For those of you who may have read my page about my adventures at last years RAGBRAI, you might wonder what could have been better.  The answer, of course, is going back and doing the 30th RAGBRAI!!

This year was the first outing of the Team Cycle Sport bus.  On the way to Iowa, the water pump started to leak, but a replacement was obtained, and the Team managed to limp along over 200 miles before the repairs could be made.  But, the old bus made the trip, and performed without flaw for the rest of the week.  Team Cycle Sport really does travel in style!  Besides the bus, they also pull a rather unique trailer, so they have their own showers, a couple of small vehicles for moving the team around in the evenings, bicycle and tool storage, and of course, a way to move the folks to and from Iowa!

This years ride was the 30th bike ride across Iowa.  It was a truly amazing event.  The opening ceremonies were held at the football field, and the place was packed.  After the usual speeches by the local dignitaries, the teams from the armed forces were introduced.  There were the teams from the Army, Navy, and the 100+ members of Team Aim High representing the Air Force, and they all received a huge round of applause.  Next, the members of Team Escape were introduced.  The members of this team are made up largely of members of the New York City Police and Fire Departments.  This team received a standing ovation.  And, when one of the Team Escape members who lost a brother in the 9-11 attack paid tribute to the Armed Forces by quoting George Orwell when he said "We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would harm us" I don't think there was a dry eye in the place.  And, to conclude the event, we were treated to a fantastic fireworks display.

Rather than go over the ride day by day, I would like to just touch on the highlights that I enjoyed.  We were blessed this year with really great weather, and a pretty easy route.  As usual, the people at the Des Moines Register did a fantastic job of organizing a great ride.  And riding with the great folks of Team Cycle Sport only helped make this event even more special.  I really enjoyed riding along and chatting with my fellow riders, but more about that later.  This year, I was able to ride in a pace line from time to time.  For those of you not familiar with a pace line, it is a group of riders who ride in a line very close to each other.  The front rider breaks the wind, and the riders following him use a third less energy than the leader.  When the leader tires, the next rider takes the lead position,  and the former leader moves to the rear of the line to recover and work his way back to the front to take another turn at "pulling."  This is a very efficient and fast way to cover a lot of ground.  George Evans had just taken over the lead, and had his head down working hard to make speed, and didn't see the signs that the route turned to the right!  George and the first few riders of the line sailed right through the intersection, while those of us at the rear of the line yelled for them to turn.  We eventually regained our little line, but of course, didn't pass up the chance to tease George about the fact that there for just a few minutes, albeit on the wrong route, he was the leader of RAGBRAI!!  Shortly after this event, we stopped at a farm where the owners had a huge display of old restored tractors.

As I said before, I really enjoyed just riding along at my own pace, and talking to the other riders.  I talked to a lady who was there with her father and two sisters.  She explained that her dad had been riding RAGBRAI for years, and had kept pestering his daughters to join him, until they finally did, and now it's an annual event for them.  I talked with a nice young man from New England who had a similar story, and was there riding with his dad and brother.  I talked with a lady who was there from Hawaii.  She said her folks live in Des Moines, so she keeps a bike there and comes back every year to ride in this event.  I ate breakfast one day with a professor from New York who loves to ride, but feels it's so dangerous to ride there, that this is about the only time he gets to enjoy his bike. There were riders there from all 50 states, and several other countries, including a team from Italy.  I even managed to run into some folks I met the year before, and it was fun to share some miles with them again.  

The people of Iowa really did their usual job of showing the riders a really fantastic time.  And, I believe they had as much fun as we did.  Once again, almost every hilltop and little town had booths set up selling food, or some other souvenir.  RABGRAI is a unique fund raising opportunity for these communities.  As a matter of fact, the day before the start of RAGBRAI, the little town of Marne hosted a party for riders to show off their new fire truck, purchased with funds raised the year before.  One of my favorite little pass through towns was Troy Mills.  This town was so small, that no one organization was large enough to put on a feed for all of the riders, so several different groups came together an put on a great little party in the park.  Besides the food booths, they had a really fun little two piece band playing old time rock and roll.  In many of the towns, the locals had t-shirts printed up for the day, and I talked with many of them.  They were really just delightful people.  The patriotic theme was very obvious this year, and many of the towns were decorated with American flags and bunting lining our entire route through their town, besides old bicycles painted up and hanging from many of the lamp posts.  One town had literally hundreds of red, white and blue balloons lining the route.  The overnight towns were also really fantastic, and we camped in some really great places.  In Charles City, we camped in a beautiful park.  They had no less than nine stages set up around town, with seven live bands and two DJs, so no matter what your taste in entertainment was, there was something there for you. In Cherokee, besides an outdoor band, there was also a symphony, complete with a maestro outfitted in biker clothes!  While in Cherokee, we camped on the grounds of a really nice compound with magnificent buildings.  I later found out that it was a mental health facility, but was unoccupied while it was being remodeled.  Of course, with 10,000 bike riders, we probably fit right in!  In Forest City, we camped at the Winnebago Rally Grounds.  This was a nice place, and even had an amphitheater where we enjoyed many different local entertainers.  And, for a bit more fun, we went to an old fashioned barn dance, and got to watch an antique steam traction engine in operation.  At Animosa, they had hauled in tons of sand, and hosted a Beach Bash!  While we were there, we also toured the motorcycle Hall of Fame.

I have already mentioned the best group of people at RAGBRAI. Team Cycle Sport, but there are many other teams as well.  I was proud to ride for a few miles with a couple members of the Dream Team and their mentor.  These are youths who don't have bikes, and they get involved in the Dream Team.  They train at the YMCA until March, when they start riding outside.  They train, and then ride in RAGBRAI, and if they finish the ride, they get to keep their bike and equipment.  I also rode with members of the Armed Forces teams, and many others, such as Team Emu, Team Bitch, Team Nad, the Crank Addicts, Team Barfly, Team Smelly Cat, Team CdLS, Team Roadkill, and Team Gourmet, to name just a few.  The teams are all a lot of fun....Team Gourmet is really unique.  They travel with no less than 3 chefs, and after a day or riding, they clean up and then dress for dinner.  They seek out a host family in whose yard they camp, and they then have a gourmet dinner party for the host family and their friends.  Riding RAGBRAI is a wonderful event, and riding with a Team, especially like Team Cycle Sport, only makes the event even more fun!

After completing my second exposure to RAGBRAI, I am only more excited about doing it again next year!  Spending a week and riding with my friends, and friends I have yet to meet, makes this truly an event to look forward to. This really is a well organized ride, and has outstanding support from the citizens of  Iowa.  Team Cycle Sport offers an economical and fun way to participate in this unique event, and they really add to the experience.  You will see all kinds of bikes, being ridden by all kinds of people.  You can ride fast, or slow down and socialize, and make this ride anything you want it to be.  If you want more information, check out http://www.ragbrai.org.  You can also contact me at mailto:whitlow@atcjet.net