RAGBRAI 2017
Earlier this week Katie and I traveled to my native state of Iowa to join in on a couple days of this year’s RAGBRAI ride. If you’re not aware, RAGBRAI is an annual bike ride across the entire state of Iowa from West to East, earning it the name {the} Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. I believe it is the largest group bike ride in the entire world with somewhere around 15,000-20,000+ riders, but don’t quote me on that.
We joined up with my uncle Kerry and cousin Sam for Day 2 in Spencer which made it’s way to Algona, seventy miles away. Along the way, the route passes through tiny Iowa towns exactly like the one I grew up in. The types of towns where the mainstreet consists of an elevator, bar, small local bank and a VFW. It’s a huge deal for these towns to have RAGBRAI ride through their streets, as it brings in thousands of people with wallets and purses who’s stomachs are rumbling and watches read BEER:30. Pop-up beer gardens with bad speaker systems plugged into an old laptop was a common occurrence in these towns, but nobody cared because they were there to party. Small town hustle at it’s finest.
To even further capitalize on the small town hustle, farm homes along the route set up shop selling all sorts of tasty treats, coffee and a few even had craft beer buses parked in their lawns. Family farms who’s traffic usually consists of tractors pulling hayracks and grain wagons through the yard were replaced with thousands of 10 speed two-wheelers cheersing beers and devouring homemade pie.
Despite the sunburn, Day 2’s trek was near perfect. The final stretch into Algona was met with steep hills and a road that never seemed to end. That road, however, allowed us to pass right by the golf course where my parents first met over thirty years ago! By the time we rolled into town we were ready to be off our bikes and into some food. After an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet and Dairy Queen Blizzard we were uncomfortably full and ready for bed. We limped/waddled our way back to the home we were spending the night in and hit the hay.
On Day 3 we rode 55 miles in a punishing crosswind from Algona to Clear Lake. We started the morning with coffee, homemade yogurt parfaits and bagels while befriending a friendly farm dog at a stop along the route. Although the ride was a little tougher this day due to the wind, the site seeing and comradery made up for it.
The most excited I got during all of RAGBRAI was riding up on a Peacock Groove bike on Day 3. Peacock Groove is a custom bike builder out of Minneapolis who creates both traditional and very untraditional bikes. This one was a purple and pink polka-dotted cargo-esque bike with a giant speaker strapped to the back blasting tasty jams. It was literally a party on wheels. Check out the picture below.
Although I have an enormous amount of Iowa pride and will forever rep the 712, my MPLS pride has really grown over the past couple of years. It was exciting seeing Minneapolis brand bikes during RAGBRAI. I saw lots of Surly Long Haul Truckers and Cross-Checks and even rode a five-mile stretch chatting with a dude riding a Surly Straggler (shout-out to Tyler from CO). Katie’s Space Horse Disc and my Macho King added to the family of numerous All-City riders on the road.
Other fun bikes we saw on the road were unicycles, a Penny-Farthing, elliptical bikes, more versions of recumbent bikes I knew existed and even a dude that had his wheelchair mounted atop an electric skateboard.
We stopped off in Britt to stretch our legs a bit while enjoying a couple tall boys and dance to the hits of the 80's. Nobody is a stranger at RAGBRAI and everyone seems to enjoy one another. I was fascinated that I never saw a single bike lock the entire time I was there. It was not uncommon to see a $6,000 bike resting against a building with the owner nowhere in sight. Definitely not something you would see in Minneapolis. After a porkchop on a stick and quick tour of mainstreet we boarded our bikes headed towards the next town.
By the time we reached the next town we were ready for the day to come to an end. We pulled over to catch a quick snooze under a shade tree in the park and then set off towards our final destination, Clear Lake. When we reached Clear Lake there was a high energy buzz to the town and we were greeted with cheers from friends and family. Although we only road a portion of the ride there was definitely a sense of accomplishment when we finished. 125 miles is the longest trek we've made on our bikes thus far but it definitely left an itch to go further next time. We celebrated our journey with giant ice cream/cookie sandwhiches and shared stories with family. RAGBRAI 2017 was a wrap.
RAGBRAI helped remind me that the nicest people you will ever meet reside in Iowa. It's the perfect place to call home. A place where people look out for one another and are always willing to lend a neighborly hand. The definition of the word Community. You may run into a few bad eggs (usually Hawkeye fans) but travel a little further down the road and you'll be greeted by 10 of the most genuine people on the planet. With that being said, I highly recommend RAGBRAI to anyone that enjoys an adventure on 2 wheels. It's the perfect journey to experience the heavenly kingdom we call the Midwest.
RAGBRAI: Come for the party, stay for the hospitality.
