RAGBRAI Wrap Up

RAGBRAI XXXIX has come to a close, and we are happy to be back in our home in Ames with no serious injuries and a lot of good memories. Among other things, we are especially happy about the following aspects of being home:

• Air conditioning
• Showers with reliable temperature adjustment
• Knowing that the location of the bathroom has not changed from the previous day when nature calls in the middle of the night

Our RAGBRAI experience this year was improved over last year (our first RAGBRAI), mainly due to upgrades we made to our hybrid bicycles that allowed us to ride 60-70 miles a day, for multiple days on end, faster and more comfortably than last year. Clipless pedals (which despite the name, actually involve clipping your shoes directly to the pedals) improved our pedaling efficiency and especially helped us get up the many rolling hills that Iowa has in abundance. New grips for our handlebars included small "fins" to act as platforms for our hands, which helped spread out the pressure on our palms and reduce the bend at our wrists, along with bar ends that provided an alternate hand position, helped us avoid the numbing tingly sensations that stuck around for months after last year's ride.

The Bike World charter was great again. The group of people who use their charter service come into Des Moines and Ames from all over the country, and they're generally an easy-going group of people who enjoy cycling through the Iowa rural areas and small towns, meeting people, and hanging out under the shade tent after a day's ride. There are any number of ways to do RAGBRAI (mainly varying by the amount of alcohol one consumes), but this group's method fits our style pretty well.

We'll likely do RAGBRAI again sometime in the future. Having done it two years in a row on hybrid bikes, the main change we'd like to make is switching to a tandem road bike. While we got it done with our current bikes, and improved the experience with upgrades, it was still difficult not to be jealous when we were pushing to hit 10 MPH going up a hill and getting passed by someone of similar physical stature going by on a road bike at 15. A tandem road bike could probably hit something upwards of 18. While RAGBRAI is most definitely not a race, moving faster would be nice in that we would have more time to spend in the various towns, especially the overnight towns, exploring the parks, restaurants, shopping, and other unique things each community had to offer. Getting through the hot afternoons faster would be great as well!

Most of all, it'd be nice to have more time to focus on the best part about RAGBRAI: meeting new people from all over the United States (and even other parts of the world). Most of our memories from this year's ride involve interactions we had with others, however brief, like the conversation we had with two women sitting across from us at a pancake breakfast in Ladora who were wearing plastic moldings of rear ends outside their bike shorts, who turned out to be on the same team as one of Amy's former coworkers. Or the debate while standing in line at the fresh limeade stand on a county highway outside Grinnell about how many hills were left, based on a sign indicating "only three hills to go!" that we had all ridden past earlier, and whether the rising ground we could see ahead of us was actually a hill, or just an "incline." Or the short conversation with the retired woman from Team Loon at the Casey's General Store in Boone who rides with the Team Loon tradition of a loon bird head sticking out the top of her helmet, but with a cowboy hat adorning it to show that she is from Texas, not Team Loon's home base of Minnesota. We had heard about her from the women with the rear end enhancements at the pancake breakfast, and as she told us herself, she's infamous. There was also the random encounter at another Casey's General Store (maybe we could get a sponsorship from Casey's!) with a gentleman and his son who sat across from us in a booth while we all took an air conditioned break that turned out to be from my hometown, and involved in the school music foundation there which held its first fundraiser event this past spring. I played trombone in the alumni jazz band at the event, and he was helped out in the trumpet section.

I came across a quote at some point early this past week, probably in the Des Moines Register, that sums it all up pretty well. It went something like this:

RAGBRAI isn't really about biking; it's about meeting people who happen to ride bikes.

End of the Ride

We made it to the end of the ride in Davenport, and we even had enough time to spare for a bite to eat at Maid-Rite around the block from where the Bike World charter was loading.

Next up: snooze time on the bus ride home.

Smooth Start to Last Day

With our charter bus leaving Davenport at 2pm, and 65 miles to travel from Coralville, we knew a good start for today's ride was important. So far so good, as we have covered half the distance by 8:40am, exactly 3 hours after leaving camp. We decided to stop in Moscow and reward ourselves with smoothies from Smoothie Revolution.

The End Draws Near

We survived some nasty hills at the end of today's 77 mile ride, and now it's time for Bike World's end-of-week coordination meeting and root beer floats. One day to go...

Amy informed me that I am lucky because she "hasn't threatened to kill me yet this week."

Looks like we're doing better than last year!

You Know You're in Iowa When...

The gas station in Oxford has complimentary issues of Tractor House magazine available for patrons.

Audio Adrenaline

I am happy to report that both of my speakers are in working order after one tried to abandon ship yesterday. As you can see it is now being forcibly restrained with the power of duct tape.

Amy requested music by The Avett Brothers, and after we were going out of Ladora I got a nice compliment from a passing rider: "best music I've heard all day!"        

Amy at the Creek

While riding down a very steep hill near the end of today's ride, I heard a thud, and looking back saw that one of the speakers I had rigged up on my trunk bag had fallen off. This would be bad enough under normal conditions, but it was worse due to the hazard my speaker created for bikers cruising down the hill at 30+ mph. I quickly pulled off, jogged back up he hill 20 yards, and carefully retrieved my speaker while trying to avoid becoming an even greater obstacle.

Once this mission was complete I proceeded down to the bottom of the hill and met up with Amy at this location on a bridge looking out over Rock Creek State Park.

Roadside Strudl

I really don't know if there is any food you can't find on RAGBRAI. This afternoon we stopped between hills for some Dutch pastries.

Great Gusto

We had some awesome pizza from Gusto Pizza at the 80/35 music festival in Des Moines a few weeks ago, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity when I saw them on today's ride.

7am Malt!

Thank you Weirick Drug in Colfax.

Laundry

Since most RAGBRAI lodging is in the form of camping, one has to find creative ways to dry biking clothes after rinsing them down in the shower. Here is one method I spotted in our campground earlier today.

RAGBRAI Food Review

Just had the best meal on RAGBRAI so far (discounting our Hickory Park stop in Ames last night) thanks to Pronto, based out of Des Moines. Awesome burrito bowl with pulled pork. We'll definitely be looking for them tomorrow in Grinnell!

Home for a Night

Knowing that tonight's overnight town, Boone, was just a short drive from Ames, we made arrangements with Amy's parents to get a ride from Boone to our home in Ames for some quality showering, bedding, air conditioning, and a visit to the greatest eatery known to man, which is, of course, Hickory Park.

Tomorrow we'll ride back onto the route south of Ames where it  turns toward Slater.

Padding

Long-distance cyclists generally wear special shorts with extra padding to help ease the discomfort of sitting on a bicycle seat all day. These two ladies have added onto this strategy with some padding of their own!

Real Bikers

We saw this message on a marquee in one of the pass through towns today. Good to see that, for one week out of the year at least, we are considered "real bikers."

Great Combination

Giant fans and dessert. Way to go, Paton, IA!

Off to a Great Start

We got up at 5am, left camp at 6am, and made it to Lanesboro, the second pass-through town, by 7:15am. With just over a quarter of the day's ride over, it's a great time to stop for pancakes!

Trying a Different Approach

After our experience yesterday on RAGBRAI, we decided that some drastic measures were in order for today, as the amount of total climb increases from 4,298 feet to 4,719 feet and the heat forecast was showing no signs of letting up. While Alfredo is zipping from town to town at warp speed on his classic early 90's era Trek road bike, we're still working with our hybrid bike technology, and most important of all we need to get the chain on Amy's bike fixed or replaced.

Since we knew today wouldn't be a good riding day for these various reasons, we planned ahead while hanging out with Team Daydrinker yesterday (they are true to their name, by the way) to work out a solution. Fortunately we live in a capitalistic society, and if there is a need (sagging for an entire day of RAGBRAI), someone will find a way to make money while providing a valuable service. A group by the name of Pork Belly Ventures operates a RAGBRAI charter service, and they also offer an all-day sag service from one overnight town to the next on a first-come first-served basis for 25 bucks. They take reservations the day before, and we were able to arrange for a ride all the way from Atlantic to Carroll.

At 6am this morning we made our way from the Bikeworld campsite 10 blocks down the street to Pork Belly Ventures and had a nice, quiet, AIR CONDITIONED ride to Carroll. Pictured below is Amy in front of the semi truck trailer that carried our bikes, waiting for it to be unloaded in Carroll.

We then made our way into town, stopped by to ask some locals setting up a snack stand where we could get indoor breakfast (I was tempted for a moment to answer affirmatively when they asked if we had biked all the way from Atlantic at 9am, but knew I wouldn't keep a straight face), and then went a few more blocks to HyVee based on their advice.

And so here I am, polishing off a tasty Hy Five breakfast platter. Hey, this RAGBRAI stuff ain't so bad when you don't have to ride your bike!

Soon we'll find one of the bike repair shops to get Amy's bike fixed up, then rest and reset for tomorrow, when we only have 1,787 feet of climb and hopefully slightly cooler temperatures on our way to Boone (and real showers and a bed at our house in Ames, thanks to Amy's parents for the lift the extra 10 miles).

Now, to try and figure out why I didn't go looking for a tandem road bike after last year's RAGBRAI...

An Adventurous Start

Some might not use the word "adventurous" to describe our first day on RAGBRAI (Amy, for example), but I think it will be looked upon as a favorable adjective in 10 years or so.

We made it through the first 20 miles on our trusty hybrids, which we upgraded from last year with better pedals and grips, but it wasn't quite enough to deal with hills that were very hilly, heat that was very hot, and humidity that was like a frickin' sauna!

After taking a lunch break at Mr. Porkchop a few miles before the town of Carson, we attempted to get going again when the chain on Amy's bike got wedged in a place on the rear wheel where chains are not accustomed to finding themselves. In my effort to free it I managed to cause a link to break apart, and ended up dropping the chain on the ground, free of being shackled to the bicycle gear system.

At this point it was fairly clear that fate was sending us a message. We got a ride into Carson from the nice owners of the farm where Mr. Porkchop was set up, and then began looking around for a RAGBRAI team with a bus who might be willing to take a few hitchhikers on to Atlantic, the overnight town where our tents and luggage were waiting for us.

As we surveyed the options, I saw one team bus close by with a few guys outside preparing to do something involving a funnel and beer. Thinking this might not quite be our crowd, we turned around, saw a bright yellow bus exuding sunshiny happiness, and headed that way instead.

We were in luck, as Amber and her fellow Team Daydrinker crew had room. We chipped in some gas money and obliged when they told us to pull up some chairs and enjoy a few drinks in the shade. Things were looking up as we knew we had a ride to Atlantic and some nice people to take us there.

Little did we know we wouldn't exactly be taking a direct route, but it was all part of the adventure. After riding the team bus to Lewis to wait for some of their team members to get off the ride for the day, there were two that got stranded a few miles out due to mechanical problems. It took some time and driving on gravel roads, and an accidental detour to a historical Underground Railroad house, but we eventually found them, then made our way the last 10 miles to Atlantic.

Once we got into town, Amy and I kept an eye out for our campsite with the Bikeworld charter while Team Daydrinker was trying to find the host family residence where they would be camping out. As luck had it, they drove right up to our campsite during this process. We stopped, thanked them for their hospitality, removed the fairly large tree branch that had somehow become attached to the rear of the bus (tall buses with bike racks on top don't mix well with low hanging tree limbs), unloaded our bikes, and made our way to camp around 8:30pm.

After taking the best showers we have ever experienced at the local YMCA, we got in a late night meal at Burger King with Alfredo and then called it a night. Hopefully today was the most "adventurous" day we'll have this week.

Sustenance

Alfredo looks right at home ordering a round of beers on his first RAGBRAI at the Keg Creek brewpub's grand opening in Glenwood. As another patron's shirt said, "Beer is Food."

RAGBRAI Tradition 263

As this is the beginning of our second RAGBRAI we can now start listing the many traditions we have established over the past 1.1 rides. First up: Saturday morning breakfast at McDonald's.