Hi Leah et al., I agree with Pam, the Mountains to Coast ride in NC is a great introduction and her advice tracks with my experience. A word of warning: you may become a convert but since we are members of this Riv group, it’s probably a safe assumption that people already know that you are bike crazy.
I grew up in southwest Iowa, in an occasional start town of RAGBRAI, so cross state rides were just natural things that people would do. I rode the CycleNC event last year and brought along a friend who already had a bike but wasn’t a “cyclist” nor aware that this is a thing that people do. Following the ride, he can’t stop talking about it and has been trying to convince the rest of our friend group to do the ride this year. The logistics of how to travel to a state with a bike, figure out where to park and how to get back there at the end may sound overwhelming but is very solvable. Especially if Pam will be there (hi Pam!). I agree that RAGBRAI is kind of a lot. I have ridden BRAN which is very different and enjoyable but Nebraska can be hot in June and the terrain is only so interesting. I have heard that the UP Michigan ride is nice too but I can’t personally speak to that. The Mountains to Coast ride in NC is easy to recommend. Good luck! -Frank On Wednesday, January 24, 2024 at 10:21:31 PM UTC-5 Pam Bikes wrote: > Leah, you could do any ride you want. There are rides in every state > including NC. Our cross the state ride is from the Mountains to the Coast > and will be 10/6-13. I've done it 3 times. Camping is the way to go b/c > there are not enough hotels and honestly they are motels since these are > small towns and not great. I plan to do it this year so maybe you can come > ride it w/me. The ride is smaller than RAGBRAI. It's about 800-1000 > riders and a few Rivs. Logistics - fly into Charlotte then we can drop a > van at the end so when we're done, we drive back. Cycle NC puts on the > ride and registration includes moving your tent, luggage on the truck, > shower trucks and campsites. Lots of people do many of the state rides and > say the NC one is well organized. I would agree. The ride this year > starts in Spruce Pine and ends at Ocean Isle Beach. Charlotte is only > about 2 hrs from Spruce Pine. Come ride across NC w/me. > > On Sunday, January 21, 2024 at 8:37:23 PM UTC-5 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! > wrote: > >> George is right. I wonder if those wheelman will let a raspberry racing >> Platypus and its non-self-sufficient rider on any of their rides. Here’s to >> new adventures! >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> On Jan 21, 2024, at 5:11 PM, George Schick <bhi...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> Not to worry, all is not lost. There's this ride calendar of events in >> the Wolverine state: >> https://lmb.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/RideCal_2023_v5_web.pdf >> >> >> >> On Sunday, January 21, 2024 at 3:52:06 PM UTC-6 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! >> wrote: >> >>> Welp, I was so much more excited about this in theory. After reading >>> about the various experiences of damaged luggage, sweltering temps and >>> difficult logistics, I think I’ll find a different ride to do. >>> >>> Thanks to everyone who offered their experiences! It was a great thread >>> to read in the dead of a Michigan winter. >>> Leah >>> >>> On Jan 21, 2024, at 12:03 PM, Matt Beecher <beec...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> 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 >>>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the >>> Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/816fHN9n71o/unsubscribe >>> . >>> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, 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/2a9058cd-bfc9-4c58-a8a9-7631438cdc17n%40googlegroups.com >>> >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/2a9058cd-bfc9-4c58-a8a9-7631438cdc17n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the >> Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/816fHN9n71o/unsubscribe >> . >> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, 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/cd493d24-2862-4aca-b93f-501dae975d22n%40googlegroups.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/cd493d24-2862-4aca-b93f-501dae975d22n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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