Hmm, no I have not heard anything........but I'll see what I can find out, and post anything I can find out!!

I'm a bit excited about it myself!!

Lottery Update: Tags Still Available

There is no reason that everyone on the 2003 RAGBRAI® should not have a wristband. Everyone who applied by the April 1 deadline is going! And here's some more great news for procrastinators, or those who just found out about the ride. Send us your applications now. Each year RAGBRAI has several hundred cancellations. It is expected that about 500 slots will be opening up within the next two months. RAGBRAI will accept the applications on a first come, first serve basis until the ride is full.

Application materials are available by clicking the Application link above. <see www.ragbrai.com>

On May 1 the wristband numbers will be posted on our home page. If you did not provide a nine-digit number in the Social Security field on your application, RAGBRAI is unable to display your results. The wristband packets will be sent to the Team Contact for everyone about the third week of May.

Jim Green spoke at our Bicyclists of Iowa City meeting last night.

I thought I would pass on a few of his thoughts to the forum.

The XXXI overnight towns are really going to be putting on a show for the riders. The smallest town - Bedford - may have over 350 volunteers showing up at their meetings and are excited to have RAGBRAI.

As for the route - 3-4 miles of gravel. Lots of rolly-polly hills, but no gut grinders. In fact, the worst hill is on day 7 - the flattest day.

Jim also had a couple of appeals for help. 1. Encourage people to get to the overnight town before dark. People want to party, but there are a couple of dangerous crossings which could be tragic in the dark. 2. We need to encourage more youth participation in cycling. Last year's average RAGBRAI'r was 42 years old. Our riders are getting older and we need to replace them with youth or we will begin to lose great rides, great bike shops, great bikes if we don't keep our sport growing.

I have no doubts that I will really enjoy my ride this year. I should be well trained and well equiped. And, I already have the time off work!

HAHAHA....well, I have the equipment, but I am WAY behind on my training! Last year, I was riding 27 miles to get to work, this year, it's a different route, only 19 miles, but 12 of it is hills!! Now if the weather will just cooperate a little, I can get in some miles!
I sure hope that if we can set up a meeting I can make it this year!!
Good deal that you got to see Jim Green, I've talked to him, but never met him.
Sounds like this will be another fun year, hope to see you there!

I am glad that RAGBRAI's leader is encouraging some youthful riders to participate. My family is on the waiting list for 4 spots to ride RAGBRAI XXXI. I am still trying to decide the best set up for all of us to ride. My 8 year old daughter will ride stoker on a tandem with me. Thinking about the hills, I am hoping that a 48/36/26 triple up front and a 11 - 34 mega range cassette in the back will provide enough range for the Iowa hills on our tandem. That combination seems to work here in Vienna when riding the hills in the Vienna Woods, although I will have to provide at least 95% of the effort on the hills while my daughter enjoys the ride.

Those of you who know more about these particular hills in Iowa might be able to offer advice for my other two family members. My wife and 10 year old son (size and strength of most 12- 13 year olds) were planning on riding single bikes with mountain bike gearing and slicks. They mountain bike here in Austria, but not for hours at a time on consecutive days. Now I am starting to think they might be better off on a tandem together in terms of endurance, safety and sticking together in the midst of the mass of people.

Any suggestions or opinions on what you have seen other families in previous years do? Single bikes? Tandems? Best time of day to ride for a family? How to pace it? If a child poops out in the middle of the day, how difficult is it to get a ride into the next town via the SAG service? Although we would like to all 4 ride every mile of the event, I have to be realistic as a parent that on some of those consecutive hot days of riding a younger child might need a bail out.

BB

Hi Bruce!!
Boy, what an adventure for a family! I think it is wonderful.
I think the gears you have on your tandem should work fine, however, I must admit that I have never ridden a tandem, so maybe someone with a bit more experience will help out here.
As far as your son, assuming he has done some training, will probably do fine. I have seen many young people, and many mountain bikes on this trip. And, typically, you only ride 10 or 15 miles before you come to a town and have the chance to get off and rest a bit anyway.
Staying with your family shouldn't be too much of a problem. Our team uses those little Family Radio Service radios to keep in touch. The riders don't all start at the same time, so you end up with a string of riders all along the route. Your family should be able to ride along at your own pace and have fun.
RAGBRAI does have SAG vehicles that patrol the route, so if you have some trouble, just get off the road, turn your bike over, and the next SAG wagon will pick you up.
Hope this has helped...and hope to get to meet you and maybe share the road with you and your family for a mile or two!

Thanks for the response, Bill. I'd love to spin a mile or two with you somewhere out on the XXXI event.

Eventually, the gearing on the tandem might have to be adjusted just to please me on the extremes. I just don't know how wide one can go with the ratios to keep the chain and derailleur all happy. Instead of 48/36/26, I might be curious how a 52/36/24 (or 22) would perform. Regardless, my 8 year old daughter is not going to be providing too much power - so I will be the engine for the Iowa ride. A 24 or 22 granny ring might be more friendly to my knees on the ascents, but I don't know what kind of hills we will be facing in Iowa compared to what we face here in Vienna. The weight of the bike (40 pounds) plus hauling my daughter on the bike up the hills here is not a cake walk at times compared to a single bike.

I have more questions for those of you who have ridden the event before - if you don't mind my asking. It looks like everything I have read states the tents and gear have to be loaded up no later than 8 AM on the trucks. I assume that the best thing to do with a couple of kids is to head out early and get some riding done before the temperature gets way up there in the 90's. Are there breakfast options available once you leave the overnight town. Say 10 - 12 miles down the road? Or is it best to fuel up in the overnight town because they will be set up to feed 10K people?

We will certainly be planning on stopping for rests all day long and it sounds like there will be no shortage of beverage and food along the route to take advantage of during the week. I think one has to plan incentive stops a little more often with children, so we will certainly be trying to keep them motivated and using stops to help with that.

How about the bug situation? Flies and mosquitoes galore or is it not so annoying? Any favorite repellents that seem to work well in Iowa that one could suggest?

What about tools for bikes or maintenance? I read that quite a few support teams from bike shops come on the event, but I was wondering if they are easy to find and if there is access to tire pumps/gauges to top off the air every now and then? That would be one less item I would have to haul along on the trip. Are parts available in case of something breaking by these travelling bike shops?

Cash machines? Do we pass by ATM cash machines in some of these towns - or are traveller's checks a preferred option? I would think that a few ATM's in smaller towns might not take too kindly to a mass of 10,000 people.

I've probably got many more questions that the FAQ doesn't cover, but I will start with those in hopes that I am not bugging any of you with basic stuff.

BB

I am sure hoping to hook up with some BF'ers on the ride!! Should be a blast!
Good idea to do some experimenting with your gears on the tandem. Moving a 40 pound bike and stoker up hill after hill will be a bit of a challenge, to be sure! But, just think of how great you will feel when it is over!!??:D

Yes, there will be places on the route to eat breakfast, and they are set up to handle the crowd...and, if one place looks too busy, just push on, there will be another place not far away. It seems like there is a vendor of some type on about every hill top, which is why some call RAGBRAI "eating your way across Iowa!" Your plan sounds exactly like what our team does, that is, after breaking camp, we hit the road, and stop after about an hour for breakfast. For lunch at least once, you'll have to be sure and check out Pork Chop Man, and I'm sure the kids will enjoy the portable stand that makes home made ice cream!

The pass-thru towns always do a great job of providing various forms of entertainment, from bands, to museums, to booths showing off who knows what! So, you will have plenty of chances to stop, take a break, rest in a park, or get some refreshments.

A bug repellant would be a good idea, but to be honest, I don't recall ever using one before. A good sunblock will be handy, also. Wonder if they have one of those that repels bugs??

I just carry along the tools that I would normally carry on a ride around here. There are several bike shops that have all the tools and spare parts that might be needed. Are you going to be riding with a team? If you need air, camp near Team Cycle Sport, we always have plenty of pumps around!

I think the banks along the way are used to dealing with the people, so I doubt that you will have much trouble with the ATM situation.

Glad you are asking questions, and there are many that know a lot more about this than I do, so I"m sure you get plenty of help!

Thanks, nebill, for answering some things.

We are planning or trying to hook up with a team. At least I had contacted a large team called OSS who provide luggage service, beverage tent, campground space, shuttle service, sag, etc... for about 350 people. One of the nice things is that they "acquire" enough campground space for the 350 people long before the riders arrive in each town. Doing this trip with two young children and thinking about finding space on our own, finding our luggage and getting it hauled over to that space after a long day of riding in the heat made it sound attractive to have most of that part of the equation out of the way through the OSS team. However, until we get official entry wristband numbers we cannot join that team or sign up for anything else.

That's all my fault as I missed the April 1st deadline and didn't even read about or think about riding in the event until I saw a magazine article on an airplane in mid April talking about RAGBRAI. Regardless, I sent the application forms in around the third week of April and was told that based on the average number of cancelations (around 500), we should be able to get our names off of the waiting list and into the official rider list between now and the end of June. And everyone has so far encouraged us to continue to make plans to ride in the event at this point even though we don't have official entry numbers.

In terms of weather and temperatures throughout the day/night - what can we expect? I assume hot, humid upper 80's and into the 90's for the day time. I was curious what evening temperatures average in that part of Iowa in late July and what kind of temperatures one finds at 6 AM, 8 AM, 10 AM, 12 noon, etc...?

Yes, I believe there are combination sun block/bug repellents available. We used to have one somewhere in the house and my memory says that it tended to smell more on the bug repellent side of the equation.

BB

Sounds to me like you have a good plan! Being with a team will really help you and your family enjoy the event.

The temps in Iowa during the summer can cover a wide range, to be sure! Evening temperatures can range from the 60's to 70's, or maybe into the 80's! Usually, just a light wieght sleeping bag will be perfeclty adequate. Funny, sitting here thinking about it, I have never paid much attention to the temperatures, I always slept well at night, and if it got hot during the day, I just drank more water, spun her up and enjoyed the ride.

I don't know if you have seen my pages that I did on my adventures, but if you are bored, you can see them at http://home.atcjet.net/~whitlow/ragbrai.html and http://home.atcjet.net/~whitlow/ragbraixxx.htm

Seems to me that I read that everyone who has applied will be getting thier wristbands, so hopefully, you will be seeing yours soon!

Hey Bruce,

Did you check the RAGBRAI site? They have a way to look up your wristband status. www.ragbrai.com Last time I check, they still aren't completely loaded, so you should be on board - cancellations or not.

I think that Bicyclists of Iowa City still may have some room. You will need a wristband, but you just have to apply to get one to commit to the trip.

For more info, go to www.jccn.iowa-city.ia.us/~bic

If you need help finding contacts - just PM me.

I have checked the RAGBRAI site several times and punched in all the correct numbers to see if we have been accepted yet, but no go as of yet. The couple that run the OSS group said they will be getting some spare badges in as well later on and that we wouldn't have a problem. Hopefully something will work out in the next few weeks, but since we are travelling overseas it would be nice to know sooner than the end of June if we obtained official spots or not.

Regardless, we continue with our training. We just did two big training rides yesterday and today with the kids in hot weather (80's). Well, at least they were big for us riding as a family together. And that was between Little League games, a girl scout campout and Mother's Day festivities. We were able to log in a little over 53 miles this weekend. Logged in a few calories on the way as well at a Greek restaurant along the river, an ice cream stand and a few treats packed in the bag....

BB

HAHAHAHAHAHA Have to love your idea of training rides....good food, treats, ice cream...you are gonna do just fine on RAGBRAI!!

I didn't know if you would show up on the page where you look up your rider number or not, didn't know if that social security number thing would foul you up or not.

I'm sure it's gonna work out just fine, tho!!

BruceBrown, I rode on RAGBRAI last year and stayed with the OOS group. I was very pleased with their service. There is a wide variance of groups. OOS used commercial (Greyhound type) air-conditioned buses for transportation to the begining or end of the route. My bicycle was not damaged. I did wrap the frame in pvc foam piping. OOS does not have a bicyle mechanic, does not offer massages (usually for an extra fee) nor do they have entertainment. When you enter the destination city each day, the route to their camping area was clearly marked. They did offer shower facilities where you hang a 1-2 gallon bag from above. I used a combination of pay showers in towns where the lines were short and the OOS showers. They had a canvass canopy with coolers with beer and soda which could be purchased for a small fee. They were always located away from the main entertainment so you could relax if you wanted or take the public transportation to the party areas. The best of both worlds. I am planning on riding RAGBRAI again this year and will probably use OOS. I remember some people sagging with OOS if they knew they didn't want to ride in the morning.
BTW, I would not use travelers checks. Most of the people you will be doing business with are individuals and not commercial enterprises.

Thanks for the personal experience report of using OSS. It sounds like a reputable outfit. Of course, after I had read all about RAGBRAI, I was thinking of applying in each town for camping in host family yards, etc... . However, that option wasn't available to us because we have no wristband numbers and you cannot apply without them.

So OSS or some other similar type of service is what we will be looking to find.

BB

Have any of you seen other riders in RAGBRAI hauling their own gear behind their bike with a trailer?

Here are a couple that interest me (Burley flatbed and BOB Yak):

http://www.burley.com/products/trail...?p=Flatbed&i=5

http://www.bobtrailers.com/

BB

I've heard of baggers and people pulling trailers, but I ask myself... why?

Why? Obviously, whether one uses the Des Moines Register's baggage service or one is hooked up with a team that provides baggage service, there is really no need to pull a trailer carrying items. I was just wondering if any of you had seen others pulling gear behind them in spite of the baggage services available? Maybe because they brought more than was allowed in the truck or perhaps they just didn't want to dig through the baggage pile looking for their stuff. Maybe there are some touring types on the RAGBRAI ride that simply cannot stand to not be hauling their own stuff. I guess I could have expanded the question to include having seen any riders using panniers during the RAGBRAI ride.

I may be interested in purchasing one of those trailers to expand the types of errands I already do on my commute/errand bike. I can only carry so much with my pack and basket. But that's another topic unrelated to RAGBRAI....

BB

Oh yes, you will see riders with panniers, and I have seen one guy with a huge barbeque grill on the back of his bike, and another with a wet-bar, including a blender, so you just don't know what you will see!! Some riders do ride it "self supported", but not all that many, really. And, you will see trailers, some with kids, some with pets, and some with gear! You just never know!!

Hope your training is going well, looking forward to sharing a few miles with you!

I guess the guy pulling the BBQ grill must have been a Texan. They cannot live long without their daily "fix". ;-)

Since we will be riding with two smaller children, I just want to make sure that we have everything covered that we might need every day. A couple of small frame packs, handlebar packs - maybe a rear pack or pannier would allow us to have everything we might need during the day's ride. It wouldn't have to all be on one bike, but spread out between the three we will be riding. I can envision needing a few tools, tube(s), snacks, water, rain gear, sun block lotion, space to carry billfold/cash, maybe an extra this or that.

Although a trailer would handle up to 100 pounds and would carry the tent, sleeping bags, pads and clothes - I don't think I really want the task of pulling the weight of a tandem, an 8 year old girl and all of our gear for 926 kilometers of RAGBRAI. Since the ride is supported (provided we get official entry into it), anything we carry on the bike or pull would simply be for convenience to help make the ride more enjoyable. I guess for some that means a wet bar, BBQ grill, blender, dog or whatever.

BB

I believe that the fellow with the barbeque mounted on his mountainn bike was from Colorado. I'll be darned if I can remember his teams name, but I have heard that his group actually ride thier bikes from Colorado to Iowa for RAGBRAI!
I would think the panniers would be a good idea. Besides the extra wieght, a trailer you also add more rolling resistance, plus and extra set of tires/tubes to think about. Personally, I just have the stuff I always carry in my seat bag, and then I wear a hydrapack, in whick I haul my spare tube, and a fanny pack for my money and cell phone. I know that travelling with children would make me re-think my needs!
I'm sure you will hear about your wrist bands soon, as far as I know, all who have applied are getting one!

I'll probably go with a handlebar bag or two and a seat bag or two between the three bikes we will be using to ride RAGRBRAI. That should take care of carrying the basics for us and allow us not to have to wear a Camelbak.

A question about the types of hills that we will face in this year's RAGBRAI. I am more concerned about the descents and braking with a tandem in the midst of a glut of people. Are these the type of hills that everyone just coasts down and builds up speed to climb the next hill, or are some of them pretty long descents that will require a lot of braking? Tandems tend to pick up a pretty good head of steam going down a hill and I need to know if I should add a drag brake to prevent my rims from overheating by a lot of braking.

Thanks.

BB

The bags sound great...however, if you have a camelback or two, you might want to use them. It can get a bit on the warmish side, and water is power!

I'm sure that others can address the question of the hills better than I, but the ones I have experienced are plentiful, but not too bad. For the most part, I doubt that brakes will be too much of a concern. Looking at the profiles, I believe the worst will be on the last two days. And, don't worry about being caught in a "glut" of people...there will be a lot of riders, but generally pretty spread out. And, it just works out that the slower riders naturally tend to stay to the right, so if such is your speed, you can ride there, or move a bit to the left for a bit more speed. It'll be a blast!

Thanks, Bill.

I do have a CamelBak H.A.W.G. that I use for commuting and longer mountain bike trips, but I was hoping to avoid using that on RAGBRAI due to sweating issues on the back and trying to stay cool. There again, the H.A.W.G. is the next to largest bag that CamelBak makes. One of their smaller bags might be more appropriate. However, I was planning on going with 2 water bottles for every rider in our family because in a couple things I have read it sounds like water is not difficult to find on the ride.

In terms of the "glut" of people - will we be riding on both sides of the road or just the direction of traffic side of the road? Some of the pictures on the RAGBRAI site have people on both sides of the road, yet the information states that none of the highways are closed to traffic.

BB

95% of the time, the riders on are only on the right side of the traffic line. Usually the first 2-3 miles out of a town, the road is congested, then the bikes spread out. There are also fast pace lines so you shouldn't have to worry about your tandem going too fast. Because this ride is so publicized, there are very few cars on the roads. The people of IOWA want the cycylists to come to their town and they go out of their way to make you feel comfortable and to stay off the route. When you get to larger towns, there is traffic, but there is law enforcement at busy intersections. Something I haven't heard you write about, is your attire. You know, you have to go dressed as something, or have your bike or helmet decorated. OR at the very least, travel with a full sound system blaring your favorite hits. You have to give the townspeople something to look at. Our bike club is trying to come up with something for us to do or wear. Good luck!