What is RAGBRAI???

Yes, I'm cycling across the state of Iowa in a few short days!  Most everyone outside of Iowa thinks this is crazy and they don't fully understand what this entails. Many of you have asked for updates and blogs of our RAGBRAI experience.  I will try to use this format to post an update every day in order to keep informed of our travels  For those of you non-Iowans, I'll start by telling you that RAGBRAI stands for 'Registers Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa'.  This year is the 42nd RAGBRAI and will take place July 20-26.  Typically you start with your rear tire in the Missouri River on the Western border of Iowa and end by dipping your front tire in the Mississippi River on the Eastern border on the last day.  This year the starting town is about 12 miles from the Missouri River so I'm not sure we'll get to dip there.  We'll start in Rock Valley, IA which has been devastated by floods this spring and summer.  The city is bound and determined to host the over 10,000 riders despite the flooding and damage they've had.  I figure it's a good way for us to help boost the economy.

Every year the route on RAGBRAI differs in location, distance, and feet of climb (no Iowa is not flat!).  This year's route is in the Northern part of Iowa which means less hills, more wind!  The ride distance is scheduled for 418 total miles over the 7 days.  I'm sure we'll have a few extra in there to get to our campsites, etc. Most of the towns we pass through and stay in are small in population.  Most estimate that on any given day there are 10-15,000 riders who partake.  Take that number and then realize that only one overnight city (Day 4 overnight, Mason City) has a population over 10,000.  When RAGBRAI riders roll into town, they basically take over all of these small towns.  Towns submit applications months in advance to host riders overnight.  I've seen RAGBRAI when it ended near my hometown several years ago, but actually being on the ride will be a whole different experience.  Riding your bike around 60 miles a day and then camping should be an adventure for sure!  If you want to know more about RAGBRAI, check out their website www.ragbrai.com. They'll post pictures on there throughout the week.

While this has been a bucket list item for me for quite some time, I knew I needed someone else to do this with me.  Fortunately my friend Stacey was crazy enough to say yes when I asked for people to consider going on this journey with me.  It's been great having someone to train and plan with.  I'm  sure most people think we are crazy, but it should be fun.  Stacey lives in Indiana now, but is originally from New Jersey and has minimal farm knowledge.  She's never been to the great state of Iowa, so in addition to riding a lot, she'll be learning a lot about Iowa and farm/small town life!  I'm very grateful that she's joining in the fun!

Stacey and I on a training ride in Decatur, IN

I'm mostly using this post to see if this will be a feasible option for updates along the ride!  Internet service and cell reception will be spotty I'm sure, so we'll try to do our best to update once a day.  I'll try to include pictures if we can so you can virtually travel across Iowa with us!  We're also looking for ideas of things to do, look for, etc. along the ride to help break up the miles and miles of riding. If you have any random fun ideas, let me know!  I'll definitely be keeping track of the number of pieces of pie I eat!  RAGBRAI is known for good food, so I'm looking forward to that aspect!  There are riders from all 50 states and 18 foreign countries on the ride, so we are bound to meet some interesting people as well.

I hope you enjoy following us.  We leave for Iowa in a little over a week, so I'll try to post a few more times before then!