RAGBRAI 2015

Another Year of RAGBRAI down! This year was more of a challenge than I originally thought. This year was a total of almost 500 miles, excluding the two loops. There was a lot more climb this year than last year, which was somewhat expected.

We packed the truck on Friday evening and it headed off to Sioux City. We hopped on the Trailways bus and departed around 6:30 on Saturday, stopping at the Iowa Machine Shed for breakfast. Arriving in Sioux City, we found the park in which we were to camp that night. All of our gear was already unloaded from the truck so we could start setting up camp. I decided to go with my new shelter setup which I was rather impressed with. I left it in porch mode for the night which allowed for a nice breeze to sweep through. The weather was fairly hot when we set up camp, so the porch mode worked well for shade. After setting up camp, we went to the expo where we acquired a few free things. Near the expo was a Hard Rock casino, so we decided to eat at the restaurant there, which was quite good. Huey Lewis and the News played this night, but I decided to turn in early to be well rested for the ride. The night stayed pretty warm, so the fan got some use.

The first day Was from Sioux City to Storm Lake, a total of 76.5 miles. We rode through Leeds, Kingsley, Washta, Quimby, and Hanover, ending in Storm Lake. It was almost 4,000 feet of climb this day, however, was a gradual climb which made it not so bad. We did have a couple good hills. I only had 150 miles in before RAGBRAI so it took a while to "find my legs". I have to say that this was probably the hardest day. The first day was somewhat hot, with occasional cloud cover. Breakfast and Lunch we got from local vendors. This year, we decided to try to support local organisations and churches, so ate mostly at these places. We did make an exception: Beekman's homemade ice cream. When we arrived at Storm Lake, we found our camp. We set up camp on a grassy stretch between the downtown sidewalk and the lake. Since we were on the lake, setting up camp was a challenge because of the wind. We were under some trees so we had plenty of shade. For dinner, we went to a local place for pasta. As we talked about showers, we figured that we would save money by taking a bath in the lake. Next to our camp was a small sand bank and a dip in the lake felt good after a hot day. Three of us jumped in with our clothes on to wash them as well and had a nice bath and cool-down. We used the extra paracord from my ridgeline I put up under my tarp to make a clothesline. For the rest of the week, we made a clothesline using my ridgeline. During the night, we had a some rain so I closed in the tarp. I was quite impressed with how well it held up to the wind and rain. In fact, the whole ground under my tarp was dry.

Day two started out a little cool. We had some dew on the tents which made it a pain to roll up my tarp. We rode through Newell, Fonda, Manson, and Clare before arriving at our overnight town Fort Dodge. This day's ride was 68.7 miles with 1300 feet of climb. This was a somewhat easy day. Monday was also the gravel loop day through Pomeroy. This year was the first where they had an extra loop of gravel road. Needless to say, with my road bike, I was not about to do this loop. Camp was at a school and it was probably one of the hotter days when we set up camp. The shade certainly felt good. Since it was Monday night, we had a our group get-together. This is where our club sits in a circle, passes around snacks, and introduces each other. We showered and ate at the school that night. We used my ridgline and strung it to the top of my buddy's tent to make a clothesline. I had to use my fan this night as well because the heat didn't really let up. In fact, I didn't even get my sleeping bag out.

Day three was to Eldora. Eldora was the only overnight town this year that I had never been to before. We had a long day of 72.9 miles through Duncombe, Webster City, Boondock, Williams, Alden, and Buckeyes. There was also the Karras loop through Radcliffe. I was satisfied with having rode it last year so I skipped it this year. I'm glad I did because this day felt long enough. We had a little bit a hang up finding our campsite which was in an industrial park area near a ball diamond. This day was hot as well setting up. As soon as I got in, I sat in the back of the truck and enjoyed a couple cans of Root Beer (which became a habit after the long rides). I found that most evenings, the wind came from the perfect direction that I could set up my tarp against the sun for optimum shade and the breeze would blow right into the porch or one of the ends. We spent a lot of time under the porch this night.

The fourth day was the shortest with 58.4 miles through Steamboat Rock, Cleves, Ackley, Austinville, Aplington, Parksburg, New Hartford, and ending in Cedar Falls. Some of the cities were quite small, especially Cleves. We rode through it without even realizing. We actually rode through some towns with only a quick stop to rest our legs. We napped each day to this point in the trip, but spent a little longer time napping on this day. Some of the towns were themed such as a barnyard theme and pirate theme. Along the way, we stopped at a church to refill our water and they had a Frozen theme where we got free cookies and bananas. We seemed to gotten a lot of free bananas, snacks, water, and popsicles. Camp was at a UNI campground. 

Our 70.9 ride to Hiawatha on day five was probably the easiest. Along the way, we went through Hudson, LePorte City, Mount Auburn, Vinton, Shellsburg, and Pallo. We had a tailwind most of the ride which made it easier. However, coming into Hiawatha was quite hilly. We were ready to be in. Our camp was in the main campground (an old trailer park). After dinner at Dairy Queen, I got my badly needed shoulder massage. Our campsite happened to have some good trees so I slept in a hammock that night. 

The ride to Coralville was 65.6 miles and seemed not too bad of ride. It actually seemed to be one of the easiest rides. We rode through Whittier, Springville, Mount Vernon, Lisbon, Sutliff Cider, Solon, over the Coralville Dam, and into Coralville. Mount Vernon was, I thought, the coolest town we rode through. It just had a cool atmosphere with lots of entertainment and things to do. We even saw bagpipers. Actually, there was quite a few bagpipers on this trip. I also stopped in Solon as well for a short break. After eating lunch, it started to rain so I decided to go in one of the churches for pie and a nap until the storm was over. After the storm, we still had a headwind, but I continued on. It wasn't too bad of a ride until we reached the Coralville Dam. That was the hilliest part of day and quite a few people ended up walking the hills. As I came into Coralville, I easily found our camp which was near an athletic facility where we took showers. Cheap Trick was playing this night but I decided to head to bed early instead to be well rested for the next day. It was supposed to rain overnight so I camped in my bivy under the truck.

The last day seemed to have the worst hills as we rode into Davenport. The last ride was 68.5 miles through Iowa City, West Liberty, Atalissa, Moscow, Wilton, Durant, and Walcott. We had planned to reach the truck by 2:30, so we tried to rush to get there, though, we did make some stops. We made a last stop at Beekman's and in Wilton. We took a nap almost every day but tried not to take one on the last day. It wasn't too hard to find the truck where we cooled down before loading our bikes and baggage.

It was a fun trip and I continue to learn as I go. My biggest focus on this trip was my shelter and ways to set it up. I would say it was a success. I pretty well mastered the shelter system of which I will do a tutorial on. This was also my first RAGBRAI on an upright bike and learned the differences between upright and recumbent on long rides (i.e. needing Butt Glide). I hope to ride next year with the goal of self-containing.

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.