Fifty Plus (50+) - Ragbrai XL - 2012

RAGBRAI's route for this year was announced January 28:


Sioux Center – Saturday, July 21
54.4 miles and 1583 feet of climbing to
Cherokee – Sunday, July 22
62.0 miles and 2062 feet of climbing to
Lake View – Monday, July 23
81.2 miles and 1724 feet of climbing to
Webster City – Tuesday, July 24
77.1 miles and 2018 feet of climbing to
Marshalltown – Wednesday, July 25
84.8 miles and 3576 feet of climbing to
Cedar Rapids – Thursday, July 26
42.2 miles and 2272 feet of climbing to
Anamosa – Friday, July 27
69.4 miles and 2890 feet of climbing to
Clinton – Saturday, July 28

471.1 miles and 16125 feet of climbing for the whole week. Anybody in? :twitchy:

I registered yesterday. Started training today.

Have fun! I did it in '08, just to say I had. WAY too many other cyclists on the road for my taste. But I know that some people just love that aspect of the ride. It looks like a lot less climbing than I did, should be a fast route. (If you can avoid being caught in the crowds like a fly in amber.)

I did it last year - will be doing other big rides this year.

Have a blast!

I did it last year and had a blast! See my avatar (that's the Mississippi behind me and a 50+ jersey on me)! Would love to do it again but probably won't be able to take enough time off work this year. I'm considering doing the second half of BRAG instead.

Riding with 10000 to 20000 other cyclists didn't bother me much, and was actually fun once I got used to it. My first mistake was assuming I could actually ride through a "pass-through" town. But it's way too crowded for that: you have to walk through them.

70 miles on the last day will be tough. Everyone is in a hurry to get to the end town to meet their charter buses, which usually start leaving mid-afternoon.

One of my claims to fame is riding Wednesday of RAGBRAI I.

Ragbrai is definitely on my to-do list, but I don't think it will be this summer, maybe in 2013...

Might could do a stage or two but a whole week is definitely not in the works (insert grumble about running your own business)

Have fun and enjoy yourself.

Will be riding Ragbrai again this year, Riding from my sisters house 115 miles south of Sioux Center, Then riding the route till Friday, then going North to a friend house on Sat. for a day, will leave his place on Monday for my ride back to my sisters house. Should be close to 900 miles of riding by the time i get back. All self supported. Hoping for a little cooler weather this year, was a scorcher last year.

I'd be interested in their source of climbing totals. I looked at last year's course legs on ridewithgps, a reasonable barometer of climbing, and the published totals very the ride were significantly great; I think more than 2x. I might try to due a leg if I'm in Iowa on business.

I'd be interested in their source of climbing totals. I looked at last year's course legs on ridewithgps, a reasonable barometer of climbing, and the published totals very the ride were significantly great; I think more than 2x. I might try to due a leg if I'm in Iowa on business.

At this point I'm sure the climbing totals are estimates as they haven't decided on the exact routes yet. Once the routes are finalized, Rich Ketcham will likely go out on the route with his GPS equipment and get accurate course and climb information, then post it on http://www.geobike.com/

It is generally accepted as being accurate. Ridewithgps goes by approximate terrain information provided by another source and may not be as accurate as someone riding the course with the right equipment.

Have fun! I did it in '08, just to say I had. WAY too many other cyclists on the road for my taste. But I know that some people just love that aspect of the ride. It looks like a lot less climbing than I did, should be a fast route. (If you can avoid being caught in the crowds like a fly in amber.)
I've ridden the Apple Cider Century with 5000+ and found myself alone near the end, but that was a one day with multi-length routes and I was doing the metric century.


I did it last year and had a blast! See my avatar (that's the Mississippi behind me and a 50+ jersey on me)! Would love to do it again .....
I'll be sure my 50+ kit is on for the ceremonial front tire dip in Clinton. :thumb:


Riding with 10000 to 20000 other cyclists didn't bother me much, and was actually fun once I got used to it. My first mistake was assuming I could actually ride through a "pass-through" town. But it's way too crowded for that: you have to walk through them.
Registration is allegedly capped at 10000; but there must be a few (thousand) more that scab the route. :(


70 miles on the last day will be tough. Everyone is in a hurry to get to the end town to meet their charter buses, which usually start leaving mid-afternoon.
For my riding buddies home is 15 miles east of Clinton. I, however, have three more hours of expressway(s) to get to my own bed. :notamused:


One of my claims to fame is riding Wednesday of RAGBRAI I.
Interesting! How was it with no crowds, no entertainment, no roadside food stands ??? And I'm assuming you must have been a teenager then, right? :innocent:

Will be riding Ragbrai again this year, Riding from my sisters house 115 miles south of Sioux Center, Then riding the route till Friday, then going North to a friend house on Sat. for a day, will leave his place on Monday for my ride back to my sisters house. Should be close to 900 miles of riding by the time i get back. All self supported. Hoping for a little cooler weather this year, was a scorcher last year.
Wow, the IronMan version of RAGBRAI! I'm with ya on the weather wish. :thumb:


At this point I'm sure the climbing totals are estimates as they haven't decided on the exact routes yet. Once the routes are finalized, Rich Ketcham will likely go out on the route with his GPS equipment and get accurate course and climb information, then post it on http://www.geobike.com/

It is generally accepted as being accurate. Ridewithgps goes by approximate terrain information provided by another source and may not be as accurate as someone riding the course with the right equipment.
Very interesting website with piles of historical data. I wonder how much time and gas he has invested in driving all the legs of all 39 years? Thanks for the link.

And thanks to all for the good wishes. Now, on to more trainer time. :cry:

Interesting! How was it with no crowds, no entertainment, no roadside food stands ??? And I'm assuming you must have been a teenager then, right? :innocent:

The Girl Scouts had FREE cookies for us. FREE! Nobody thought about using RAGBRAI for a fund raiser back then.

Uh - back when I was a teenager we never had to ride up hills because the earth was still flat.

My first mistake was assuming I could actually ride through a "pass-through" town. But it's way too crowded for that: you have to walk through them.

you can if you learn to track stand

Registration is allegedly capped at 10000; but there must be a few (thousand) more that scab the route. :(


Registration is capped (and I believe it is at 10,000). There are lots of "bandits" on the ride, either because they couldn't get a wristband or chose not to pay for one. Some estimates I've seen put the total ridership for RAGBRAI at close to 20,000.

I've ridden the Apple Cider Century with 5000+ and found myself alone near the end, but that was a one day with multi-length routes and I was doing the metric century.

LOL - I live in Michigan, but you're closer to Three Oaks than me. I did ACC once and hope to do it again, but I'm glad I missed last year's rain ride.