RAGBRAI 2008 route announced. Any GWJ riders going?
I know I'll be there, and it's such a huge party I figured at least one or two other goodjers have to be going.
For those who don't know, RAGBRAI is the Des Moines Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. It's a week long ride that attracts roughly 15,000 - 20,000 riders each year.
Some quick facts about this year's route:
- Total distance is 471 miles, 6 miles shorter than last year.
- This year will be the 11th hilliest RAGBRAI in history, with a total climb of 22,500 feet, compared to 13,600 feet last year.
- The official website is http://www.ragbrai.org
So, anyone else planning on going? Maybe we could plan to meet up and have a goodjer night at some point during the week?
Also, for anyone curious, you can check out a whole bunch of cool and embarassing photos on the website I run for my team here. (WARNING: Most photos are fine, but there may be the occasional NSFW photo there. Like when people pass out drunk, obviously some NSFW things need to be done to them.)
-- My Biking Team --
I'd love to, but that's less than a month after my graduation AND wedding-- ie, my head might explode from all the crazy awesomeness. Aside from the recuperation, I have to switch into full-on job-hunt mode and make something of my degree.
I've been really interested in racing, since up until now I've only been riding solo or with a couple friends. I came close to riding an EarlyBird Crit last month, but the weather in the Bay Area sucked and I was too scared. Not to mention the previously-mentioned events kind of hold priority right now...
Post some nice pictures for us this year, though!
dhelor wrote:
You could always bring the new wife along and turn it into a honeymoon, it would definitely be unforgettable
-- My Biking Team --
My mom of all people was talking about this, but i think she's finally admitting that old age has won and moved on to competitive womens bass fishing. She stopped bike training and started fishing non stop.
Gamer Tag: Rantyr
I have always wanted to do this ride. Looks like I can't make this year's because that week's already booked with a family trip (and I'm freakin' out of shape!). Maybe next year...
Wow looks like fun, but a few things. 1 I don't own a bike or funny little bike shorts, 2 I would more then likely die about 1/2 way across. Maybe something to aim for next year or for twenty-ten!
Xfire: Pharacon
Tempest says: "A team hat doe snot communicate and talk to each other about what the next move will be is going to lose."
Mex is my hero = "f*ck it, I'll do it. WE'LL DO IT LIVE."
One thing to keep in mind is that not everyone rides the whole route. There are some days when you're too hung over in the morning and decided to sit on the bus until noon, or when you're too drunk by lunch time and decide to pass out on the bus until you get to the overnight town.
It's not exactly like all of us on my team are in great shape. It's more about endurance than speed anyways.
-- My Biking Team --
Only 4 days left until the start, and I'm starting to get very excited.
Bikes are tuned up, tent is ready to go and the bus has a fresh coat of paint.
Miller brewing just came through with 25 cases of free brew for the week, in addition to the two kegs we'd already secured.
Woohoo! It's gonna rock!
(I expect to see some other goodjers start training for next year, by the way!)
-- My Biking Team --
*Legion* wrote:
My team's training schedule isn't exactly set in stone. Basically we try to put 100 miles on our bikes each week. Typically 30 miles on Tuesday and Thursday nights and then 40 on the weekend. In the winter we do spin classes at a local health club.
Being that RAGBRAI isn't a race, but more of a 7 day fun ride, you don't have to be a hardcore rider to enjoy it. In fact, my team has tons of people of varying ages and skill levels. Some people get up at 5am and are done by noon, while others (like me) sleep in until 9am and usually roll into the end town at 6 or 7pm. Some nights people may party too hard and ride the bus for half the following day, or some may not ride at all.
In general I would say that if you can ride two 30 mile days in one week without dying, you'll be ready for RAGBRAI. Of course, the more experience and training, the easier it is. There's some general training info at http://www.ragbrai.org/ragbrai-training.html, the gist of which is you should probably have 600 miles under your belt before RAGBRAI.
A quick google search found this group of people based in Norman; http://www.bicycleleague.com/. Everything I see on their site would indicate that they have a pretty typical RAGBRAI type attitude. They do rides on Tuesday and Thursday with groups for all skill levels, and weekend rides too. I don't see anything about RAGBRAI on their site, but I'd be surprised if they don't have one or two members who do it.
Also, my team does accept non-members on RAGBRAI when available space permits, so if you're really interested we could probably arrange a spot for you next year. Feel free to check out our website to learn more about the team (the link is in my sig).
-- My Biking Team --
I can do 2 30's a week, maybe a bit more right now.
I'll definitely look into riding with that Norman group. I mean, I'm still waiting on padded shorts (my ass hurts, bad) so I'm just getting into things.
Sounds like a good goal for this year. I'll let you know in the spring if I'm interested, but for now it sounds fun. I may be on study abroad though.
*Legion* wrote:
Way up on my list of rides to do one day - but I have to say, that's pretty minimal climbing by New England standards. I mean, I appreciate the effort, but my average is 1000 feet per 10 miles. So you'd be at 46,000 feet to be a typical "new england" ride. Heh.
Seriously, I'd love to do this some day - maybe when my kids get off to college - or at least camp for two weeks.
P.S. - there seems to be a certain "Show us your T&&s" quality to this of which I was previously unaware, at least according to your pics.
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"Think of it as 'grinding SO rep in the Kitchen instance.' " - Montalban
To quote the Koolaid man, Ohhh yeah!
People who have never been on RAGBRAI tend to have widely varying ideas as to what it's all about, and they're all correct. RAGBRAI is a little bit of everything.
The average day of RAGBRAI for my team goes somewhat like this:
7:00 - People start to get up, clean up and pack the tents. Much complaining about hangovers occurs.
8:00 - Gatorade and bananas make the rounds while the lazier people (my wife) are physically removed from their tents.
8:30 - Bikes are checked over, tires topped off, adjustments made.
9:00 - We ride, joining about 6000-7000 other riders heading out of town. (About 10,000 will have left before this point)
9:30 - Stop at one of the breakfast stands setup in a farmers front yard and have a breakfast burrito, or pancakes, or whatever is being served.
10:00 - Arrive at the first small town on the route. Find the beer garden. Order a bloody mary.
10:30 - Back on the road.
11:00 - Safety Meeting! (A safety meeting is when someone in the group decides they need a drink and yells out "Safety Meeting!". All members of the team are then required to stop and have something with vodka in it that we've packed on our bikes.)
11:15 - Back on the road.
11:45 - Arrive at the second small town. The second town usually has a band playing in the beer garden by now. Get a drink or three and hang out.
1:00 - Back on the road.
1:30 - Safety Meeting!
2:00 - Arrive at the midway town. Meet up with the bus and inform the driver whether or not we'll be riding the bus for the afternoon.
2:05 - Food! Dozens of vendors around, your choice of eats. Mostly very greasy.
2:15 - Where's the beer garden?
2:45 - Is there a pool in this town? Let's find one and go for a swim!
3:30 - Back on the road.
3:31 to 8:00 - Riding, beer gardens, safety meetings, and various combinations thereof.
8:00 - Roll into the overnight town. Get the map out and try to find where the hell we're staying for the night.
8:30 - Finally find the bus. Made note of available showers and pools on the lovely tour of town we took trying to find the bus.
8:35 - Heading to the pool!
9:00 - Cooled off a little, but core temp still very high. Time to eat!
9:30 - 2:00 - Beer gardens, local pubs, or just drinking by the bus. Many people will call it early and go to bed, the hardcore bastards will close the town down.
3:45 - Core temperature finally drops. Go from sweating in bed to freezing cold in 1.4 seconds.
4:45 - Bastards with no respect start riding their bikes early, making noise and waking me up. Bastards.
Rinse and repeat and you've got one hell of a week. Of course, it's not the routine above that makes RAGBRAI really fun, it's all the totally unexpected stuff that just happens out of nowhere. For example:
2 years ago, the guy at the head of our draft line had planned an off-route loop which would take us away from the real ride and out into the country. When he pulled off onto a non-RAGBRAI road, we had about 300 people in the draft line. Those of us on our team and the other teams we invited knew where we were going, but the rest just stayed on the line, not sure what was going on. We ended up at a gas station in the middle of nowhere (really, just two roads and a gas station) and took the place over. The people who hadn't been invited, but were just following, had a blast. We bought every single beer in the place and all the pizza they could make and sat by the pumps for about 2 hours until the local sheriff came and told us to move along. (If you look through the RAGBRAI 2006 photos, you can see some oogaba from that gas station stop).
Last year my wife and I made a pact with each other that we would not ride by a pool, pond or creek without stopping for a swim. We went swimming that year in everything from a country-club pool to a water hazard on the 13th hole of a golf course, to a creek running through a farmers yard, to waterslides in one of the towns. It was awesome.
One night last year, we passed by my father-in-law's farm, and that night all of the extended family came out to our bus to party with us. It ended up storming pretty good for about 3 hours, so we had about 50 people packed onto a bus that can comfortably hold 35, and we drank and danced and told storeis into the wee hours.
Those are just a few examples right off the top of my head. The point being that you never know quite what's going to happen, but you can count on it being a damned good time. It's a week where I don't have to be a responsible homeowner with a job and a mortgage. Where I don't have to worry about my credit card balance or the funny sound my engine is making, or the deadline on the new TPS report cover sheet. It's letting loose and having a blast, and getting a little exercise at the same time.
-- My Biking Team --
I should mention too that RAGBRAI is very kid friendly. There are a lot of families that go, usually with one parent driving the RV or van with the tents and the other riding with the kids. It may sound from my previous posts that it's all one big adult party, but that's really only a small part of it. There are TONS of things to do with the kids. Each overnight town sets up what's essentially a mini state fair with food stands, shows, etc. Last year the armed forces put on a bunch of shows with fighter jets and skydivers. Some towns have pools or water parks, and there's just never a shortage of fun stuff to do. If you're looking for a summer vacation that the kids will never forget, RAGBRAI is a great idea.
-- My Biking Team --
Alright, you have my interest peaked. Can't make any promises, but this is definitely something I will be looking into for next year.
Chumpy wrote:
Malor wrote:
I think we may have a GWJ group if this keeps up.
Now to work on that beard or get a fake.....
*Legion* wrote:
The time has come!
See all you working stiffs next week!
-- My Biking Team --