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Midwest Roadtripping/ Questionable Swimming

July 22, 2019 by Mr. 1500 Days 9 Comments

We’re currently on a road trip that will span almost a month. When this goes live, I’ll be on a bike, riding the farm roads of Iowa. However, the trip started in Colorado...

First, we made a stop at Camp FI Rocky Mountain:

The always excellent Anthony Ongaro from Break The Twitch

Then we went to Minnesota. I’m a Midwesterner at heart and always love my trips back to the region.

Minneapolis Institute Of Art
?????
I met Cubert from Abandoned Cubicle at a FIRE meetup.

After Minneapolis, we drove down the Great River Road which is incredibly beautiful:

Hey kids, what do want for lunch?

When you’re with dad, sometimes lunch is unconventional.

Madison, perhaps my favorite city in the world, was our next stop:

State Street
Deep-fried cheese curds (When in Rome…)
Olbrich

Next, the girls went to stay with their aunt while Mrs. 1500 and I went to see Miss Mazuma and her caboose. It was crazy hot, so I decided to jump in the pool, even though I was unprepared for a swim.

When @Mrs1500 & @retirein1500 come to visit… Choo choo!! ?#NoSuitNoProblem pic.twitter.com/nY0ImuUuP6

— Miss Mazuma (@MissMazuma) July 15, 2019

Then, on to Chicago!

And now, we’re on a bike ride across Iowa called RAGBRAI. When I first heard of this ride almost 2 decades ago, my response was something like this:

Wait. You want to ride a bicycle through corn and hog farms at the end of July? People pay to do this? Ummmmm, NO!

It turns out that the ride is a lot of fun. This will be RAGBRAI #7 for us!

And this year, a group of FIRE folks is going including the Waffles, Big Ox Little Bird, Craig Curelop, and Katie of PopUp Business School. If you find yourself in Iowa this week, stop by and say “Hi!”

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Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: madison, Minnesota, RAGBRAI, roadtrip

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dave @ Accidental FIRE says

    July 22, 2019 at 4:36 am

    I’ve always wanted to do RAGBRAI, what a party. I’d do it while towing a grill of course. I suspect you might be towing a kegerator 🙂
    Dave @ Accidental FIRE recently posted…What My Parents Never Told Me About ChoresMy Profile

    Reply
  2. Joe says

    July 22, 2019 at 9:54 am

    Cool, looks like a Thai temple.
    No swimming shorts? Yikes! I’d feel so unsecured…

    Reply
  3. Cathleen Cooks Stuff says

    July 22, 2019 at 11:08 am

    This is what not HAVING to work looks like- epic roadtrips. We’ve got a bike ride that’s probably a bit more picturesque than going through corn fields- it’s around the island- though I’m pretty sure I’d be asked to leave, since I’ve only got an electric bike, and that might be considered “cheating”. I also got a clamp attachment to hold an umbrella onto the bike when I was in Japan…it’s….somewhere….They have the coolest bike accessories (full canopy covering! double wide back seats! custom leather saddles and matching handle bar covers)- you get the idea.

    Reply
  4. Ashley W says

    July 22, 2019 at 12:46 pm

    Sorry we missed you in Madison! Next time let us know and we can schedule a Choose FI meet up at the UW Memorial Union. They next one is on July 30 if you happen to be passing thru again.

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      July 27, 2019 at 7:16 pm

      Doh, I won’t be there on the 30th, but will reach out next time I’m in town. Thank you!

      Reply
  5. Jamie V says

    July 23, 2019 at 6:56 am

    Sorry to have missed you in Madison! Next time!

    My cousin once did a bike ride through a state with a group, I cannot remember which state, but she loved it! I thought it sounded pretty neat. I’d like to do that some time.

    Safe travels!

    Reply
  6. Physician on FIRE says

    July 24, 2019 at 4:47 pm

    What a trip!

    Glad you found a cool pool to relax in after getting a peek at that hot caboose.

    Have a great ride and I’ll see you at another conference soon.

    Cheers!
    -PoF

    Reply
  7. B.C. Kowalski says

    July 25, 2019 at 2:28 pm

    Oh nice – I’m about two hours north of Madison and I love taking little day trips down there. Last time I ventured down there I came across a random marching band winding its way through City Hall, and about 100 bikers dressed as Santa. It’s a place that can be really fun without spending a ton of money!
    B.C. Kowalski recently posted…FrugalWheels versus the Bitcoin investment debateMy Profile

    Reply
  8. Maria says

    August 12, 2019 at 11:52 pm

    That was an incredible trip, Minneapolis looks wonderful, would love to go on a similar trip with my dad. it’s been 7 years since we been on a trip

    Reply

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My goal was to build a portfolio of $1,000,000 by February of 2017; 1500 days from the birth of this blog (January 1, 2013). And hey look, I’ve since retired!

Investments only (primary home excluded)
1/1/13 (The Start): $586,043
1/1/14 (1 Yr Later): $869,635
1/1/15 (2 Yrs Later): $987,351
1/1/16 (3 Yrs Later): $1,057,961
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1/1/21 (8 Yrs Later): $3,379,746**
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1/1/23 (10 Yrs Later): $3,112,821

2023: Investments only
1/1: $3,112,821
2/1: $3,582,368
3/1: $3,716,852
4/1: $3,861,599

Gains: $748,778

Overall
Gains since 1/1/2013: $3,275,556
Net worth***: $4,091,599

* The big jump between 2019 and 2020 was partly because we bought another home, but kept the previous (much more expensive) one as a rental. We have since sold it.

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