Great Lakes - Ragbrai Xxx!!!!!!!!!!

hotrod,

2 water bottles are enough because you will be able to refill them in every town you pass thru, usually every 10 miles or so.

and one more thought...

don't pay for water. The vendors want you to think there is no free water to be found but don't believe it. The best places I have found to get water is in churches and libraries and court houses. And some of the towns will set up "water trees" for RAGBRAI.

I hope some people get their bikeforums jersey in time for Ragbrai and other organized summer tours. It would be cool to represent the forums and be able to connect with other BFers.

Dave

Good point, Bicycle Bob. No reason to get carried away with the water. I never pay for water or sports drink..except for the cost of the mix. Take a can of Gatorade with you and mix a bottle each night.

Think of RAGBRAI as a huge State Fair (without the elephant ears). You can have as much to eat and drink as you can take or afford.

Are you riding this year, CycleTourist? I bumped into somebody in your group last year on the second day of RAGBRAI and they said you didn't make it.

Happy cycling....it's a beautiful Friday morning here in Chicagoland and I have the day off. Time to put on the padded shorts!

Originally posted by Tree Trunk
I haven't had much online time this year so I missed this post until now!

Since I missed hooking up with you last year, Gus, I will definitely make it a point to show for the Pizza Hut get-together.

This year's RAGBRAI looks like a breeze compared to last year. And this year, if things keep going like they are, I will be in much better shape for this RAGBRAI. I am riding with a local club this year (for the first time ever) and am really seeing the difference.

The Aegis sounds nice, Gus. My Trek 2300 has Rev-X wheels and I love them.

See ya!

:D

See you there TT! Unlike you, I haven't trained well this year. :( I have around 600 base miles and am currently in Southern Florida (vacation) riding the tandem with the better-half. After we get back, we're off to the GRABAWRR (sp?). This is a week long ride up in Wisconsin, we're doing it on the tandem. Riding it gives me tremendous benificial training for my single. So, by RAGBRAI, I should be in fit enough shape to keep up with most of my Air Force team mates. :D

Hey Gus! 600 base miles isn't much, but it's something. I bet you'll be cruising by the time RAGBRAI hits. Those Air Force guys can really ride. I hooked up with a few on last year's RAGBRAI and we burned some rubber!

GRABAWRR sounds like a great ride. I wish my wife would ride with me, but she complains that she can't keep up. Maybe some day I will get her on a tandem like you and your wife.

See you in July.

Originally posted by Tree Trunk

I wish my wife would ride with me, but she complains that she can't keep up. Maybe some day I will get her on a tandem like you and your wife.

See you in July.

We were in the same situation. She wanted to ride, but was afraid she was holding me back. Her speed and endurance were way down as compared to mine. I didn't mind the once in awhile ride with her (on singles), but I'm afraid I couldn't take it on a consistant basis.

Our answer was the tandem (you've heard this before, I'm sure). We're a team and she can go as far as I can go (usually farther...I've had problems with getting used to the different saddles I've put on the tadem...think I have it licked now). We really enjoy getting out and enjoying the sport together.

We got started with a short test ride on one. She loved it! I hated it, but grew to enjoy it.

We've done two RAGBRAIs and a CANDISC (North Dakota) together on the tandem.

We were in the same situation. She wanted to ride, but was afraid she was holding me back. Her speed and endurance were way down as compared to mine. I didn't mind the once in awhile ride with her (on singles), but I'm afraid I couldn't take it on a consistant basis.

Yes, that is definitely where we are at. Mir likes to ride but she is about 35 years behind me! She didn't learn to ride a bike until adulthood. My son just turned three and Mir is having to struggle to keep up with him (Mir and I are already starting to mention "Tour de France" to him -- he smokes for a three year old and has great endurance). That is probably good for her. Maybe I will get a tandem to ride with the kids and slowly convince my wife that she needs to ride it, too.

Someday I would like to try RAGBRAI as a family, although the expense of it is not something I would want to tackle right now. If I can get Mir on a tandem I think it would be feasible. There is a guy in our RAGBRAI group who brings his daughter every year. That would be so cool!!

I saw a lot of tandems on last years ride, and talked to a few of the riders. One of the cooler things I saw was an Uncle, who had no children of his own, so he had put a pedal riser kit on his tandem, and had his 10 year old nephew stoking! They were doing okay, too. And then there was a husband/wife team who I happened across right at the start of a hill climb. I asked the lady stoker who shifted the gears, and she indicated that her husband did. I then asked her what happened if he started up a hill in a little too high of gear, to which she replied that he "heard about it" and she also advised me that she knew "all the words, too!"
Whatta blast!
Counting down now..getting close! :)

Originally posted by Gus Riley
<snip> and am currently in Southern Florida (vacation) <snip>
Where are you in FL?

Originally posted by beowoulfe

Where are you in FL?

We're visiting Sanibel Island for two weeks. Good heat training for us. Not to mention the keylime pie!

Originally posted by Gus Riley

We're visiting Sanibel Island for two weeks. Good heat training for us. Not to mention the keylime pie!
Ah....I'm north of you in Clearwater. Thought if you were closer we could hook up for a ride.
You are pretty far south. Like the humidity, huh! :D

Originally posted by beowoulfe

Like the humidity, huh! :D

Whew!

Only 25 days left until RAGBRAI rolls across Iowa! Everyone getting their training in? Friday the better half, the tandem and I are headed for Wisconsin for thier week long ride along the Wisconsin river. Should be fun and good training! See you all soon at Pizza Hut! :D

It doesn't seem like RAGBRAI should be so close!

Hey GUS...what is the name of the tour in Wisconsin? GRABAWWR? I was camping with my family yesterday (June 24) in Baraboo, Wisconsin and ended up on the route for the "Northwoods to Capital" ride. There were tons of bikes coming out of Baraboo as I was riding back in. Lots of tandems and recumbents and tandem recumbents (strange people -- HA!!).

See y'all soon!

TT

Originally posted by Tree Trunk
It doesn't seem like RAGBRAI should be so close!

Hey GUS...what is the name of the tour in Wisconsin? GRABAWWR?
TT

Yes GRABAWWR it is. Our first year with it. We're looking forward to it. Should be a bunch cooler at night as compared to RAGBRAI. Better to sleep.

http://grabaawr.com/

Just be sure to take mosquito repellent. The joke when I was a kid was about the fisherman on the Wisconsin River that was caught by 2 mosquitos. One asked "should we eat him here or take him home?" The other replied, "Oh, lets eat him here, if we take him home the big guys will take him away from us."

Gus, I'll see you at GRABAAWR. My wife and I will be riding a red Trek tandem. Rider #'s 665 & 666.
Don't count on the cool camping. The long range forcast is calling for 90 degrees with high humidity the first couple days. After a very cool spring I guess the heat is making up for lost time. We did a tour in similar weather last year. I remember thinking as I laid in the tent that I would give anything for a breeze (ever notice how the breeze stops the moment you get in a tent - even more aggrevating when it has been a head wind all day long) so I went out a bought a battery powered fan today. I may need to stop for new batteries every day - but I'll have my breeze!

Originally posted by Jean Beetham Smith
Just be sure to take mosquito repellent.

Way ahead of you...got it packed! First thing in the bag! Thanks. On our North Dakota ride last year, the mosquitos were like little fighter jets...and aggressive as heck! We learned to have the repellent handy!

Just don't spray the skeeter repellant on your bike shorts, unless you want to watch them melt !!!!

Two weeks until RAGBRAI. Cooooool!!!!

I am a little concerned about the guys I am riding with this year. Usually, I go to RAGBRAI with a group of around 7 guys who ride fast enough to keep me happy. Those guys aren't going this year. The two guys I am riding with ride at a 15-16 mph pace. I rode a 62 mile tour with them yesterday and it drove me nuts. I kept taking off for a while then waiting for them. My comfort zone is 20-22 mph!

And away we go!!!! Well, tomorrow anyway! See you all at Cherokee! :beer:

Covered my bike tubes with styrofoam tubing, packed my gear and went to work tonight. At 8:30 AM, I will be on I-94 and on my way. It's an 8 hour drive & I'll be tired, so don't know when I stop and sleep, but eventually I'll reach Bellevue. See you all in Cherokee at 6:00.

Covered my bike tubes with styrofoam tubing, packed my gear and went to work tonight. At 8:30 AM, I will be on I-94 and on my way. It's an 8 hour drive & I'll be tired, so don't know when I stop and sleep, but eventually I'll reach Bellevue. See you all in Cherokee at 6:00.

Well, the van is loaded, the gas tank is full, fresh tuneup, new tires and tubes on ol' Blue...guess I am about as ready as I am gonna get! Wait for a good friend to arrive this evening, and we will be off before first light in the morning!! I'll be the old, bearded biker guy wearing a red, white and blue USA hat, shouldn't be too hard to spot!! See you all at Cherokee!

nebill, where were you in Cherokee?

I ran into Tree Trunk and he said he forgot. It was really fixin to storm on us, so we figured you stayed near camp... I don't blame you.

Still looking for Puddle Jumper and nebill but did run into Tree Trunk, or he ran into me.

Will be looking for you guys in the next five days. Great ride so far!

Hey guys,

I was a Pizza Hut at 5:30, and a state trooper came in and said there was a storm coming with 50 mph winds and 3/4" hail so I left to zip up my tent & protect my bike. I'm staying with OOS. I'm writing from Fenton Library. The riding's been great. I leave early in the morning, but today I'm going to try to stay in town longer so things will be open. Hope to see some of you. I felt pretty foolish standing around Pizza Hut with my homemade sign that said BIKEFORUMS. Just like the airport. I'm riding a red Lemond bike & I'll try to post something on the community bulletin board. bye

Hi all,

I picked up a day of Ragbrai from Charles City to Oelwein. Next year, the whole week. I am very excited. Those hills at the end were a little discouraging, but I am sure there are worse.

There was nothing more fun than giving high fives to kids when you came to town, or saying thanks to the troopers who block the road.

Hope to hear more stories!

Man, what a ride! Any of you who might have seen my little page about last year may have gotten the idea that I had a good time...well, it was even better this year! Just unbelievable! Sorry I could not make the meeting, but our team bus was ailing, so I was doing my mechanics thing! But, the good news, the operation was a success, and the trusty old bus got us thru the rest of the trip without any problems!
Be back later with more tales of a great time!

Hey! Great ride! I got a chance to heckle Gus several times on the ride. It was easy to spot him on that ghastly Aegis (just kidding).

Outashape, I took the bus across the state with OOS. I spent the rest of the week with "Silver Streak".

Did anyone else catch a carpet tack in their tire the last day? I was one of many changing a flat in the rain--with a smile on my face! The ride was so great I didn't mind the flat or the rain.

POOOOOORK CHoooooooooooooPPPPP!

Originally posted by Tree Trunk
Hey! Great ride! I got a chance to heckle Gus several times on the ride. It was easy to spot him on that ghastly Aegis (just kidding).

Outashape, I took the bus across the state with OOS. I spent the rest of the week with "Silver Streak".

Did anyone else catch a carpet tack in their tire the last day? I was one of many changing a flat in the rain--with a smile on my face! The ride was so great I didn't mind the flat or the rain.

POOOOOORK CHoooooooooooooPPPPP!

Yeah you did! I had a great visit with you before you dropped me for a pork chop!!!!!

I did indeed get a tack in the front tire. It was fun to change the tube in the pouring rain. But even worse, the scenery was beautiful that day, and I kept looking down to watch for tacks. PLUS.... I had to go slower on the long descents since I didn't want another blowout till I bought a new spare. It was a great ride. I felt like a celebrity. I looked for a guy with big legs but everyone seemed to have big legs. I looked for a blue schwin, saw one, he wasn't Bill. I looked for a girl with a red ribbon on her helmet, and only saw tootoos on a bunch of guys. Oh well, maybe next year we'll all meet up.

Originally posted by outashape
I did indeed get a tack in the front tire. It was a great ride. I felt like a celebrity. I looked for a guy with big legs but everyone seemed to have big legs. I looked for a blue schwin, saw one, he wasn't Bill. I looked for a girl with a red ribbon on her helmet, and only saw tootoos on a bunch of guys. Oh well, maybe next year we'll all meet up.

Well outashape, you found me okay. It was good to talk with you. Your're right we'll have to try again next year.

One way my fellow riders of the day and I would meet when separated was easy. Our first reorganization point is the party town's beer garden or American legion. We'd meet, have a beer (or soft drink) then press on together. Next meeting point is in the overnight town, specifically, the first bar on the right unless one on the left appears first! This system worked pretty good. :beer:

I was at Pizza Hut also, and was disappointed not to find (recognize) anyone from the forum. We finished eating (what was that pasta dish in the buffet?) just as the storm came up. Since we had a car, we were able to make it back to the camp and put on rain flys just in time. I 'm new to biking and managed to get in a little over 800 training miles- most of it in 35 - 65 mile chunks. Worked well for me as I was able to complete each day w/o major pains. I couldn't believe the events at most pass-through towns. And the overnites were absolutely awesome. As a "virgin", I could go on and on about this experience. Now, how do I learn to ride faster and climb better? Those pace lines fly!!!!

Originally posted by hotrod
I was at Pizza Hut also, and was disappointed not to find (recognize) anyone from the forum. We finished eating (what was that pasta dish in the buffet?) just as the storm came up.

Sorry we missed you hotrod. I got there just after 6 PM. I was with the 7 or 8 Air Force people who came in just as the storm hit. The buffet was really strained to the max wasn't it?!

It sounds like everyone who rode this year had a great time. You are right, Hot Rod, the pacelines are a blast. They are one of the many reasons I enjoy RAGBRAI. This year I spent most days alternating between hammering in a paceline and taking it easy by myself. By Wednesday I had made several friends who would look for me and yell for me to join in as they passed! I was on RAGBRAI with two friends and I usually just waited for them to catch up in each town.

Once I saw Gus on Monday I pretty much saw him several times each day. He's not a bad rider for an old guy! He was recruiting an AF friend for our forum, "Nurse Diane". She insists her handle will NOT be "Nurse Diane".

It would be interesting to find out what everyone's favorite RAGBRAI food was. Beekman's homemade vanilla ice cream is and always be my favorite. I had my first pork chop this year and that almost replaced Beekman's as my favorite. Breakfast Burritos are a close second. Then again, there are the Walking Tacos.......

And Gus, that was a good pork chop!

Another question -- did anyone gain weight on this year's RAGBRAI? I tried but I still lost a few.

:rolleyes:

I for one picked up an extra 5 pounds! This year, I had one porkchop, and stopped for ice cream only twice...I guess I had more fun checking out what the locals in the pass-thru towns had to offer. Anyone stop at Little Italy? Man, what a selection!
On Thursday, I was trundling along near the end of the day, I saw one of my team mates stopped for some ice cream, so I stopped as well. As we sat on the grass in the shade of a tree, we observed two F-16s as they flew by the route! A few moments later, they returned, going the opposite direction. I am sure that they went to the starting town and back in just a few moments, whereas I had been riding for hours! It was an awesome sight! Thanks, Air Force!
I worked pace lines pretty much most of Monday and Tuesday, but spent the rest of the time out doing my own thing and having fun. Really got to talk to a lot of interesting people.
What a great ride!

Oh yeah, those F-16s were AWESOME! I was already in town and they went right over town. Their last pass was directly overhead and I got a shot of their afterburners as they went straight up. Verrrrry cool!

I missed Little Italy but I seemed to spend more time in the towns this year also. I stopped to listen to the band in Winthrop for over an hour.

Here's a pic of two serious riders! Gus and Tree Trunk! Two "Goombas" from Illinois! Too bad Tree Trunk missed the directions to stop at the first bar on the right..unless one came up on the left first in each over night town!! :beer:

Hey, those are some good looking bikes, Gus! I may have missed the bars on the right but I did not miss the Spinergy requirement.

I am ready for another tour, less the tents!

Here's a picture of the USAF team coming into final town of the ride. 100 riders this year...down from a 150 last year.

This picture was taken by one of our support people.

Here I am (standing up) and about ten rows back from the start.

This picture was taken by one of our support people. Irene took some great pictures.

OK, Gus, so why are you standing up in the picture? A little saddle sore?

Originally posted by Tree Trunk
OK, Gus, so why are you standing up in the picture? A little saddle sore?

Resting man! My butt was wet from the rainy day. Didn't you ride that day? ;)

LOL. My butt had toughened by the last day. Even without the rain it was OK! I got in early that day. NO ONE was in town yet. I was anxious to see my family, I guess.