IOU... Ragbri XXXIV
RAGBRAI XXXIV (34)
RAGBRAI information index
http://www.ragbrai.org/info-index.html
RAGBRAI route mileage (page not complete til next week)
http://www.ragbrai.org/route-chart.html
RAGBRAI registration frequently asked questions
http://www.ragbrai.org/ragbrai-regfaq.shtml
RAGBRAI basics
http://www.ragbrai.org/ragbrai-basics.html
*When is RAGBRAI this year?*
July 23-29, 2006. (always the last full week of July)
*How do I sign up?*
If you want to be be part of Team Iowans Outdoor Unlimited, then register as part of the *group* (not as an *individual*) More details to follow shortly once this is set up. By signing up as a group for the lottery, if anyone goes then everyone goes.
go to registration forms at:
http://www.ragbrai.org/application-form.html
Either sign up online or print out the pdf form and mail it in. In past years the online form caused some confusion where people thought they had submitted the form and they had not.
The deadline is April 1 2006. Results are announced by May 1.
*How much will it cost?*
A week-long rider fee is $110; a week-long non-rider fee (for a driver) is $35. A vehicle permit is $30. Instead of registering for the week, participants may register for daily wristbands. A rider fee for one day is $25; a non-rider fee for one day is $15. There is a limit of three days per person for the daily wristbands.
http://www.ragbrai.org/ragbrai-basics.html
*What about my tent and baggage?*
Team IOU will need to find a driver and a team vehicle for hauling baggage between towns, someone who will also be able to pick up one of our riders if they need to sag. Somewhere out there we’ll have to locate a person who’s willing to enjoy the rolling party on wheels at the host towns and the festival atmosphere without pedalling on a bike all day to get there. :) (We could use the Register semis for baggage and the Register has a sag wagon, but it’s harder to find your bag amongst hundreds and thousands of other duffel bags).
*How do we get to the start of the ride with our bikes?*
We will also need to arrange for someone with a second vehicle to drop us off with our bikes at Sergeant Bluff and pick us up at the end of the week in Muscatine. Or there may be a charter service we could take advantage of (a charter bus with a trailer which would be an added cost - perhaps $100 per person - so finding someone who is willing to drop us off and pick us up with a large vehicle saves a lot).
http://www.ragbrai.org/charter-services.html
*What do I get for my registration fee?*
The cost includes daily route maps, route marking signage, baggage transportation, camping accommodations, wristbands, discounts, sag wagon services, emergency medical services, traffic control, souvenir patch, and entries into drawing for a free bike for riders and other prizes for support vehicle drivers.
You’re sure to talk with folks who don’t pay to register and hop on the ride for free. Do I have gripes with the Register about how RAGBRAI is run sometimes? Yes. Does that mean I begrudge paying $110 (less than $16 a day) for organizing all this festival on wheels? No. My personal opinion: pay your rider fee. The things the Register provides are worth $16 a day and cost time and money. Everybody pitch in and carry your own weight - don’t expect other riders to pay your way.
*How far will we ride each day?*
Most days the route will be 50-85 miles. It looks like there will be more short days this year. There is always an optional century day where you can add an extra loop to make 100 miles. Fortunately, the prevailing winds will be behind us ... most days.
* What towns does RAGBRAI ride through this year?
The host towns were announced Friday Jan. 27th, and the pass through towns (and mileage) are likely to be announced the first Sunday in February. (be sure to pick up a Sunday Register when they come out with the route map).
http://www.ragbrai.org/route2006.html
The route this year winds through:
Sergeant Bluff
Ida Grove
Audubon (home of Albert the Bull)
Waukee
Newton
Marengo
Coralville
Muscatine
This should be a great route, especially for RAGBRAI virgins. The week begins with two or three days of relatively flat riding - a good start to get your legs under you. The last three days have enough hills to be scenic (but not as challenging as southern Iowa) and the towns are closer together (Newton-Marengo-Coralville-Muscatine) so it looks like there will be more short days than many previous years. This route has all the marks of a great ride - you will get a lot of beautiful rolling countryside yet definitely not an Ironman challenge. We’ll know more about the route by next weekend.
*How long will it take me to ride to the next overnight town?*
That depends ... on how many times you stop for homemade pie, breakfast burritos, beer, fresh-squeezed lemonade, grilled pork chops and corn-on-the-cob, rasta pasta at Pastafari, homemade ice cream, Dove bars, and homemade cookies. Anywhere from 5 to 9 hours (depending on the miles that day) is a good guess.
I’m in fairly good shape and expect to go 13-15 miles per hour while I’m actually on my bike, and more like 10-12 miles per hour once you figure in stops along the way. Most people average *at least* 9 or 10 miles an hour on their bike - you can’t go a whole lot slower than that on a bike without falling over.
*Will there be hills?*
Yes - this is Iowa. There will be riders from other states who think Iowa is flat. They will learn.
*Why bike across Iowa?*
Because it’s easier than running across Iowa. Or rollerblading across Iowa. A bicycle is still one of the most efficient machines ever created - you can travel 100 miles on the food energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline. Next to swimming it’s also one of the most low-impact activities you can do. And so far I haven’t heard of anybody swimming across Iowa (RAGSAI). So there you have it.
*No - why? WHY ride my bike across Iowa for a week in July?*
Good question! The Register just provides the route and support. It’s up to you to provide the reason. If you don’t have one yet, maybe you will by the time you get done reading this. Over 10,000 people do this every year. They have been doing it for 34 years now. Surely there is a reason for this collective madness. A reason they are not sitting at home on a couch somewhere, out of the sun and the wind and the fresh air and away from all these people. The one thing all these people all have in common is they all have some sense of drive and motivation. And most of them have a lot of fun.
*My personal answer to why ride RAGBRAI*
Personally, I ride RAGBRAI for three reasons. The challenge ... The heightened senses and awareness ... The people.
Once you convince yourself to get up and ride 70 miles on your bike, you will feel like you can do just about anything. And you learn it’s actually not as hard as it sounds.
All my senses are intensified on RAGBRAI. Food tastes better. Drinks are more satisfying - even plain water out of a garden hose tastes really really good. The mist in the air when you get up in the morning smells sweeter. Colors and textures are more intense and immediate than when you view them through a car window. Travelling under your own power makes you more aware of your muscles and your body and the food you eat. You are more in tune with the weather and the outdoors. The smell of food cooking just carries you away. The people all seem more friendly and interesting. There is excitement in the air and it’s contagious. It can be sort of a mystical experience for some people - either you catch it or you don’t.
There are so many interesting people and there’s a special sense that we’re all in this together. For at least this one week, everyone has lots in common and you can strike up a conversation with most anybody standing next to you in line. They may be all different ages and from all different states and countries, and work all different kinds of jobs. However today we’re all doing the same thing, headed in the same direction for the same destination. Our minds are all focused on finding answers to the same basic questions we sometimes take for granted: Food. Water. Where’s the porta-potties? What’s the weather supposed to be today? How far to the next town? I’m looking for my friends, have you seen ________ wearing _______? What’s the entertainment in this town? Did you see _______? Where’s the information booth and the message board? Where do I pitch my tent? Where are the hot showers? What music is playing? What’s to do in town this evening? What’s the day supposed to be like tomorrow? It all puts life into a new perspective.
*Is RAGBRAI addictive?*
The FDA hasn’t ruled on this one yet. For a lot of people who come back for more over and over again it certainly does appear to be. Fortunately it’s a whole lot healthier than a lot of other addictions you can fall prey to. And it’s only one week a year.
*Will I be sore?*
Next to swimming, bicycling is one of the most low-impact sports there is. Still - after you ride a bike for 5-to-9 hours, yes, your seat is likely to feel at least a little sore. And so will everyone else, so you’ll be in good company.
*What can I do so my muscles and my backside won’t feel sore?*
Train before the ride. Most healthy people can hop on a bike and ride 75 miles whether they train or not. I’ve seen 7 year-olds riding 100 miles up and down hills on a one-speed BMX bike churning as fast as their short little legs will go, and I’ve seen people in their sixties and seventies. But your backside will thank you and you will enjoy the day’s ride and the fun in the overnight towns more if you train ahead of time.
Avoid friction. Wear bike shorts. Stretchy bike shorts aren’t about fashion - they’re about avoiding friction. The fabric stretches and moves with you instead of rubbing against you, and they don’t have raised seams. You can wear something loose-fitting over top if you want, just so long as the layer next to your skin doesn’t rub each time press down on the pedal. Same reason the front “nose” of a bike seat is so narrow - that’s so your legs won’t rub against it. Some people also apply bag balm to reduce friction (ask for it in any pharmacy section). Think an extra soft and cushy bike seat cover will make your backside more comfortable? Think again. A good firm gel seat is great because it absorbs some shock and vibration, but if a seat (or seatcover) is soft and squishy so it moves too much under your tailbone as you pedal, then you will get friction and rubbing. And you’ll probably find that’s not comfy after all - it’s likely to feel worse than a firm gel seat once you go over 20 miles.
Oh - there are also a lot of good - no great - massage therapists who converge on Iowa for RAGBRAI and set up just about anywhere, and what they charge is usually a lot more reasonable than some place down the street back home.
But most of all, do some training.
*How much should I train?*
No set answer. But personally, most of my regular training rides are 14-18 miles. (a little over an hour is all I have time for most times during the week). If you rode 18 miles a couple times a week for three months (April-May-June), you’d get in 432 miles. Add in a couple longer 40-45 mile rides on weekends, and you can feel confident you can handle anything RAGBRAI will dish out. Do this and you would get in 500 miles before RAGBRAI begins. (that’s actually better than most folks riding RAGBRAI will probably do.) It isn’t just exercising your leg muscles - training is also so your tailbone will also get used to the bike seat this way.
*Can I ride RAGBRAI on my mountain bike?*
Yes, you’ll see quite a few people on mountain bikes and there may be as many hybrids as road bikes. There are pluses and minuses both ways.
Fat tires give a softer ride and feel more stable if you go over anything rough. They also have more friction with the road so you don’t coast nearly as fast downhill compared to road bikes with skinny tires - and that means you have to do more work pedalling to go the same distance. If your bike has fat tires, you might be able to put on somewhat narrower tires (within limits based on the size of your tire rims). It’s a tradeoff.
Some people prefer to sit straight up on a mountain bike or hybrid with the flat handlebars. Easier on your hands and arms and maybe your back and neck too, because you sit up straight and most of your weight is on your seat. Other people prefer to be able to lean forward: more weight on your arms means less weight on your seat, plus downturned handlebars mean you can change hand positions a lot of different ways on a long ride, and can choose to either sit up (somewhat) straight or lean over if you’re ever headed into the wind.
A true mountain bike has a heavier frame and components because it’s built to take extreme off-road abuse. You don’t need a bike that tough to do RAGBRAI. Hybrids have straight handlebars like a mountain bike, however the tires are narrower (somewhere in between a road bike and a mountain bike) and they aren’t built to take the same abuse.
If you pick out a bike, remember that aluminum frames are a few pounds lighter than steel alloys, but they are also more rigid - so you’ll feel more shocks and bumps from the road. That’s why a lot of aluminum bikes put shocks in the seat post and the front forks (and then they add right back in part of the weight they just saved). Borrow a friend’s bike and ride a good 20-30 miles to find out what you like - because what feels good on mile 2 isn’t necessarily what will feel good on mile 25 or mile 50. It’s a matter of personal preference - and what you will use the bike for.
My own personal choice is a 26-lb Trek 520 touring bike built for long distances, with downturned handlebars and a narrow firm gel seat, tires closer to a hybrid than a racing bike (700mm x 32mm), tougher spokes and components to reduce breakdowns and maintenance, and a steel alloy frame designed to take the bumps out of the road on a long day (and carry 80 lbs of baggage and still brake and handle smoothly on a steep mountain road if I ever needed to...). I may put on narrower tires before RAGBRAI. I waited eight months for this bike in 2004 when Trek didn’t build enough to keep up with the demand. Not as fast and light as a racing bike, but in my opinion the ideal RAGBRAI machine.
*What do I bring?*
More about this later.
*What can I expect?*
Expect the unexpected - there will be something new and unusual every year. Slide down a snowbank in July. Slip into a hot tub somebody fitted into a 57 Chevy and put on a flatbed. Climb up on top of one of the team party buses at a stop along the way and enjoy the view. See a guy tow a canoe behind his bike across Iowa. A man riding a recumbent bicycle totally enclosed in an aerodynamic shell. A tandem for five. Unicycles. Rollerblades. An old 1800s bike with a big front tire, a tiny back one, and no speeds or chain - and a rider who will tell you about riding this bike through a mountain pass in a snowstorm. Riders in outlandish costumes. People towing sounds systems - or a wetbar - or an inflatable passenger. Bikers riding a mechanical bull mounted in the back of a pickup truck (as if the bike seat all day wasn’t enough abuse). Colorful and creative team names. If you’re a people watcher, there’s no better place to be. I can’t tell you what to expect this year - it will be something new and different every time. I just guarantee it will be colorful and will give you plenty of stories to tell.
RAGBRAI information index
http://www.ragbrai.org/info-index.html
RAGBRAI route mileage (page not complete til next week)
http://www.ragbrai.org/route-chart.html
RAGBRAI registration frequently asked questions
http://www.ragbrai.org/ragbrai-regfaq.shtml
RAGBRAI basics
http://www.ragbrai.org/ragbrai-basics.html
*When is RAGBRAI this year?*
July 23-29, 2006. (always the last full week of July)
*How do I sign up?*
If you want to be be part of Team Iowans Outdoor Unlimited, then register as part of the *group* (not as an *individual*) More details to follow shortly once this is set up. By signing up as a group for the lottery, if anyone goes then everyone goes.
go to registration forms at:
http://www.ragbrai.org/application-form.html
Either sign up online or print out the pdf form and mail it in. In past years the online form caused some confusion where people thought they had submitted the form and they had not.
The deadline is April 1 2006. Results are announced by May 1.
*How much will it cost?*
A week-long rider fee is $110; a week-long non-rider fee (for a driver) is $35. A vehicle permit is $30. Instead of registering for the week, participants may register for daily wristbands. A rider fee for one day is $25; a non-rider fee for one day is $15. There is a limit of three days per person for the daily wristbands.
http://www.ragbrai.org/ragbrai-basics.html
*What about my tent and baggage?*
Team IOU will need to find a driver and a team vehicle for hauling baggage between towns, someone who will also be able to pick up one of our riders if they need to sag. Somewhere out there we’ll have to locate a person who’s willing to enjoy the rolling party on wheels at the host towns and the festival atmosphere without pedalling on a bike all day to get there. :) (We could use the Register semis for baggage and the Register has a sag wagon, but it’s harder to find your bag amongst hundreds and thousands of other duffel bags).
*How do we get to the start of the ride with our bikes?*
We will also need to arrange for someone with a second vehicle to drop us off with our bikes at Sergeant Bluff and pick us up at the end of the week in Muscatine. Or there may be a charter service we could take advantage of (a charter bus with a trailer which would be an added cost - perhaps $100 per person - so finding someone who is willing to drop us off and pick us up with a large vehicle saves a lot).
http://www.ragbrai.org/charter-services.html
*What do I get for my registration fee?*
The cost includes daily route maps, route marking signage, baggage transportation, camping accommodations, wristbands, discounts, sag wagon services, emergency medical services, traffic control, souvenir patch, and entries into drawing for a free bike for riders and other prizes for support vehicle drivers.
You’re sure to talk with folks who don’t pay to register and hop on the ride for free. Do I have gripes with the Register about how RAGBRAI is run sometimes? Yes. Does that mean I begrudge paying $110 (less than $16 a day) for organizing all this festival on wheels? No. My personal opinion: pay your rider fee. The things the Register provides are worth $16 a day and cost time and money. Everybody pitch in and carry your own weight - don’t expect other riders to pay your way.
*How far will we ride each day?*
Most days the route will be 50-85 miles. It looks like there will be more short days this year. There is always an optional century day where you can add an extra loop to make 100 miles. Fortunately, the prevailing winds will be behind us ... most days.
* What towns does RAGBRAI ride through this year?
The host towns were announced Friday Jan. 27th, and the pass through towns (and mileage) are likely to be announced the first Sunday in February. (be sure to pick up a Sunday Register when they come out with the route map).
http://www.ragbrai.org/route2006.html
The route this year winds through:
Sergeant Bluff
Ida Grove
Audubon (home of Albert the Bull)
Waukee
Newton
Marengo
Coralville
Muscatine
This should be a great route, especially for RAGBRAI virgins. The week begins with two or three days of relatively flat riding - a good start to get your legs under you. The last three days have enough hills to be scenic (but not as challenging as southern Iowa) and the towns are closer together (Newton-Marengo-Coralville-Muscatine) so it looks like there will be more short days than many previous years. This route has all the marks of a great ride - you will get a lot of beautiful rolling countryside yet definitely not an Ironman challenge. We’ll know more about the route by next weekend.
*How long will it take me to ride to the next overnight town?*
That depends ... on how many times you stop for homemade pie, breakfast burritos, beer, fresh-squeezed lemonade, grilled pork chops and corn-on-the-cob, rasta pasta at Pastafari, homemade ice cream, Dove bars, and homemade cookies. Anywhere from 5 to 9 hours (depending on the miles that day) is a good guess.
I’m in fairly good shape and expect to go 13-15 miles per hour while I’m actually on my bike, and more like 10-12 miles per hour once you figure in stops along the way. Most people average *at least* 9 or 10 miles an hour on their bike - you can’t go a whole lot slower than that on a bike without falling over.
*Will there be hills?*
Yes - this is Iowa. There will be riders from other states who think Iowa is flat. They will learn.
*Why bike across Iowa?*
Because it’s easier than running across Iowa. Or rollerblading across Iowa. A bicycle is still one of the most efficient machines ever created - you can travel 100 miles on the food energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline. Next to swimming it’s also one of the most low-impact activities you can do. And so far I haven’t heard of anybody swimming across Iowa (RAGSAI). So there you have it.
*No - why? WHY ride my bike across Iowa for a week in July?*
Good question! The Register just provides the route and support. It’s up to you to provide the reason. If you don’t have one yet, maybe you will by the time you get done reading this. Over 10,000 people do this every year. They have been doing it for 34 years now. Surely there is a reason for this collective madness. A reason they are not sitting at home on a couch somewhere, out of the sun and the wind and the fresh air and away from all these people. The one thing all these people all have in common is they all have some sense of drive and motivation. And most of them have a lot of fun.
*My personal answer to why ride RAGBRAI*
Personally, I ride RAGBRAI for three reasons. The challenge ... The heightened senses and awareness ... The people.
Once you convince yourself to get up and ride 70 miles on your bike, you will feel like you can do just about anything. And you learn it’s actually not as hard as it sounds.
All my senses are intensified on RAGBRAI. Food tastes better. Drinks are more satisfying - even plain water out of a garden hose tastes really really good. The mist in the air when you get up in the morning smells sweeter. Colors and textures are more intense and immediate than when you view them through a car window. Travelling under your own power makes you more aware of your muscles and your body and the food you eat. You are more in tune with the weather and the outdoors. The smell of food cooking just carries you away. The people all seem more friendly and interesting. There is excitement in the air and it’s contagious. It can be sort of a mystical experience for some people - either you catch it or you don’t.
There are so many interesting people and there’s a special sense that we’re all in this together. For at least this one week, everyone has lots in common and you can strike up a conversation with most anybody standing next to you in line. They may be all different ages and from all different states and countries, and work all different kinds of jobs. However today we’re all doing the same thing, headed in the same direction for the same destination. Our minds are all focused on finding answers to the same basic questions we sometimes take for granted: Food. Water. Where’s the porta-potties? What’s the weather supposed to be today? How far to the next town? I’m looking for my friends, have you seen ________ wearing _______? What’s the entertainment in this town? Did you see _______? Where’s the information booth and the message board? Where do I pitch my tent? Where are the hot showers? What music is playing? What’s to do in town this evening? What’s the day supposed to be like tomorrow? It all puts life into a new perspective.
*Is RAGBRAI addictive?*
The FDA hasn’t ruled on this one yet. For a lot of people who come back for more over and over again it certainly does appear to be. Fortunately it’s a whole lot healthier than a lot of other addictions you can fall prey to. And it’s only one week a year.
*Will I be sore?*
Next to swimming, bicycling is one of the most low-impact sports there is. Still - after you ride a bike for 5-to-9 hours, yes, your seat is likely to feel at least a little sore. And so will everyone else, so you’ll be in good company.
*What can I do so my muscles and my backside won’t feel sore?*
Train before the ride. Most healthy people can hop on a bike and ride 75 miles whether they train or not. I’ve seen 7 year-olds riding 100 miles up and down hills on a one-speed BMX bike churning as fast as their short little legs will go, and I’ve seen people in their sixties and seventies. But your backside will thank you and you will enjoy the day’s ride and the fun in the overnight towns more if you train ahead of time.
Avoid friction. Wear bike shorts. Stretchy bike shorts aren’t about fashion - they’re about avoiding friction. The fabric stretches and moves with you instead of rubbing against you, and they don’t have raised seams. You can wear something loose-fitting over top if you want, just so long as the layer next to your skin doesn’t rub each time press down on the pedal. Same reason the front “nose” of a bike seat is so narrow - that’s so your legs won’t rub against it. Some people also apply bag balm to reduce friction (ask for it in any pharmacy section). Think an extra soft and cushy bike seat cover will make your backside more comfortable? Think again. A good firm gel seat is great because it absorbs some shock and vibration, but if a seat (or seatcover) is soft and squishy so it moves too much under your tailbone as you pedal, then you will get friction and rubbing. And you’ll probably find that’s not comfy after all - it’s likely to feel worse than a firm gel seat once you go over 20 miles.
Oh - there are also a lot of good - no great - massage therapists who converge on Iowa for RAGBRAI and set up just about anywhere, and what they charge is usually a lot more reasonable than some place down the street back home.
But most of all, do some training.
*How much should I train?*
No set answer. But personally, most of my regular training rides are 14-18 miles. (a little over an hour is all I have time for most times during the week). If you rode 18 miles a couple times a week for three months (April-May-June), you’d get in 432 miles. Add in a couple longer 40-45 mile rides on weekends, and you can feel confident you can handle anything RAGBRAI will dish out. Do this and you would get in 500 miles before RAGBRAI begins. (that’s actually better than most folks riding RAGBRAI will probably do.) It isn’t just exercising your leg muscles - training is also so your tailbone will also get used to the bike seat this way.
*Can I ride RAGBRAI on my mountain bike?*
Yes, you’ll see quite a few people on mountain bikes and there may be as many hybrids as road bikes. There are pluses and minuses both ways.
Fat tires give a softer ride and feel more stable if you go over anything rough. They also have more friction with the road so you don’t coast nearly as fast downhill compared to road bikes with skinny tires - and that means you have to do more work pedalling to go the same distance. If your bike has fat tires, you might be able to put on somewhat narrower tires (within limits based on the size of your tire rims). It’s a tradeoff.
Some people prefer to sit straight up on a mountain bike or hybrid with the flat handlebars. Easier on your hands and arms and maybe your back and neck too, because you sit up straight and most of your weight is on your seat. Other people prefer to be able to lean forward: more weight on your arms means less weight on your seat, plus downturned handlebars mean you can change hand positions a lot of different ways on a long ride, and can choose to either sit up (somewhat) straight or lean over if you’re ever headed into the wind.
A true mountain bike has a heavier frame and components because it’s built to take extreme off-road abuse. You don’t need a bike that tough to do RAGBRAI. Hybrids have straight handlebars like a mountain bike, however the tires are narrower (somewhere in between a road bike and a mountain bike) and they aren’t built to take the same abuse.
If you pick out a bike, remember that aluminum frames are a few pounds lighter than steel alloys, but they are also more rigid - so you’ll feel more shocks and bumps from the road. That’s why a lot of aluminum bikes put shocks in the seat post and the front forks (and then they add right back in part of the weight they just saved). Borrow a friend’s bike and ride a good 20-30 miles to find out what you like - because what feels good on mile 2 isn’t necessarily what will feel good on mile 25 or mile 50. It’s a matter of personal preference - and what you will use the bike for.
My own personal choice is a 26-lb Trek 520 touring bike built for long distances, with downturned handlebars and a narrow firm gel seat, tires closer to a hybrid than a racing bike (700mm x 32mm), tougher spokes and components to reduce breakdowns and maintenance, and a steel alloy frame designed to take the bumps out of the road on a long day (and carry 80 lbs of baggage and still brake and handle smoothly on a steep mountain road if I ever needed to...). I may put on narrower tires before RAGBRAI. I waited eight months for this bike in 2004 when Trek didn’t build enough to keep up with the demand. Not as fast and light as a racing bike, but in my opinion the ideal RAGBRAI machine.
*What do I bring?*
More about this later.
*What can I expect?*
Expect the unexpected - there will be something new and unusual every year. Slide down a snowbank in July. Slip into a hot tub somebody fitted into a 57 Chevy and put on a flatbed. Climb up on top of one of the team party buses at a stop along the way and enjoy the view. See a guy tow a canoe behind his bike across Iowa. A man riding a recumbent bicycle totally enclosed in an aerodynamic shell. A tandem for five. Unicycles. Rollerblades. An old 1800s bike with a big front tire, a tiny back one, and no speeds or chain - and a rider who will tell you about riding this bike through a mountain pass in a snowstorm. Riders in outlandish costumes. People towing sounds systems - or a wetbar - or an inflatable passenger. Bikers riding a mechanical bull mounted in the back of a pickup truck (as if the bike seat all day wasn’t enough abuse). Colorful and creative team names. If you’re a people watcher, there’s no better place to be. I can’t tell you what to expect this year - it will be something new and different every time. I just guarantee it will be colorful and will give you plenty of stories to tell.
posted by IOU... at 3:51 PM
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