The Bicycling thread

[lee]

The below pictures were copied from the Des Moines Register

Iowa Capital building


Newton on Thursday



Rippey on Tuesday



I saw this pool at Polk City on Wednesday. There was a sign next to the road saying feel free to get in. I wonder how nasty the water was at end of the day



Slater Wednesday



Tuesday morning



Leaving Ames Wednesday morning.
This day was good because it was only 55 miles and I could leave from my sister's house in Ames on the bicycle and got into Des Moines at 12:30 before the high temp of the day.



Wednesday



When going through towns some had fire hydrants putting out a fine spray to cool off riders. A lot of home owners had hoses spraying riders.



Each town had water bottle refill stations. Entering or exiting most towns people would hand out bottled water you could grab on the fly and put in your back jersey pocket.

 

[slowpokepete]

Awesome.

SPP

 

[kurtr11s]

Lee, the RAGBRAI route was just released. Michelle and I signed up back in December. We've always wanted to do it - and this year we have a chance. Was wondering if you would be open to giving us some pointers? Our excitement pulled in a couple of long time friends (college!) who have done many bicycle adventures with us - but this will be the longest and farthest from home.

 

[collingsbob]

Almost 20 years ago I purchased a made-to-measure Marinoni..Columbus steel frame, Campy ergo 9 spd shifters, Campy Vento aero rims, Columbus Carve cf front forks, Scott cf handlebars..A supremely comfortable bike, I rode it lots for a few years..until I developed osteo-arthritis between my shoulder blades..and suffered a slipped disc in my lower back.
I might try riding it again this year, but at 70 it’s probably time to sell it..

 

[lee]

Lee, the RAGBRAI route was just released. Michelle and I signed up back in December. We've always wanted to do it - and this year we have a chance. Was wondering if you would be open to giving us some pointers? Our excitement pulled in a couple of long time friends (college!) who have done many bicycle adventures with us - but this will be the longest and farthest from home.

I only do day rides when it's close enough I can sleep at home at night. Last year I did 3 days, the most I did was 4.
There used to be a forum which was handy for asking questions but that was ended this year. Maybe there's a Facebook site???
The first few days will be hilly. The first day in the Loess Hills will have some long steep grades. Be careful on the long downgrades when in a pack and watch for center-line cracks.
Most of the food vendors will be cash only so plan to hit a ATM every couple days.
Have some way to make your luggage easy to identify when it's in that mountain of other bags each day. You probably received info on what type of luggage you can use.
Do you plan to camp at the campsites or try to find guest homes to camp in their yards or in the hose?
Each pass through town will have water refill stations so don't worry about buying water during the day.
The food vendors travel the complete route so you might want to find churches and local organizations for meals at night so you don't get tired of eating the same food every day.
Plenty of bicycle shops travel with the route if your need a repair.
At the end of the ride there's shuttle companies that can haul you back to Glennwood for a fee. Will you drive out or fly?

I'll make a new reply as I think of more stuff.

 

[kurtr11s]

Almost 20 years ago I purchased a made-to-measure Marinoni..Columbus steel frame, Campy ergo 9 spd shifters, Campy Vento aero rims, Columbus Carve cf front forks, Scott cf handlebars..A supremely comfortable bike, I rode it lots for a few years..until I developed osteo-arthritis between my shoulder blades..and suffered a slipped disc in my lower back.
I might try riding it again this year, but at 70 it’s probably time to sell it..

Bob, the bike sounds like a beauty - it sucks about the body issues and I hope you can give it another go.

Have you been trying to rehab at all? Any success? This year I'm adding much more strength training and yoga/stretching into my training but I won't know if it actually improves anything for a while.

 

[kurtr11s]

Lee! Thank you!

Already - great info, especially about the cash and food situation.

We were thinking about both identification of bags and AirTags. We will be 'camping' but don't have any idea about the logistics.

We plan on driving out - and will have two cars. That is what we're thinking now, anyway.

(Never mind, I reread your post and you obviously have Have you seen the route? It is southern: Glenwood to Burlington. One of the shortest but the hilliest in history. Excellent!

 

[collingsbob]

Bob, the bike sounds like a beauty - it sucks about the body issues and I hope you can give it another go.

Have you been trying to rehab at all? Any success? This year I'm adding much more strength training and yoga/stretching into my training but I won't know if it actually improves anything for a while.

I’ve been rehabbing for a year and a half now with weights, yoga and massage to recover from a tank slapper that left me with 6 broken ribs, a broken & fractured shoulder blade, a punctured lung and a broken clavicle..
I’ll give it a try in the spring…

 

[lee]

We will be 'camping' but don't have any idea about the logistics.

Free shuttles will be available to take you to town centers where vendors and bands are located.
Also, schools and gyms are opened to use showers.

 

[lee]

Here's a article from the Des Moines Register newspaper about this year's RAGBRAI.

RAGBRAI ride set to be historically steep

Hills, hills and more hills. RAGBRAI 2024 have the most elevation ga

desmoinesregister-ia.newsmemory.com

 

[lee]

If you like craft beer, Iowa Craft Beer has a tent setup each day in 2 different spots along the route.
They have a large selection of Iowa beers and the list changes each day.
Here's their website from last year.

Iowa Craft Beer Tent

 

[skibum69]

Maybe this year I'l be able to get more bike time in. I hope!

 

[kurtr11s]

Every time I post here I have to figure out how to do the pictures! And I've posted a lot of them.

Here are a few pictures of a short tour of Vermont that the future RAGBRAIers took in late October. It started in NY on the shores of Lake Champlain, went to Burlington and then a roundabout trek to Vergennes. It also included some riding in the foothills of the Adirondacks.

Ferry from Essex to Charlotte. The wind was whipping up the lake and it was NOT warm.


View of the eastern Adirondacks from Vermont. We all took pictures of our bikes here - and a guy riding by decided it was worth the stop, too.





Some of the roads in Vt are in good condition:


And back home on Adirondack gravel:



I didn't include pictures of the beer drinking but we stopped at Fiddlehead, Switchback, Zero Gravity, Frost and Hired Hand breweries. It really is a beer lovers paradise, but did make the commute from ZG to our hotel in South Burlington in fairly heavy traffic a bit exciting.

 

[kurtr11s]

I just noticed: the jersey Michelle is wearing is "Tip the cow stout" from SingleSpeed Brewing in Cedar Falls, Iowa. We stopped there on a motorcycle trip to the MOA national in DesMoines. She was really excited when the tapkeeper went digging through all of the jerseys he had and found an XS. Stout is her favorite.

 

[lee]

Every time I post here I have to figure out how to do the pictures! And I've posted a lot of them.

With the new forum software you can now Copy and Paste pictures.

 

[pglaves]

I only do day rides when it's close enough I can sleep at home at night. Last year I did 3 days, the most I did was 4.

Well, Glenwood to Burlington probably puts Creston fairly close to the route for a day or two I would think.

 

[kurtr11s]

Well, Glenwood to Burlington probably puts Creston fairly close to the route for a day or two I would think.

Hi Paul! The direct route would go right through Creston but the organizers decided to go north after the first day. The closest point of approach to Creston appears to be the middle of the third day. I'm going to trust Lee when he says it will be hilly.

 

[lee]

Well, Glenwood to Burlington probably puts Creston fairly close to the route for a day or two I would think.

I can do the first 3 days. I'm undecided. Last year was so crowded I was thinking of giving up on RAGBRAI.
In 2019 I thought the Winterset to Indianola day was bad with 40,000 riders, but last year a couple of days I rode was around 50,000 riders.
This year Winterset to Knoxville will probably be busy because it's close to Des Moines so there will be a lot of day riders.

 

[lee]

A little history on the RAGBRAI overnight towns.

Diverse towns line RAGBRAI route

State’s heritage rooted in several attractions From the birthplace o

desmoinesregister-ia.newsmemory.com

RAGBRAI stands for Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.
Here's the history

» The History of RAGBRAI – Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa!

ragbrai.com

 

[rbourey]

With the new forum software you can now Copy and Paste pictures.

By Jove! He's right!

So away from all the odor of 50,000 cyclists riding through the heat that hits Iowa the last week of July, and off to less crowded trails.
(Group rides are fun, until the first time you have to stand in line for ice cream.)

Horse Prairie Stage Stop. Along the Great Divide Mountain Bike Trail.
(GDMBR - ~2800 miles Banff to Mexico, ridden this summer by a Australian member of the pro peloton in 12.5 days....)

If you're on the motorcycle Idaho 29 has a few miles of gravel road.
Run by an active military member with the help of Crazy Amy (great cook and sign maker) and others.