RAGBRAI 2014

This was my first year riding RAGBRAI and it was an experience. I learned a lot about bicycle touring. There are a few things I would have done differently , some things I would have left at home, and some things I wished I would have packed. 

This year, the ride was from Rock Valley to Guttenberg. The ride itself was 418 miles. With the Karras Loop, it was 444 miles. I went up with Keokuk Bike Club in a Trailways bus. But beforehand, we loaded all of our stuff in a truck that went up the day before we did. We also got our RAGBRAI packages that day. 

We went up Saturday, July 19 so we could get an early start the next day. It was about a 6 hr ride up to Rock Valley. 

When we got there, we went to our campsite to set up: a private residence. 

After setting up camp, we rode to the expo to look around.

This was probably the busiest the expo was all week. There were many vendors from bike companies such as Specialized and Giant, bike shops doing repairs, Camelback, Clif Bar, and many other vendors. We picked up quite a few free things including a Xyience energy drink. 

We brought our vouchers to the RAGBRAI tent to get our free patches. 

When in town, we decided to stop at the school for something to eat. 

After dinner, I went down to the river to dip my tire, a common tradition. 

...and met a few people along the way. 

We came back and enjoyed a relaxing night before the big day. 

Day 1: 

We got up about 5:30 to pack up and head out. I decided to also make my coffee before the ride. It was a nice start. It was a little cool in the morning but it wasn't too bad. I rode a Vision recumbant bike and Adventure Bear got his ride too. 

Before starting, a small group of us decided to do a first day photo. 

First town we came to was Hull where we got breakfast. It was a nice, leisurely ride. 

From there, we went through Boyden to Sheldon where we got our pie. We had a pie challenge to eat a different pie everyday. Unfortunately, it didn't work out and only had one pie the whole trip. 

Most of the towns also had live music. 

Along the way, we stopped at Beekman's homemade ice cream. They had a stand everyday but only stopped a few times including the first day. 

...And saw some different looking bikes. 

The rest of the ride was through Sheldon, Melvin, and May City, ending in Okoboji. However, we stayed in Milford. We stopped in each town for lunch, water break, etc. This was my first long ride and made the mistake of pushing myself too hard in the beginning, wearing myself out about 1/4 way through the first day. It was 69.2 miles so I was somewhat miserable by time I got in. So I just relaxed around camp at a school, after going into town for dinner. We went over to the school which had showers. That felt great after a grueling first day. 

Wore my kilt each night. 

Day 2:

The second day was relatively short with only 40 miles. I did make my coffee that day as well. It was a pretty easy day and was flat with only a few hills. We again woke at 5:30 and rode through Terril, Graettinger, and ended in Emmetsburg. 

Along the way, we stopped for smoothies. 

We stayed at a community college and just happened to camp next to a putting green. And just happened to have golf clubs. That night, we took showers at a shower trailer. 

Our truck driver was also our massage therapist who gave massages each night. 

We had our "campfire" that night to get to know each other. 

Day 3:

The third day we tried to take off a little early because of the long ride ahead of us. I made sure to make my coffee that day. This day was routed at almost 80 miles through Ringstead, Bancroft, Titonka, Gruis Recreation Center, and Crystal Lake, ending in Forrest city. In addition, I did the Karras Loop, an addition 26 mile loop through Burt and Lone rock. This loop makes it a 100 mile ride, but we got a patch for completing it. 

Day 3 seemed to take a long time to complete because of the distance. It was also the hottest day, high of 92 with no cloud cover. I made the mistake of not wearing a shirt and not using sunscreen, getting a couple second degree sunburns which would keep me from sleeping for 2 nights. Fortunately, though, some people put out sprinklers to cool us down. 

Burt had a special surprise for those of us who did the loop. They had a car show and their famous toilet tossing contest. 

Needless to say, I got in late that evening. We camped at a private residence. I was well impressed with it. The resident bought a mansion and moved it from Mason City to here by semi. He was an interesting guy. He also showed us his classic car collection (which I wasn't able to get pictures of). 

He had his own caboos. 

The windmill pumped drinking water from a well. 

Showers were taken with a hose that night. Although, because of my sunburn, I was chilling so my shower was taken with shower wipes. We also received word that one guy passed away on his bike today. 

Day 4: 

This was a more enjoyable day with few hills and only 38 miles. The ride was through Ventura and Clear Lake, ending in Mason City. Unfortunately, my phone died this day and cloud cover was enough to not let my solar charger charge my phone. Therefore, did not get many pictures. The highlight of the day was going into town and watching the concert. Warrant opened up for Bret Michaels, a great concert. And better yet, it was free admission!

(Warrant)

(Bret Michaels)

That was a later night, getting back from the concert. We stayed at a high school that night and had our shower at the school. 

Day 5:

The next three days were in the 60s mileage-wise. We rode through Nora Springs, Rockford, Marble Rock, Greene, Packard, and Clarksville, ending in Waverly. Again, I was unable to get many pictures of the ride because of a dead phone. We had a few hills, but it was mostly flat. This day, I got a malt which was very refreshing on a hot day. 

I went downtown to look around and also went to the expo. We turned in early that night, camping near a soccer field. Showers were taken at the high school. We received news that another guy had died in his tent. That was 2 deaths in the same RAGBRAI. It was reported that the last RAGBRAI with a death was in 2010. 

Home away from home. 

Decided to make my own dinner that night. 

Day 6:

This day was miserable. It stormed the night before and continued to sprinkle in the morning. It was also the coldest day, bypassing the first town: Bremer. As I came into Tripoli, it started to rain again. I stopped for breakfast and waited under a shelter. When I saw the rain wasn't going to let up, I kept going. As soon as I left that town, it began to pour and winds blew at 40-50 mph with a 60 degree temperature. 

It was a 10 mile ride through that to get to Sumner where I pulled into an ambulance base to wait out the storm and get my free coffee. Unfortunately, I did not have adequate rain gear. After the storm passed, I went into town and continued. The next hour was windy and cold. About an hour after the rain, though, the sun came out and heated things up so it seemed like it was a good day for homemade ice cream. From Sumner, we rode through Westgate, Oelwein, and Otterbille, ending in Independence. 

We camped in the backyard of a mental health institute that looked like it may have been an old hospital. 

After my shower at the shower trailer, I got my leg and foot massage. 

Day 7:

Everyone was pumped this last day, to get home. I skipped most towns because I was worried about being late for the bus. We rode through Winthrop, Lamont, Strawberry Point, Edgewood, And Garber, ending in Guttenberg. I did not focus on getting many pictures that day because we were anxious to get to Guttenberg. This day was also somewhat miserable with many hills. The closer we approached the river basin, the hillier it got. We had a few 14% grade hills that many people could not climb. However, the downhill was a blast, reaching speeds of almost 50 mph. I saw one guy who could not make the turn at the bottom of the hill and hit a wall. Needless to say, he was taken to the hospital. 

I came into Guttenberg almost right at the time we were required to be there. The line to dip our tires was almost a mile long so I was unable to dip my tire.

We loaded our luggage and bikes into the truck and it took off while we waited almost an hour for the bus. 

A majority of us slept the whole 4 hour trip home, including Adventure Bear. 

It was a good first RAGBRAI and I did enjoy it. Fortunately, I did not encounter any bike problems or health problems. Overall, it was a great trip.