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

It's almost time for RAGBRAI applications. The overnight towns will be posted in a few days as well! I've already sent my application to the Air Force team for acceptance (should be good; prior team members have a priority).

Am I the only one on this forum going to RAGBRAI this year? I doubt it. Sing out! Maybe we can come up with a way to identify each other while we're hammering the hills of RAGBRAI?!

I can narrow the identification problems of "ME" a little by saying I will be one of only 100 USAF riders, and I will be riding a Lobster Red Aegis Aro Svelte with Spinergy Rev-X wheels. Probably the only Aegis of this color and configuration. Anything else we all agree upon will only make it easier for me to be identified! :)

If I get some training in I will be zipping along at a good pace, if not I'll be a slug on a nice bike! :D

I know I'll be there...and I think there is little doubt that Nebill will be indulging. I do not know if I will do the whole ride or just a couple of days. Last year I did two days as, but not as a member of the official ride.

A friend of mine who died a couple years back, used to ride (fully loaded) out to the beginning of RAGBRAI and then ride the whole route and then cycle back to Iowa City. Him and his friends did this year after year. Unfortunately, this was before I had summers off, and never had the time to go on RAGBRAI.

If I do the whole ride this year, I expect to do it unassisted, assuming I can get a friend or two to join me. We'll just have to see.

RAGBRAI

cmon gus give this scotsman a clue
wheres it from -to

any sites to cheer me up on this "dreich" sunday

steve r

steve r -

RAGBRAI = Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.

Simply put, the ride is from one side of Iowa to the other side of Iowa.

www.ragbrai.org should give you all the info you need, but if you run a search for "RAGBRAI" on any search engine, you'll come up with a lot of personal accounts and news articles and other stuff like that that is not found on the official site.

cheers gus liked the ragbrai site
whats the cost ???

Originally posted by stever
cheers gus liked the ragbrai site
whats the cost ???

Steve, I think it's $100 or so plus transportation to and from ETC. You'll have to buy your own food along the way as well. But RAGBRAI is famous for the variety and availability of the food along the route and at each overnight town. At this site http://www.oosbicycleclub.com/ they kind of specialize in getting riders to, then supporting them across Iowa for an extra cost. RAGBRAI's fee includes campground and luggage support as well as limited SAG if needed.

I pay quite a bit more. The USAF team requires we wear a specified riding get-up everyday, the cost of that is on me. Then there are some other costs above and beyond the RAGBRAI fee that we pay, plus I have to get there at my cost as well.

Gee, a red bike with fancy wheels....should be easy to find...among 10,000 other riders on 500 miles of road! And I'm not too keen on flying an orange flag from the bike, either. LOL!

I have already put in for vacation, and me and ol' Blue are ready to go! I will have to put on another set of tires before then, but that won't be a problem.

How will you know me? Well, I'll be the still-a-little-overwieght bearded guy riding a classic old metallic blue Schwinn Paramount, and with a little luck, be riding alongside Ba-Dg-ers big yellow bike!

We should really try and set a meeting place some evening so we can get together!

The Air Force has a pretty nice RAGBRAI site, and my own little page from last year is at http://home.atcjet.net/~whitlow/ragbrai.html

Originally posted by nebill
Gee, a red bike with fancy wheels....should be easy to find...among 10,000 other riders on 500 miles of road! ......

How will you know me? Well, I'll be the still-a-little-overwieght bearded guy riding a classic old metallic blue Schwinn Paramount, and with a little luck, be riding alongside Ba-Dg-ers big yellow bike!

We should really try and set a meeting place some evening so we can get together!

The Air Force has a pretty nice RAGBRAI site, and my own little page from last year is at http://home.atcjet.net/~whitlow/ragbrai.html

It shouldn't be too hard to ID me, since there are only 100 AF riders (vs. 10,000) this year and we're all dressed alike :D My bike is unique enough that there should only be one of on the entire team, at least a red one.

Good idea about setting a meeting place and an evening! I guess when we know the daily miles we can maybe determine a suitable town meeting?

I'm thinking about tying a red ribbon to my under seat bag for ID purposes. We did this last year on our tandem and it worked when we were looking for another couple of forumers from Bicycleforum.com. I do have a small American flag on the bike as well, I took Catfishe's advise about semi-trucks and the American flag and tried it. Seems to work! Of course I "could" attach the AF flag, that would ID me without a doubt (we actually had a guy in '96-'97 do that, it guaranteed him a spot up front, but that was a big flag!!)

The USAF Aim High Team RAGBRAI site is: http://homepages.apci.net/~aimhigh/main.htm

Good idea on the flag/ribbon! I fly a small American flag under the seat on my mtn bike, and I am sure that I could figure something like that out for my Paramount!

Thanks for posting the link to the AF page...I have it here on my machine at work, but didn't have it at home, and after a weekend of hard bike riding, was just too tired to look it up!

I really think it would be great to actually meet up with some BFers on RAGBRAI...once the route is announced, let's work on it!

Just curious, any other branches of the service have teams?

Originally posted by nebill


.....Just curious, any other branches of the service have teams?


I've seen a small number of Army and a small (but larger then the Army) Navy team. I talked with some of the Navy team members and it appears they were a team out of Oklahoma City. Strange but true. I think the Army were some guard or reserve members, but I don't recall where they were from.

The AF team is a large team made up of several smaller teams from all over the world. The members all pay their own way all the way....no tax dollars involved. However, you will see some Air Force vehicles, these come from AF recruiting funds. The privilege of being on the AF team is that each member is there to answer questions about the AF when asked. To show the AF in a positive manner. Although very few of the members are recruiters our presence is of a recruiting theme and to let people in a state like Iowa talk with us.

You know, you'd think for all the nice publicity you give the AF, they would at least furnish the jerseys! Oh well, looking forward to seeing you and the rest of your team! Just remember, fat guy, classic old Schwinn displaying an as-yet-to-be-decided marker...you will probably pass me somewhere along the way. By the way, the Cycle Sport team usually starts our ride at the civilized time of 8:30...no reveille on our team!! :D Oh yeah, and the smile on the emoticon, you will see that same smile on my face all the way across Iowa!

Originally posted by nebill
You know, you'd think for all the nice publicity you give the AF, they would at least furnish the jerseys! Oh well, looking forward to seeing you and the rest of your team! Just remember, fat guy, classic old Schwinn displaying an as-yet-to-be-decided marker...you will probably pass me somewhere along the way. By the way, the Cycle Sport team usually starts our ride at the civilized time of 8:30...no reveille on our team!! :D Oh yeah, and the smile on the emoticon, you will see that same smile on my face all the way across Iowa!

Got it! 0830 is a bit late, we're supposed to have our stuff on the trucks NLT 0730-0800. I usually get started around 0700 and stop at one of the pancake stops. Should be fun to see some forum mates!!!

cheers gus for info

we wont be able to make it this year

not sure where we are touring

possiblily a small mini tour april scotland northern ireland
route is girvan-addrossan then brodick [isle of arran]-to lochranza youth hostel...then lochranza small ferry to cleonaig
then down mull of kintyre to cambeltown....
then ferry [if its running]cambeltown-ballycastle [northern ireland]
then down the coast to larne....ferry larne stranraer
then cycle home to girvan...
thats the plan at the moment tandem+ trailer + tent
:D
dont know the exact mileage yet
i will post some photos when i get back :D

If you want some XXX pics of last year's race check out www.drunkcyclist.com if they're still up, you'll get a good idea of why this race is so popular!

L8R

Sioux Center, Cherokee, Emmetsburg, Forest City, Charles City, Oelwein, Anamosa and Bellevue!

Ther you are my RAGBRAI mates! We have the overnight towns!

Good deal, Gus! Someone said that it would be a more northern route than last year, hence fewer hills! But, almost a year later, the hills from last year don't seem so bad!

Man, I just might have to get up before breakfast to ride with you! Naw, I think we better just plan on meeting one evening!

Thanks for the update!

Originally posted by nebill
...... Someone said that it would be a more northern route than last year, hence fewer hills! But, almost a year later, the hills from last year don't seem so bad!

Man, I just might have to get up before breakfast to ride with you! Naw, I think we better just plan on meeting one evening!

Thanks for the update!

This will be my first time riding in the northern section, I missed it the last time because I was in Korea. But now I get to! Yes, I hear it's flat for the first four days or so, then look out! It gets hilly again! Hope for tail winds and cooler tempatures! I'll be big ringin the first couple of days with good weather.

We'll have to decide when to meet and where to meet, we should probably wait for the mileages for each day then nail it down! Be good to have some dinner and a cool one with everyone! :beer:

For those interested in a USAF Team Aim High replica Jersey they will be sold to the public at:

http://homepages.apci.net/~aimhigh/2002/2002_team_gear.htm

And can been seen at:

http://homepages.apci.net/~aimhigh/2002/2002_white_jersey_short.htm

Route is posted!

http://desmoinesregister.com/extras/ragbrai/2002/routemap.html

or

WWW.RAGBRAI.org and click till you get to it :D

Looks like reasonable miles per day this year!

I rode RAGBRAI in 1998 and 2000. Didn't go last year. Not going this year either; can't get off work and even if I could get time off I can't afford to. Maybe next year.

85 days left until RAGBRAI rolls across Iowa! Better get serious with the training! :D

Gus, the money's been in for almost a month, I've already done the minimum recommended miles, and soon work will start on the official Team Cycle Sport bus! Adding a better sound system to my van for the trip out, and the sleeping bags and tent are already moved into my cycling/computer room! As it gets closer, we need to figure out a meeting place for any BF'ers who are there!
Hope to hook up with you somewhere along the route....but you militay types hit the road a lot earlier than us civilians!
See ya!

Originally posted by nebill
G....but you militay types hit the road a lot earlier than us civilians!
See ya!

Retired Military folk here. I usually get going around 0800. I'm pretty flexible this year.

I'm signed up! Going w/ three other friends. I'm new to biking altogether and this is my first Ragbrai. Got a new bike and gear and doing my best to break them in. Already replaced the stock seat (ouch!). I know I have a long way to go conditioning wise, but am real pleased with the diff in just 175 miles. Wish me luck. See you all there!

Good deal, Gus! After all, this thing is supposed to be FUN!

And hotrod, sounds like you are well on your way! Last year was my first adventure at RAGBRAI, and I started planning for this year on my way home! You are getting in some good miles, and having a good saddle (and some cycling shorts!) will help you really enjoy the trip. On page one of this string is a link to a little page I did about my trip last year. I hope that as it gets closer, we can plan a meeting for all of us BFers! See ya there!

Originally posted by nebill
.... I hope that as it gets closer, we can plan a meeting for all of us BFers! See ya there!

Nebill and all others, I'm thinking maybe Cherokee. The mileage is low that day, so a meeting time may be easier to achieve.

Here are a couple of recommendations for a place to meet:

Gasthaus Bar & Grille
214 W Main St
Cherokee, IA

Pizza Hut
1014 N 2nd St
Cherokee, IA

But last year we did a Taco John's in Grinnell and I'm here to tell you, it hit the spot!

Maps can be found at www.mapquest.com

There are lots of other resturants etc in Cherokee as well.

I think the Gasthaus will be an impossible place to meet anyone at, it will probably be very crowded...Pizza Hut may also be very crowded.

Time...maybe 1800 or 1900 (6 or 7 PM)?

Could be fun! :beer:

Well, Gus, I believe that you are right about the bar and grill being a busy place! Being located right on Main St., and close to where I assume the evenings entertainment will be, it will be packed! The Pizza Hut appears to be about 10 blocks or so north of Main St., so a person might be able to move around in there...a little! So I vote for the Pizza Hut! 1800 hrs. would be good, as then we can meet, goof around a bit, and still catch the rest of the activities if we want. Good intel, Gus!
Unless there are objections, why don't we just plan on 6 PM at the Pizza Hut in Cherokee?!?

Sounds good to me, all we need now is concurrance from the rest of the RAGBRAIers.

Let's hear from you'all. Maybe you'all have some better ideas? Let's mix up the pot! :D

RAGBRAI lottery results are available. WWW.RAGBRAI.org

Well, Gus, I got my number!! Guess that means I am really set for the big event! Only 76 days to go!

Originally posted by nebill
Well, Gus, I got my number!! Guess that means I am really set for the big event! Only 76 days to go!

Yeah Nebill, I have mine as well. Looking forward to Pizza Hut. I'll bet the pizza will taste better than normal after 60 miles!

Pizza....and a 'sports' drink or two!:D Looking forward to it! Hope some other BF'ers will be there!!

I am a little late to do the entire week. I don't know if I can bike that much yet.

If you could only bike one day of RAGBRAI, which day would you do?

Originally posted by IowaParamedic
I am a little late to do the entire week. I don't know if I can bike that much yet.

If you could only bike one day of RAGBRAI, which day would you do?

I don't know IowaParamedic. If I lived in Iowa, I guess I'd try the route/Stage/day (?) that ended up closest to my local, if possible. Then I'd hook a ride to that days start and ride it toward home.

It's a hard question you ask, I've never been on this northern route before.

If you go to www.RAGBRAI.org you can examine the whole route and maybe decide.

Looks like it is ixnay on the AGBRAIRay for me this year. The GF has been accepted to a summer Mayan language program in Guatamala, so funds will be extremely low and I will need to stick around to take care of the house/ pets/ plants/ garden/ dishes/ laundry...

Hopefully next year...(fingers crossed)

Originally posted by Steele-Bike
Looks like it is ixnay on the AGBRAIRay for me this year...

Too bad Steele-Bike we'll miss you.

Looks like we're (the USAF team) staying in the main RAGBRAI campground in Cherokee. It's at the Mental Health Institute (MHI), I wonder if the towns people think we're all nuts for riding across their state?;) Looks like it is a fair distance from the Pizza Hut. A mile or two?

http://www.ncn.net/%7Ecofccherokee/maps/wholecity.gif

The map will load, if shrinks, place the curser over it and an Icon will appear, click on the icon.

See you'all there at 1800 (6pm)! :beer:

Gus...One month, 10 days! I can almost taste the pizza and beer...er..sports drink!
See ya then!

Originally posted by nebill
Gus...One month, 10 days! I can almost taste the pizza and beer...er..sports drink!
See ya then!

Pizza and Carb drink!

Well,

Interesting reading. Seems that after April, registrations closes. So, are there any other cool rides like this, with fairly flat routs for the beginning long distance rider?

How many miles is this RAGBRAI anyway?

Dave

Well guys, I'm going to RAGBRAII---and I'm getting a little scared. I've gone on a couple tours, but the average miles per day was only 50. On the days with mileage over 60, it was exhausting. I've got the base mileage done. Are you guys doing any back-to-back 70 miles day to train?

Iowa Paramedic,

Are you doing the whole week or just a couple of days?

Originally posted by outashape
Well guys, I'm going to RAGBRAII---and I'm getting a little scared. I've gone on a couple tours, but the average miles per day was only 50. On the days with mileage over 60, it was exhausting. I've got the base mileage done. Are you guys doing any back-to-back 70 miles day to train?

Yes. You still have time, keep your training going. Then pace your riding during RAGBRAI. With base miles down and 5 1/2 weeks still to go, you got it in the bag!

Originally posted by Dwagenheim
How many miles is this RAGBRAI anyway?

Dave

Not including the optional century (which really only adds another 35 or so miles): just under 500 miles.

I think I will catch the ride on Thursday this year. I may throw another day in for fun, but right now... just the one day. Next year, the whole thing.

Shoot folks, don't let the miles scare you....I mean, you need your training miles in, believe me, but once you are on the ride, it just ain't that bad! You have to remember, that typically, every 10 or 15 miles, you are going to go thru a town, and many times that means getting off the bike and walking for a little ways. Gives you a chance to fill up your water bottles, refuel, and give yourself a little time off the bike. In my training, I like to ride like 30 miles or so without stopping, then RAGBRAI seems like a snap!

Be sure and look for me...I'll be the bearded fat guy on the magnificent dark blue Schwinn Paramount...shouldn't be too hard to spot among the 10,000 riders!:D

It's not the milage that is holding me back. It is the time off work, and arranging for support. Next year I will get hooked up with a team and be ready to go.

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

Can't wait. New to cycling, first RAGBRAI, 530 base miles in the bank so far and still counting. Got my numbers, bands and ride info in hand. Question- Are two water bottles really enough in late July? Should I consider adding a small/medium Camelback? Are they too uncomfortable to wear that time a year?

Thanks for your help. Looking fwd to our get together.