If I were to do it again, I would pay for one of the services where they haul your stuff and set up your tent. Getting a hotel will likely be nearly impossible, given the number of people attending.
I did RAGBRAI a few years ago and tried bringing my own tent and setting it up at night. The kids they use to haul luggage from site to site quickly destroyed my bag. Basically, they pile them in the truck and if I had to guess, they saw my handles and yanked on it to pull it free, but tore the brand new heavy canvas bag instead. I tried holding it together with a cable lock and tape, but had to give up on that after a few days. A lot of items I didn't need were tossed, then the rest went into my panniers and I had to haul it myself. Overall, I was a bit disappointed with the luggage service side of the trip.
However, the ride itself was great, especially eating dinner with strangers every evening.
One thing I was happy that I brought was my ultralight cot. It got me off of the ground, which kept me dry on rainy evenings and cooler on hot days.
The next trick is to find a way to charge your phone. I'd make sure you have a power bank available.
Good luck,
Matt
On Monday, January 15, 2024 at 5:33:07 PM UTC-6 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
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