For 34 years, the Des Moines Register (Iowa's largest daily newspaper) has sponsored RAGBRAI (Registers Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa). Starting on the west side of the state and ending seven days later one the east side of Iowa, this almost 500 mile ride is not for the weak. Averaging about 70 miles a day is a good ride - but doing it seven days in a row is the real challenge.
Over 10 years ago, a reporter with the St. Pete Times, Milo Geylin, told me about the ride as he was offloading his gear after the week's adventure. The details of over 10,000 riders (not racers) pedaling through the cornfields sounded like fun. Milo later went to the Wall Street Journal but has since left them for parts unknown.
Iowa is known for corn, hogs, and political caucuses. So almost every day we will have corn on the cob, bbq pork, and some presidential contender riding for an hour or two. Iowa should be known for the watermelons too. In the middle of the heat, the ice cold flavor is a treat.
This will be my third RAGBRAI ride. In middle America, people seem to lead much more simple lives than in Tampa. Rural living is a back to basics approach to life. The ride this year will have about 15,000 participants. They start and stop at the same location each day. Riders come from around the world and include riders of every age, size, and shape. A couple of riders will die along the way. The heat, the physical stress, and just the odds of 15,000 spending a week together.
The logistics of such a ride are part of what I enjoy watching the most. One of the towns we will be staying in has only 2,500 residents. For almost 24 hours, they town will grow almost 10 fold. That means feeding, showering, bathrooms, beer, and sleeping for a lot of people.
As in a past year, I will be riding with the Des Moines Cycling Club. They help make things easy. Flying into the center of the state, they provide us with a bus ride and trucks for gear to the starting point and will carry our tents and gear everyday for a week. They will also provide the base of comradrie for the week.
On my first ride in 2003, I was fortunate to meet another rider just as I was getting off the plane. I knew no one on the ride and no one in Iowa. John Huston was arriving from Charlotte, NC and saw my fumbling with bike and gear and helped me out. My $300 bike is transported in a cardboard box, his $1000+ bike is disassembled and transported in a series of crates that probably cost $300. We have become good friends, but god knows why. John is a VERY serious bike rider. He rides 100 miles in a day without any hesitation. By the time I reach the end spot for the day, he will have wandered the town, seen a movie (if available) or who knows what. John is there for the ride. I am there for the experience - farm stories, beer gardens, hog farms, wet t-shirt contests, and more.
My last ride was in 2004 at which time I met former Tour de France winner Greg Lemond. He has not had a lot of kind words for subsequent winner Lance Armstrong. This year, Lance has said he will be riding a few days on the trip. He also plans to meet with Iowans to encourage them to quiz presidential contenders about their commitment to cancer research funding. Maybe I will get a chance to meet him. John and his girlfriend from Canada were on that ride too.
RAGBRAI goes through various small towns that are eager to welcome us. For a brief few hours, a town of 100 people will have the chance to reap the benefits of our thousands of riders by selling gatorade, sandwiches, pies or more. In one town I bought $5 in drawing tickets to have a chance to win a beautiful homemade quilt. High School majorettes put on shows. A Goats and Floats display gave riders a chance to pet a goat and have a rootbeer float in the middle of a hot day. Bands play. One very small town was trying to raise funds for playground equipment and for firefighting equipment by selling egg and sausage biscuits, coffee, juice, and more. They raised almost $100,000 in less than 5 hours.
Each night will feature beer gardens, live music, church cookouts or pasta dinners, and in many cases - fireworks. A very big deal for towns with less than 10,000 residents.
RAGBRAI begins in Sergeant Bluff on July 23 and ends July 29 in Muscatine. Along the way, there are overnight stops in Ida Grove, Audubon, Waukee, Newton, Marengo and Coralville. I will be keeping you in touch with the ride and try to give you a little taste of middle America along the way.
I have been riding as often as possible to get ready for the ride. Knowing that for a week you are physically pushing yourself to the max is pretty challenging. The towns are small and the jamming of people makes for some tough arrangements, but we will be trying to give you a look at this event as best we can. Maybe next year you will come with us.
Watch for pictures to be posted and a continued report from the road here at this blog.
Get more info about RAGBRAI here. http://www.ragbrai.org
3 comments:
Your are Nice. And so is your site! Maybe you need some more pictures. Will return in the near future.
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