cycletourist

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.

Dwagenheim

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

Tree Trunk

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!

Gus Riley

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.

Tree Trunk

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.

Gus Riley

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.

Tree Trunk

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!!

nebill

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!

beowoulfe

Where are you in FL?

Gus Riley

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

beowoulfe

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!

Gus Riley

Whew!

Gus Riley

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!

Tree Trunk

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

Gus Riley

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.

IowaParamedic

https://grabaawr.com/

Jean Beetham Smith 

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."

blwyn

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!

Gus Riley

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!

cycletourist

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

Tree Trunk

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!

Gus Riley

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

outashape

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.

outashape

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.

nebill

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!