Since 2010, I've made an annual blog entry about what I saw while riding my bicycle on that July's RAGBRAI, a/k/a the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. Had I started this blog before August 2009, there would have been many other entries like it; aside from one missed year due to injury, my best guess is I've ridden at least a day on 18 of the last 20 RAGBRAI's.
Make that 18 of the last 21, because I didn't participate this year.
There wasn't anything stopping me -- I still cycle a lot, I had the time, and the ride came through central Iowa, making it fairly easy to jump onto it. I just didn't have the passion for it this year, and decided not to go.
I told people after the 2015 RAGBRAI that I was retiring from the ride, that I didn't care to do it anymore. After riding in it another day in 2016, I said the same thing.
Last year, after renouncing retirement for the second time and riding my third career 100 mile day on RAGBRAI, I said it again. Apparently this time, it took.
I had some FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) worries, but I was glad to say it never bothered me. The only time I gave it much thought was when I went to a meeting in a town that the ride would later go through. Watching all of the townsfolk out sprucing things up reminded me about how the red carpet is always laid out for the rolling party of RAGBRAI riders. That's part of what makes it fun.
Who knows if there will be another RAGBRAI in my future? Until then, I hope my fellow riders, such as Team Crack-A-Noon and Team Wasted Potential, will be able to carry on without me.
No comments:
Post a Comment