Originally Posted by
Peruano
We are all confident that you and the vintage ride will do the deed. Enjoy the ride and get back on whenever circumstances demand it. As you have already demonstrated to us in prep days. Be proud of that bike; it has chops.
You're right, I am proud of this bike. It does have chops. The Raleigh survived the whole week with no breakdowns aside from the broken spoke. I'm not sure exactly what I hit, but I do remember slamming the wheel hard into something. Completely my fault. No punctures, no broken bits. Never even got my tool kit out. My 8 year old popped a sidewall on the night before the ride. Very happy to get that out of the way before departure. After that she also had a smooth week.
This year was organized by a brand new planning committee with minimal RAGBRAI experience. It shows. The route was poorly planned and the campground baggage logistics were poorly organized. However, RAGBRAI is a tour of dozens of small towns. Each town puts on its own festival, and there's not a whole lot that the central planning committee controls. So there's not a lot that the central planning committee can screw up (especially for self-sag folks who don't care how messed up the baggage system is). Therefore, we had a great time, despite the newbies in charge of the route.
We'll be back. I've been experiencing RAGBRAI since the 90s, and I've always enjoyed myself. Even the year that I slammed a rear derailleur into my wheel. I found a replacement derailleur, disabled the rear brake caliper, and rode down to the Mississippi with a very bent wheel. BuBump. BuBump. BuBump. Riding down a 200' bluff with only marginal front brakes isn't for the faint of heart, but I still had fun.
Even a bad day on RAGBRAI is funner than being at work, eh?
