RAGBRAI 2015

[Rusty Click]

Hi all,

Thought I'd update the group on my virginal RAGBRAI ride.  These are some pics of ride (to prove it happened).  My Sam rode wonderfully, and I met a few other Riv owners during the week.  Shout outs to T. Gavin for his advice, and the offer to ride some gravel (I'll add that to next years list), and to Robert Baily, whose story I barely knew, but remember reading about.  I'm glad to have met him during this years ride.  I hope to have a trip report soon, but here (hopefully) are some photos.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/dcpgh/5T5aD5

Rusty

Pittsburgh, PA

[Tim Gavin]

Looks like you had a great ride, Rusty.  

Sorry we couldn't meet up, but we were riding on our own schedule (and sometimes our own route). That made the whole ride more bearable; I get worn out by the "circus" of the main crowd.

  

I was hoping to meet you (and your Sam); I only saw two other Rivs this year: 1) a blue Hilsen, whose owner I've met in previous years, and 2) an orange Rambouillet at Sutliff Cider, which may be owned by an Iowa City cyclist I've seen out riding.

The gravel was nice, as a storm chased us into Mt Vernon.  We also rode some fine crushed gravel on our first day; we took the Cedar Valley trail from Cedar Rapids to Cedar Falls and then joined the circus.

Tim

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[Robert F. Harrison]

So glad to hear you had a great RAGBRAI! I'm looking forward to your ride report. 

Aloha, 

Bob

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Robert Harrison

Honolulu, HI
rfhar...@gmail.com
statrix.com

Wu Name: Tha Eurythmic King of Nowhere

[Deacon Patrick]

Bacon! Looks like a great ride! I also look forward to your ride report.

With abandon,

Patrick

[Jim Bronson]

Pennsylvania Mountain Men!!!!  Harrrrrr!!!!

No s&%t talking or you're walking!

Haha

[Rusty Click]

In lieu of a day to day trip report, here are some recollections about this years RAGBRAI.  

Our Pennsylvania Mountain Men, a group of 10, consisted of eight riders, the mini bus owner, and his girlfriend who drove 'the beast' like a road warrior.  They became hitched while on this years RAGBRAI.

We departed Pittsburgh a little later than planned but glad to be on the way.  These veteran RAGBRAI-ers where joined by three newbies, and we three were glad of the opportunity.  About 60 miles short of our planned overnight on the Illinois side of the river from Davenport, the mini bus blew 2 tires, and limped into the next town, which was luckily only about 2 miles up the road.  The adventure has begun.  Hotel rooms were found and divided up amongst the riders, while everyone wondered about repairs the next day.  In the morning, with tires found and a shop located to mount them, we headed off....for about 5 miles.  That was when the battery tray decided to drop and drag along the road.  We had MacGyver on board though, and he pulled from his pack some gum and tape, along with some ratchet straps, to secure everything back in its 'kinda-sorta' space, and we headed off once again for our host families addresses in far off Sioux City.  We arrived just before sunset and quickly set up tents and put together our bikes for the morning.  We arrived a bit late to enjoy the pre-ride festivities that the Des Moines Register sponsored, including the music and vendors, but we were feasted by the host families (3) which found room for about 70 riders.  We took the opportunity to decompress from the trip out, and enjoyed the ribs, pulled pork, pasta salads, and the 'pop' of a few cans of brew before heading off for the tents.

The weeks riding started at a little after 6 am the next day.  We would stagger out of camp between 6 and 6:30 all week long, so as to beat the heat, and set up for the next night.  Some would ride early and fast, some would start early and find breakfast, some would "Just Ride" and do whatever, all day long.  Guess where I fit in.

We enjoyed wonderful hosts throughout the week.  Private residences, church lawns, and town parks were filled with tents and riders going about the housework required for the day.  Tent set-up, showers, cleaning riding gear for those of us without kits for every day, and re-hydration filled the afternoons til we either headed off to check out the overnight towns entertainment, or melted into camp chairs and eventually into tents to start all over again.  For me, it was 'Introduction to RAGBRAI' 101, and I admit to being little overwhelmed, but WOW, it was awesome!  I never tired of seeing both lanes full of bikes for as far as i could see.

The days riding took us through a few, well spaced 'Pass Through' towns who put out the welcome mat with church breakfasts(or dinners), locals pointing the way to water/food/beer/entertainment, and shade.  Along the route, in between towns,  homeowners, farmers, and sometimes an Amish family would set up tents selling, at very reasonable rates(or even free), water/gatorade and food.  Wait, that doesn't quite tell the tale.  So here is a partial list of just some of the things I stopped for:  Organic yogurt and granola, cappuccino made in a field by a wonderful local roaster, sweet corn on the cob, Iowa Craft Beer, pork chops, pie and ice cream made by either the local church ladies or the Amish, beer, various 'food on a stick' including steak, chicken, corn, alligator(yep), BACON, and more beer, burritos, pancakes, hard cider, and brats wrapped in BACON.  And pie.  And Ice Cream.  Did I mention the local beer? 

Throughout the week, my S. Hillborne rode without incident.  No flats or mechanicals.  The weeks riding totaled a little over 510 miles.  That included the 470-ish official miles, plus optional miles off route to a church lunch, or riding to the host family locations which were within 5 miles or so of the route and the overnight town.  Sometimes, we rode to a local HS to use their showers.  All these extra miles were referred to as, "RAGBRAI Miles".

Reluctantly, hot and tired, and after the mandatory tire dip, we loaded the bus in Davenport and turned ourselves over to Chrystal's road warrior ways.   We headed east for home.  Oh yeah, about 12 miles short of our exit to Pittsburgh, and about 40 short of being home, the bus bellowed its final breath and stranded us on the PA Turnpike.  Some of us called spouses at 4AM, (I waited till 5 ) to come and help get bikes and bags - and us - back to our start point.  And I would do it all again.  Even the bus breakdowns were all part of a wacky, wonderful week of riding!  The people I rode with and met during the week, both on the road and in all the towns, were friendly and accommodating, ready with a tale of their days ride, or with info on what could be found around that nights town. 

Thank You Iowa!

Rusty Click

Pittsburgh, PA

[Robert F. Harrison]

Thanks for the great report Rusty. It sounds like a blast. Having done the ride myself a couple of times I can really picture all the good times you had!

Aloha,

Bob

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[Tim Gavin]

Sounds like you had some classic RAGBRAI experiences, including bus trouble!  Many teams fit out clapped out retired school buses, and some are better at plumbing up the keg refrigerators than they are at bus maintenance.  Priorities!

Seriously, though, a good team to support you seems like the best way to do RAGBRAI.  Unfortunately, all the teams I meet are more like drinking clubs with a cycling problem (training their livers in the off-season), or church-lady teetotaler groups.  I'd like a team of capable riders that appreciate good beer, good coffee, good riding, and good sleep.

Hopefully we'll cross paths in a future year!

Tim