Your first question (as was mine at one time!) may well be what is a RAGBRAI? RAGBRAI simply stands for the Registers Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, but it means a bicycling event like none other! The event is sponsored in a large part by the Des Moines Register newspaper. It began simply enough as a way for two journalists to ride across Iowa, and get their employer to foot the bill! The first ride consisted of about 120 riders. Due to the number of requests received, they decided to do it a second time, and called that ride SAGBRAI (Second Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.) This ride grew to over 2,000 riders! Again, more requests, so a third ride, this time offically called RAGBRAI, was planned. The ride continued to grow, with this ride being the 29th, and now typically there are 10,000 (or more!) bikes involved!

Your next question may be who am I, and how did I get involved in RAGBRAI? Well, a lady at work one day joked that I should ride a bike to work to help lose weight and get into shape. This actually sounded like a pretty good idea to me, so I got in touch with Patty Evans of Cycle Sports in North Platte Nebraska. She advised me that she had a good starter bike (and it was in my price range!) so on March 31st, I travelled to North Platte, and laid my eyes on a somewhat faded Fuji Sagres. After Patty adjusted the bike to fit me, I rode it for about 2 blocks, and I was hooked! The next day, I decided to try to ride half way to work, about 3 1/2 miles, and home. I made it the first 3 1/2 miles, and stopped for a quick break and a drink of water. Then, I turned and headed home. One of the local road warriors happened to ride by, and he was kind enough to slow down and chat with me. It wasn't much of a chat...I was breathing so hard that I could barely talk! We finally parted company, and I rode on to the house. Fortunately, when I stopped at home, I was on the front lawn, as my legs were so weak that they would not hold me up and I fell down! Well, a few more rides, and I was ready to join the ranks of the bicycle commuter. The more I rode, the more fun I had, so next I decided that I wanted a road bike. Another call to Patty, and once again, she not only had a used bike, but it fit me and my limited budget! So, on May, 19th, I picked up my second Fuji, an 11 year old Roubaix. Then I really started having fun! From time to time, I would talk to Patty, and she told me that I should think about going to RAGBRAI She gave me the URL for RAGBRAI and I started reading. I read all of the official information, and all of the FAQs. I followed links to other sites, and the more I read, the more this sounded like something a new rider like me could handle. So, I sent in my fees for two days of riding, and started making plans for this camping event. Except for getting my vehicle moved to where I would end up, I had about everything planned by the time the packet of information arrived from the RAGBRAI office. I was so excited, the very first thing I did was call Patty! She was surprised, since we hadn't talked since she first told me about RAGBRAI! She invited me to join the Cycle Sports team for the ride! This really helped make this trip even more fun for me. And as Patty had an extra driver lined up, it even solved the problem of moving my van!

This is The Team! Not shown are Patty and Sue, who were taking the pictures.

Some of the Team members could only ride for a day, or two, or three, while the rest would stay for the entire event. In order to get vehicles where they needed to be, my adventure started by driving to Atlantic to pick up Tim and Steve, who were only riding for the first three days. I arrived at the meeting place, and got my first taste of Iowa hospitality. I did not want to intrude on the nice lady who greeted me at the door, , but just told her who I was and why I was there. I advised her that I wanted to straighten up my van, so I would just hang around outside. To my amazement, she came outside, and after looking around, insisted that I drive my van across her front yard so I could park it under a shade tree so I would not get too hot! She then invited me to come into the house when I was done. After I was satisfied with my labors, I went into the house, and enjoyed some water and very nice conversation. Pretty soon, Tim and Steve showed up. By this time, the beverage of refreshment had changed from water to a light beer! When that was done, it was time to load up the van, and head for the next stop, Denison. There we picked up Carlos and Mason who were only going to ride for a day and were leaving their vehicle, and then it was on to Sioux City.

When we arrived at Sioux City, we used little radios to contact the Cycle Sports Command Center (well, it was just Patty, but I thought this sounded better!) We were guided to where the official campsite was, near the highway. After setting up camp, a bunch of us piled aboard the golf cart and Cushmann 3-wheeler and headed for the center of town. There, we had a good time checking out the vendors who were there, and then the live entertainment. Then, just as the entertainment was ending, we were treated to an impressive fireworks display! After this was over, we all returned to the camping area.

After our return, Patty wanted to make some final adjustments to my trusty Roubaix, so we put it up on the stand, and it got a final going over before the big day! We then all turned in for the night, and even though I was excited, I got a good night's rest.

Early the next morning, we were up and at 'em getting things packed up and ready to go. Patty had coffee for everyone, and it didn't take us long to have everything squared away. A quick stop to get the team picture, and we were off! Our group easily fell into the steady stream of riders, and as we rode along, the citizens of Sioux City lined the streets. Every intersection we rode through had a Peace Officer from one agency or another, and we rode all the way through this City without ever having to stop! People were waving at us, and cheering, the motorist waved, and it was just like riding in a parade. Little did I realize that this would be the way it would be for the entire two days that I rode!

When we left Sioux City, George had told us that we would ride for 18.5 miles before we stopped for breakfast. At exactly that milage, I found that I was at a farm house, and there were a lot of bikes in the yard, so I figured that I had arrived. Riding into the yard, I found that the farmer had emptied out his machine shed, and had set up tables and a serving line. For $6.00, you could have all you wanted to eat. Eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, sweet rolls, orange juice, champagne, water, milk and more!

If you like to ride hills, then the first day of this event was for you! I rode at my own pace, which really made it a lot of fun for me. Although I am just a begining rider, I felt right at home on this ride. There were riders of every skill level, and bikes of every description! I saw a mountain bike with a 30 gallon oil drum mounted on it and made into a barbequer! I passed Cannondales, Treks, Specialized, Giants, road bikes, cross trainers, mountain bikes, recumbants, tandems, tandem recumbants, and hand trikes (and I was in turned passed by all of these at one time or another!) I could ride as fast as I wanted, or slow down and chat with some other rider. I talked to two young girls who were there with a church group from New Jersey! Their teacher had ridden in RAGBRAI 15 years ago, and had so much fun, he had got the whole class on bikes and training so they could all come on the ride! I talked to people from all over the US. It even rained on us in the afternoon, but it wasn't cold, and it didn't rain too hard, so I didn't really mind at all! It would have taken a lot more than this rain storm to ruin the good time that I was having! I chatted with folks who were older than I, and many who were younger. I talked with "A" riders, "B" riders, and other newbies like me. The mood of all the riders was very positive indeed! I think everyone was out there having a good time!

When I finally rolled into Storm Lake, I once again used the little radios we had to get in touch with Patty and Sue, who told me where the nights campground was at. As I was riding to the camping spot, I saw this statue, now sporting a cycling helmet!

By the time I arrived at the camp sight, as you can see, some of the other riders had not only already arrived, but they had been to the shower! I was anxious to do the same, and after a quick shot of some magic elixer guaranteed to make your legs stonger, I was off to get cleaned up. Another one of the many advantages of riding with the Cycle Sports team was the showers! It was nice always having them handy at the camp sight.

After getting cleaned up, the weather cleared off, and left us with a beautiful evening! We sat around the camp sight exchanging tales about our adventures on the road while we waited for the rest of the Cycle Sports team to arrive. You see, when you travel with this group, it is really a team effort. We may not have always ridden together, but we went to supper or the entertainment only after the entire group was together. That way, we all got to have fun, even if you were not the fastest kid on the block! On this evening, we all made it over to the local KofC Hall for speghetti, and really had a good time!

The next morning, the adventure continued! Once again, everyone was up and eager to get going. The route this day promised fewer hills and was a little shorter than the previous days, only 68 miles.

We rode in light rain again, but nothing heavy enough to be a real problem, and it quit before reaching our breakfast stop. Our first stop of the day was at Schaller, the popcorn capital of Iowa! Of course, there was free popcorn! Some civic group was serving up pancakes, while another had fruit cups (they were already out of breakfast croussants!) and yet another one had sweetrolls, doughnuts and bagels. Goerge said we would eat here, then push on at a designated time. Most of the Team went for the pancakes, but I opted for the bagels. Since I knew I would not be as fast as the rest of the team, I pushed off a little early.

This will give you some idea of the rolling hills we worked on the second day. Not really too bad at all. Although the picture doesn't show it well, there are bicycles all the way to the horizon, either way you looked! Quite an impressive sight! If you will recall, earlier I told you that riding in RAGBRAI was like being in a parade. Well, every town we rode through really turned out for this event. The streets were lined with people waving and shouting encouragement. Even when we were out in the country, at almost every farmhouse you passed the whole family would be out on the lawn waving and having a good time! Shortly before I took this picture, I happened across an old gentleman seated in a lawn chair next to the road. He was waving, saying "Hi" and giving the thumbs-up sign to all of us who passed. I looked around, and did not see a farmhouse or car around for miles! I don't know how he got there, but I am glad that he was!

Here is the team arriving in Ida Grove. Another town that had really turned out for the event! There were lots of different booths set up in the park, as well as a station to fill your waterbottles. One citizen had even wired their lawn sprinkler to a phone pole and had it shooting out onto half of the road, so if you were hot, your could ride through the cooling mist.

This is one of the stops that I made for a bananna. I know that I am an old man and a new rider, and not in very good shape, but I really didn't think that the rest stop needed to be quite that close to a cemetary! Myself and quite a few of the other riders got a good laugh out of this placement! On almost every hilltop you come to, there is a local fire department, ambulance corp, Boy or Girl Scout troop, or volleyball team with a booth set up selling fruit, sports drinks, or sometimes homemade bake goods. And there were also commercial stands with pasta, porkchops or even homemade ice cream!

This is a view at the Deloit City Park. This area was the beer garden, and outside the fence were more booths set up with all kinds of foods or other items, even temporary tattoos! At one point in town, I think they must have found every soaker hose in the county! There was a line of them running down the street so you could cool off if needed!

One thing that could sometimes be a problem was finding your camping space, what with all the people! Well, here at Denison, where we were camped on the County Fair Grounds, Patty and Sue solved this problem by doing laundry, and hanging it on the fence around the race track! Hard to miss the Cycle Sports jerseys flapping in the breeze!

This is the view of the camping area at Denison standing at the fence near the laundry. Near the center of the picture, you will see a tri-angular camper. Just to the right of that is my van, and to the right of that is the motorhome that pulled the trailer loaded with tents, spare bikes, and the showers. Pretty nice setup, huh?? On this night, we went into town and enjoyed some excellent Chinese food. After a day on the bikes, we were all thirsty, and I don't think the poor little waitress had ever seen people drink so much water! She would hardly get done filling up everyones glasses, and it would be time for her to start around again! After we were done, some of the team returned to the campground, and a few of us went downtown and watched the live entertainment. They had a really great band. However, at the end of the encore, the lead guitarist made sure he didn't have to come back....one by one, he broke the strings on his acoustic guitar! He even did it in time to the song the band was playing! After that, it was off to the campground, and a little rest.

The next monring, the Team was again up and at 'em. I couldn't believe that my first experience with RAGBRAI was over, the time went so fast! When I watched George and the tamdem riders taking off, I really wanted to hop back on the Roubaix and have some more adventures, but I knew that I had to go home.
RAGBRAI was really a great experience for me. I was able to ride at my own pace, which for a new rider like me, made it a lot more fun. There were many riders with much more skill than I have, but they treated me very well, and never put me down for my limited talents. Being with the crew from Cycle Sports was great, too! They have been there, done that before! I don't know how many times they have participated in the ride, but they have it figured out! Besides the motor home, they also have a very unique trailer. On it, they have racks for hauling the whole teams bicycles, as well as storage for everyones tents and belongings. The trailer also hauls the golf cart and Cushmann, as well as being able to be configured to have up to 4 shower stalls! Pretty clever contraption!
If you have never ridden on an event like this, I can highly recommend RAGBRAI. You are going to do a lot of riding, and you should do some training before hand. RAGBRAI recommends 500 miles, and personally I had a little more than that and had no problems. If you are an experienced rider, you will have a ball, and there will be plenty of other good riders for you to enjoy, too! I am already planning on going again next year, for the 30 th RAGBRAI!!

Comoments? You can send them to me here! Thanks for stopping by, and hope to see you at the next RAGBRAI!!