The cycling community is both open and closed. Closed, in that you gotta ride to be close to the conversations. Open, in that once you’re in you hear about all kinds of things.
My first serious bike ride in years (I was newly single and in my late 40s) was the MS150 in Minnesota in the late 90s. I was amazed how the cyclists around me embraced me and opened up about all things cycling. We talked bikes, rides, equipment, diet, and anything related to the sport. And lots of other things. It was a rolling community.
It was on this ride ride that I first heard about RAGBRAI. It might have been the proximity to Iowa but I think it was, and remains, a “bucket list” bike adventure for anyone who has ever ridden a bike more than a few miles.
The ride is basically a 7-day bike camping trip across the sate of Iowa. Start at the Missouri river on the west side and end in a Mississippi River town on the east side a week later. Originally conceived and sponsored by the Des Moines Register newspaper, the idea was to expose the world to small-town mid America.
And so it is with me and a group of my cycling buddies from Dallas. Some are veterans, others (like me) are just trying it for the first time. Mostly men with a few women and an age range of early 50s to mid 70s, we spend most of our days on road bikes pedaling together around Dallas in North Texas bike rallies. We’ve been training most of the year–logging miles, doing hills, getting used to the heat. And gathering “stuff” (tents, clothing, gear bags, et al) for the trip.
My personal training has been logging about 200 miles each week on several types of bikes (road, hybrid, trike) over hills (Wednesday nights) and long tours (Saturday and Sunda) of at least 30 miles each with a group. I’m getting there and, as my friend, Bobby, a veteran of the ride, says: the training should be harder than the ride itself.
While I understand it is daily rides of 50 to 70 miles (with one day 100 miles), I also understand that it is frequent stops in town for pork chops, pie and beer. Maybe Bobby is on to something…
This ride is quite different than when I first signed on for it. Back then I was partnered up with Pam (read elsewhere about her on this blog) and this was to be our trip. while she is still going, she’s on her own and searching for her. I guess I’ll look for me while I’m out in the wilds of Iowa, too.
This is the first installment of a random series intended to chronicle my ride. In the 20-or-so days until we leave, I’ll write in this space. And then, while technology challenged, write during and after the event. Stay tuned.
Thanks for reading.
Relentless
