Just finished another day on the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI). Just 60 miles this year, although the heat and headwinds made it seem a lot worse.
I blogged about RAGBRAI last year, with an explanation and series of observations on the 2010 ride.
http://streffblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/thoughts-on-ragbrai-2010.html
*Lots of loosely-organized biking teams go on the ride, and their names are usually pretty clever. Some of my favorite team names include Team Wasted Potential, Team Crackanoon, and Team TenderLoins, the perfect double-entendre for an Iowa ride.
*People who live in houses and towns along the route seem to love to be hospitable to the bike riders. It's kind of weird, but bikers basically get rock star treatment, as if the effort of simply biking long distances is worthy of that kind of thing.
*This may be related to the last item, but RAGBRAI riders spend a lot of money, and spend it in a generous way. Obviously, they have to eat and drink a lot to refuel. But given the choice of buying something from a charitable organization or buying from a corporate organization, they will usually buy from the fund raising entity.
*Some riders think they're funny when they wear something unusual, but they aren't. Believe me, every accessory has probably been seen before, whether it be crazy socks or something stuck in a helmet. It basically identifies first-time riders, and it's mostly lame.
*Speaking of food and charities, last year I lamented on the lack of pie on the ride, something that used to be a staple of every church lawn on the route. This year I did find some pie, but it was company vendored pie, at $3 per slice. Still couldn't find the good old fashioned church-lady kind for a buck or two. Thus officially ends the era of the church-lady RAGBRAI pie.
RAGBRAI is still as much fun as you can have on a day-long bike ride.
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