Slip-n-slide in Kingsley

RAGBRAI riders enjoy a large homemade water slide Sunday afternoon at the Mary Weinreich farm just east of Kingsley. Her son and RAGBRAI rider Dan Weinreich setup the large tarp and local kids helped keep it wet and sold cookies to raise money for a Kingsley teen center. (Rodney White/The Des Moines Register)

The slip-n-slide in front of Mary Weinreich’s house just east of Kingsley was perfect except for one small detail: It spit sliders out right onto the RAGBRAI route.

Scores of riders gave it a go – on their rear ends, standing up or Superman style – and tried to stop before they slid out on the road. Some were more successful than others, according to Weinreich’s daughter, Dawn Plendl, who watched the stunt show from a lawn chair nearby.

“It’s getting a little wilder now,” she said. “I can tell some people have had a few beers.”

Collin Fett, 18, and his friend Chad Rutledge, 17, both of Algona, slid down several times before sprinting up the hill for another go. They tried to choreograph a few stunts but mostly opted for freestyle – with yelling.

“You can’t really have a plan,” Rutledge said. “You have to just wing it.”

Fett responded philosophically.

“I think the slip-in-slide is a metaphor for life.”

That’s Fett on the left, with Rutledge on the right:

— Michael Morain

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