I have never done RAGBRAI, but when I have done large tours in the past, I have always gotten up at 4:30-5:00am so I could get a prime camping spot the next day, as you mention. If the camping spot is the local HS baseball field, you don't want to end up along the basepaths, or you'll be camping in dirt or gravel rather than grass.
Of course, when you do tours in the mountains, the other incentive to get up super early is to get over the passes before the mountain thunderstorms in the afternoon. This doesn't apply to Iowa as much, although in any locale thunderstorms are most likely to form in the afternoon. On Thu, Jun 11, 2015 at 10:22 AM, Tim Gavin <tim.ga...@littlevillagemag.com> wrote: > I'm riding the last 3 days with my girlfriend and her father. I'll be on > my 650b Riv Road, my girlfriend on her Soma San Marcos, and her father on > his 80s Raleigh that I rebuilt for him, Riv-style. We did the full week > last year but are doing our own thing this year. > > We live near Hiawatha (Thursday night), so we're riding to Cedar Falls > from here on Weds, riding back to Hiawatha with RAGBRAI on Thursday, riding > partially off-route and partially off-pavement to Coralville on Friday, and > riding with RAGBRAI to the end on Saturday. > > RAGBRAI is a ton of fun, normally uptight Iowans get totally loose. The > local hosts give a bemused smile, shaking their heads but taking your > money. It's a very good-natured ride. > > BUT: > it has several challenges > 1) the ride itself > 2) the weather > 3) the people > > 1) The ride is long. This year's days are pretty consistent, from 56 to > 74 miles. There are hills (steep, short rollers). > Ron has good advice, water and ibuprofen are helpful. > > Ride at your own pace. If you're slow, then get going early and ride the > day with generous stops. > > RAGBRAI organizes official stopover towns throughout the route, and there > are plenty of other opportunities to stop. Many vendors will rent > farmyards along the route and set up professional operations each day. > Favorites include: > Farm Boys' burritos (hearty breakfast) > Iowa Conservation team (free bananas, postcards, and water) > Iowa Corn board (sweet corn paradise) > Beekman's ice cream (made with 2-stroke ag engines) > Mr. Pork Chop (substantial, fresh smoked chops) > Iowa craft beer tent (usually in the last section of the day's route, > thankfully) > > The vendors in the towns are often more conventional. I prefer to find > local restaurants, but they're usually swamped by crowds. Local churches > often have benefit suppers, offering spaghetti or similar. Those are the > best spots for pie. I had a wonderful blackberry pie with lemon streusel > on top last year that may currently hold the top prize. > > 2) Iowa summers can be brutal, with 90 degree days and 90 percent > humidity. Sun screen is mandatory (and needs to be re-applied often), > although you see a handful of lobsters after day 1. It can get very hot by > noon, so that's another good reason to get some miles in early in the day. > > Bring mosquito repellent for when you stop. > > We get some pretty impressive thunderstorms in Iowa. We got caught in one > last year, and the wind tore my girlfriend's dad's vinyl poncho right off > his back while we were desperately riding to the next town. We huddled in > the high school (it smelled like wet canines in there, yuck). I was soaked > to the bone and shivering, and didn't fully recover until about an hour > later with bright sunshine and a hot pork chop. > > You can bring rain gear if you want, but I don't because it just makes me > sopping wet from sweat instead of wet from rain. But, a change of riding > clothes in a dry bag would be a great idea for a day with a chance of > storms. > > 3) RAGBRAI is a traveling circus. More than 20,000 riders (official > numbers are difficult because many people ride without passes), support RVs > and cars, vendors, etc. Even if you pull off the road to fertilize the > cornfield (everyone does it. bring TP), you may find that someone else is > using the facilities a couple rows over. You're always in a crowd on > RAGBRAI. > > I find these crowds fun for a short while, and then they're just > frustrating. It's imperative to my sanity that I get a break now and > again. The RAGBRAI routing is thorough but pretty myopic; it stays on main > roads to keep folks from getting lost. I prefer to get off the main route > sometimes to explore, or to go to a restaurant without 500 bikers already > in line. > > Your RAGBRAI pass entitles you to lots of support, including bag drag each > day to the campsite in the next town. But that campsite is often the high > school football field, or the local city park. Shared with 5,000 or more > people. The showers are not free, and usually have very long lines. Cell > phone charging is very rare (bring an extension cord with multiple sockets > so you can share an outlet). > > The noise is ever-present as well. You'll get passed by folks playing > really crappy music, really loudly, through really crappy speakers. The > towns are in party mode, so crap country is blaring everywhere. Even where > you try to sleep, you may be able to hear the big concert form the > campsite. I recommend earplugs. > > Some folks get up very early, in order to get to the next town first and > grab the best camping spots. You'll see these folks under the one tree in > the field, napping at 3 pm in a hammock. But they get up at 5 to > accomplish this scheme. > > Although these facilities are livable (we did it every night but one last > year), you'll feel better on the ride if you find better places to sleep, > with more shade, less noise, and better shower access. Use the RAGBRAI > website to look for willing hosts in the towns, maybe place craigslist ads, > and ask around on web forums. > > You can camp with us in Hiawatha for sure (we're ~3 miles away from the > epicenter). Our spots in Cedar Falls and Coralville are further away, but > we should have space if you want to camp. > > Cheers, > Tim Gavin > > On Thu, Jun 11, 2015 at 9:24 AM, Ron Mc <bulldog...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Take a jar of motrin and keep hydrated for your knees. Take the motrin >> before you ride >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Keep the metal side up and the rubber side down! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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