Here's my two cents: I did RAGBRAI last year with my parents, both of whom have done it more than a dozen times (I grew up in Cedar Rapids).
My dad managed to snag hotels or rooms in family/friend homes reasonably close to each town, which made a real difference in the heat. I remember seeing "103" as I climbed the final hills into Iowa City. Coming from Utah, I'm no stranger to triple digits, but triple digits and humid really calls for care in hydration. My parents had planned on each riding half days and swapping the car halfway, though illness kept my dad from participating beyond day 1. Being much younger, I rode everything, and especially enjoyed the Iowa Craft Beer stops along the way. Great beer, excellent food, constant party atmosphere, and a lot of fun strangers to talk to. Not sure I'll do it again, mostly because I have other adventures on which to spend the few days away from home I am accorded each year. But I'm very glad I did it, especially since my dad's illness turned out to be cancer. He's doing quite well, as far as leukemia goes, and the doctor's say he has a very good chance of living long enough to die of something else. A RAGBRAI nostalgia tour turned out to be a perfect way to close one chapter of his life and open another. Happy riding, Brady in SLC On Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 3:04:08 PM UTC-7 R. Alexis wrote: > BRAN(Bike Ride Across Nebraska) is still going as far as I know. As > apposed to RAGBRAI, it is a lot smaller. I think registration is limited to > 500 or so. Might be even smaller. Someone described RAGBRAI as a party > atmosphere that happens to have bikes involved. BRAN, from what I > understand is way less party atmosphere. > > Friend thought of doing RAGBRAI and having husband roll with one of their > campers, but I reminded her and she saw all the stuff that didn't appeal to > her like crowds, heat, hills, other erratic riders. > > Thanks, > > Reginald Alexis > > On Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 8:35:58 AM UTC-6 mmille...@gmail.com > wrote: > >> I wonder if it will start close to Omaha this year since it was the >> northern route last year? >> A very good friend did it last summer. He got an RV, and his wife drove >> (and worked remote). He reserved a lot of RV spots that were NOT with the >> main group. Had a blast, but a couple of those days were pretty rough. I >> think last year was one of the toughest years. >> >> Is BRAN still happening? As a photojournalist in Omaha, I covered RAGBRAI >> a couple years, and also went out to BRAN once. I thought the BRAN folks >> were pretty hardcore. >> >> Matt in STL >> >> On Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 12:21:49 AM UTC-6 John Dewey wrote: >> >>> I snapped a shot one RAGBRAI of a bank clock at 6 pm sharp. Still 106F. >>> Thank goodness for plenty of cold beer. >>> >>> Jock >>> >>> On Tue, Jan 16, 2024 at 2:50 PM Sarah Carlson <sarahlik...@gmail.com> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Just watched the RAGBRAI documentary and can totally understand how you >>>> could be called to join a community of riders who support each other >>>> through an exciting challenge. It makes me want to go too.... except for >>>> when I heard one of the guys commenting, "It's 105 degrees." That gave me >>>> pause! >>>> >>>> On Monday, January 15, 2024 at 3:33:07 PM UTC-8 Bicycle Belle Ding >>>> Ding! wrote: >>>> >>>>> Who knows about Bike Film Festival? >>>>> >>>>> I paid for the pass to watch this year’s videos and it was money >>>>> well-spent. I got to the RAGBRAI documentary last night. Wow. I had heard >>>>> of it but really knew nothing about it and now I would just love to >>>>> figure >>>>> out how to ride it this year. It just looks like such an experience. And >>>>> I’ve had very few experiences, because I’m late to the bike adventure >>>>> scene >>>>> AND I’ve been raising kids! But now they are teenagers and might not even >>>>> know that I’m gone so maybe I should ride this epic ride! >>>>> >>>>> There are a ton of logistics I don’t understand. I think you need a >>>>> “charter” to haul your stuff, yes? And to bring you back across the state >>>>> after you finish? And if you use these “charters” do they trash your bike >>>>> in their racks or will they have something that can handle a a mixte with >>>>> fenders? Is there are charter that is more friendly to Riv bikes than the >>>>> others? >>>>> >>>>> Also, no camping. I’m really hoping to end up in a hotel or some sort >>>>> of dwelling. I don’t have any tents, don’t know how to pitch tents and so >>>>> on. This may be the thing I can’t plan my way out of, because there are >>>>> so >>>>> many riders moving through tiny host towns. >>>>> >>>>> I’ll look up more info tonight after I get my chores done! But it >>>>> really is so exciting to imagine riding my bike across a whole state… >>>>> Also, >>>>> it’s Real Winter here in Michigan, so maybe that’s why this hits >>>>> different. >>>>> >>>>> Leah >>>>> >>>> -- >>>> >>> 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-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/f81dc795-bdba-4c2e-9bd7-fab0e51cbe40n%40googlegroups.com >>>> >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/f81dc795-bdba-4c2e-9bd7-fab0e51cbe40n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>> -- 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 view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/b90a1b90-6614-48cc-835d-e4e685652344n%40googlegroups.com.
