Dispatches from the Staff
11:19 pm | Thursday, Jul 24th 2008
THE RAGBRAI BABES RIDE AGAIN
Posted By Judy
WHERE can you see a female bicyclist sporting a black witches hat and cape,another wearing a pink tutu and bikini top, a rather large man painted with fire engine red body paint head to toe, wearing a yellow bike helmet sporting actual horns from a longhorn steer mounted on the helmet, or a gang of 5 fellas on bikes wearing hula skirts? RAGBRAI! You’ve met the 5 Boro Babes in a previous post—now prepare to meet the RAGBRAI Babes! For those of you who aren’t familiar with the ride, RAGBRAI stands for “The Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa”. Heading into its 36th year, RAGBRAI is the longest, largest and oldest touring bicycle ride in the world. It is sponsored by The Des Moines Register. Usually there are about 10,000 registered riders (usually chosen through a lottery system—lots of bike clubs, may of whom arrive in highly decorated school buses with bike racks on top) and probably another 10,000 “bandits”, or UN-registered riders.
Rose Ditter once again was our “organizer” for this adventure. 8 of us met at Rose’s house on a Saturday morning—Jan Grossman, Mary Siegfried, Mary Waters, Carole Harris, Cathy Price, Angela Rapp, and yours truly, Judy Knudson. And Rose, of course! We piled luggage, pillows, inflatable mattresses, snacks, cycling gear,& Ipods into two vans and racked 4 bikes on the back of each, and headed for Harlan, Iowa where we were hosted by Rose’s brother & wife. Rose comes from a fairly large family, so we were welcomed by 4 of her siblings and spouses plus several cousins,(including Chris, who joined us for the ride the next day) all toting wonderful homemade potluck dishes to complement the typically Iowan Maid-Rite Sandwiches simmering on the stove.
Early Sunday morning we were driven to Missouri Valley Iowa where we helped kick off the 36th RAGBRAI with 59 miles of heat and HILLS! Usually with large groups of cyclists, there are many who don’t really understand cycling safety and etiquette—I have to say I was really impressed with this group. People consistently called out when passing, jumping onto the road from the shoulder, stopping, etc.—making this a really easy gang with whom to share the road! Probably the biggest hazard was sightseeing—ribbons of road and a sea of cyclists, many in unique and incredibly creative costumes—it was hard to keep your eyes on the road!
The Iowa communities all vie every year to be a part of the route, and go out of their way to welcome cyclists. One community several years ago laid outdoor carpeting over the railroad tracks at the edge of town. Food vendors are everywhere—from kids and parents at the side of the road with water, gatorade and snacks, to “Pork Chop Man” who grills thousands of inch thick Iowa pork chops and sells them tucked in a napkin to be eaten out of hand and “Pancake Man” who can flip that cake and hit your plate at 10 feet. Grilled Iowa corn vendors, homemade ice cream, brownies—whatever you are hungry for is probably just a mile or two down the road at any point! Lines seemed to move fairly quickly except at Porta-Pots. Most towns (I believe there were 6 on this day’s route) had water spigots rigged so that there was free water for your bottles, but bottled water and beverages were also available. Some folks chose to carry 6 packs in their panniers.
Most riders chose to travel light, but I met a couple from San Francisco who were hauling all their luggage and camping gear on their bikes. At least THEY didn’t pass me as I was pumping up those hills! There were people of all ages—kids who appeared to be 8 or 9, babies or toddlers in trailors, to a number of folks who appeared to be in their 70’s or perhaps even 80’s! And typical of cyclists everywhere, if someone looked as if they were disabled or had a problem on the side of the road, help was always available!
By 4 pm we had all rolled into Harlan, and after showers and a “cooling down period”, we walked 8 blocks to the town square where the “fiesta” was in full swing with dozens of food and drink vendors, live music, and souvenirs. About half of the group headed heat and leg weary, back to the house after eating. The other half stayed to sweat a bit more and enjoy the music.
Monday, after a majority vote, we loaded the bikes on the vans once more and headed home, stopping just across the Nebraska line for Runza sandwiches, and laden with another year’s RAGBRAI tales and photos with which to regale our kids and grandkids!