grabbed a Popsicle and headed out to find me.  

45 years of Tradition... Broken!

Train crosses over the race. 

 She did not want any ot the offerings, so we instead went biking along the Mississippi again.  Then capped things off with Tee's in Muscatine.  Since the crowd was HUGE...  There was a Festival at the same time... AND there was a HUGE farmer's Market in the Bandit's Parking lot....  Davenport was much too busy for us to want to hang around long.   We decided running the race,  getting the medal, and biking along the river would be a "full enough" day for us. 

I get the Shirt...

Cheryl gets her Medal.

  Besides,  we have been up since 4 A.M. this morning.   What better way to spend the remainder of the day than at home resting and recovering.  Plus,  we have the RAGBRAI beer from Big Grove Brewing.   No need to wait around for a free one.

Building a bridge in Betendorf.

Looks like they are making Progress

Biking with the train.

So that is all for now.  Time to rest and crack open that refreshing beverage.  Both of us are bound to sleep better tonight than we did last night.  Plus,  the BIX is over.   Cheryl Survived/conquered it, and will most likely not do it again.  ( Unless there is another finisher's medal next year...Just sayin'.)  Hope everyone is having a fun filled and relaxing weekend so far. Thanks for stopping in. 

'Twas The Night Before The BIX 7....

Greetings from Davenport... or Iowa...  Or  really "home" at the moment.   Tomorrow is the Bix 7.   A Very Hot;  Very Large;  Very popular race for Celebrities and Locals alike.     Cheryl ran this several years ago and almost died.   She will see if she can actually accomplish it this year around.

As mentioned before,  Bix is always HOT!  Middle of summer and they wait until the Iowa Death sun is right above you before yelling," GO!"   It's a great time.  Filled with marching spines,  Rolling Harley Davison Parades, and three to five Elvises.   Oh,  And about 10,000 people!

Quik Bix Turn around...  Wimpy!

Most of them will only run the "quick Bix, though.  A 2 mile wimpy race for old people, children, lazy people, and folks sobering up after last night's Binge Drinking... (Basically,  people more like Me and less like Cheryl.) Seriously,  People sign up for this race still hung over from the night before.... ( Not Me!  Are you kidding?    I was referring to myself as the "old, lazy, childish people...Not the Alcoholics!)

The EXPO was pretty cool.  Seems the EXPOs were so much larger that first year.   But there were still plenty of vendors there trying to get exposure.


We happened on the Des Moines Marathon and got a look at the Finisher's medal they just unveiled.





 Also, we got to see the I 35 Challenge.   Two Half Marathons run in two days, back to back,  in two different locations. (Kansas City and Des Moines)   Cheryl wants to see if she is up to the Challenge...

I 35 Challenge. 

With our BIB and maps in hand,  we headed out for the festival outside.   Cheryl said it looked like the Iowa State Fair..without all the rides and as many people. 



Most of the food that was at the fair was also there.   Good to know if I get hungry watching all those people run up that hill.

Following that, we went out for a bike ride around the flooded areas of the old Bike Trail.   I should mention that we have not been to Davenport for quite some time.  And we have not been there since this springs flood.  Looks like the Mighty Mississippi has claimed another Human modification of Nature..  Namely:  The Credit Island Park.




The road was closed off to cars and pedestrians.   But we were on our bikes, so it was ok for us.  ( Rules don't apply to bike riders...)

The road was a total wash out.   You could see where it looked like the filled in serious holes with gravel.   There were many trees and logs scattered all around the park.

Still pretty flooded. 

Like riding in the everglades. 

  Several of the park benches, facilities and pavilions were still boarded up and had water lines on the siding.    Even as far north as the Bandit's Baseball Field, the City workers were taking down dead trees and repairing the sidewalk and parking lot.

End of the Line....

Picnic Tables stacked up. 

It was a nice bike ride though.  No cars or walkers to avoid.  Not even any other bikers!   We pretty much had the entire 7 mile loop to ourselves.  I wonder how long it will take to get everything back in order.   Personally, I think they should close the road, make it a bike trail, and just let nature have it back.  Save the picnic tables in a few locations and the Pavilions...  the rest,  just give it over as a walking/bike path.   The cars were always an annoyance anyway and never really used it.

Running in Muscatine. 

Running in Trueblood.

Other than that,  Cheryl also ran 7 miles this morning, and has been biking and running in Trueblood and Kewash.  We have been rather busy trying to get back in shape.  Hopefully, the BIX will be survivable and we can take our bikes to explore the other side of the river tomorrow afterward.  I'm sure that will be undamaged by the river since most of it is behind the dike.

Biking in Kewash. 

Running in Muscatine. 

So that is all for now.  Hopefully I will have some good pictures and stories about Cheryl's Second and perhaps last BIX.  At least she will get a Medal this time. ( 45 year celebration...  did I not mention that?  Opps.) I'm looking forward to the after party.  Not that I'm invited....  that is only for runners and BIX does not encourage, cater, or support the Spectators.   So I'm looking forward to Tee's in Muscatine.   I'll pass on the $12 dollar Turkey Drumstick this time...  See ya then!