How do those who are participating, who are not staying in those big motorhomes, shower and do other things? With thousands of participants in those tiny towns this must be quite a show. Perhaps the participants are partying so hard (a rumor I have heard) they don’t notice if they shower or not.
Anyhow, I will be there this year and will be “camping”. Just wondering if there is anything special I need to know.
Having done ragbrai a few times and doing it again this year ill share a little of how it works. The towns usually set up portable showers. Car washes are easily converted to showers, schools are used, there’s even a guy who built a semi-trailer with showers in it that he pulls in to the overnight towns (really nice because he has an adequate water heater). There are literally thousands of portable toilets brought in to each town.
I grew up in Iowa and have had some family members who had RAGBRAI come through, a lot of the times schools etc will open up, or multiple cities through the day will have opportunities.
Typically you can have good luck at the ending city with people allowing you to use their home showers or others just let people use the hose to rinse off.
I plan on doing this in the next couple of years, have a good time.
It is amazing how some people are up and biking at sunrise and drinking by noon in bed by 8, and others are getting up at noon, and roll in late at night to drink till the wee hours of the morning!
Several things to know about ragbrai:
cornfields make great restrooms when you are out on the road.
sanitation on the road isnt necessarily the best but you will survive.
stop in every town, you never know who you might meet
The home made pie is amazing
Home Made ice cream is also amazing
Churches have the best meals, and best prices, and are usually air conditioned.
Showers in schools, Rec centers, or the semi are the best. Showers in campground shower houses, car washes, or other temporary structures are usually cold.
It’s not a race
Relax and enjoy the ride, take your time, meet new people, and eat lots of delicious food
Having done ragbrai a few times and doing it again this year ill share a little of how it works. The towns usually set up portable showers. Car washes are easily converted to showers, schools are used, there’s even a guy who built a semi-trailer with showers in it that he pulls in to the overnight towns (really nice because he has an adequate water heater). There are literally thousands of portable toilets brought in to each town.
Are there traveling “restaurants” to get breakfast and dinner if one didn’t want to carry and cook their own food? There will be two of us and one is going to ride and the other will be driving ahead and setting up for the “traveling expo”. With people leaving and arriving at all hours it sounds like this could be going on 24 hours a day. How does that expo thing work, if you know?
Our posts crossed in cyberspace. Thanks.
Welcome to Iowa. I believe RAGBRAI is something everyone should do just once. Our " team" generally does the first 3-4 days, after that is does get a bit old.
Of the 15 people on our team one of us genially has a friend or a friend of a friend that knows someone in each overnight town. Once the route is announced we are on the phone. What we generally tell people is that we need a restroom and a hose. We pack our own camping equipment in our team sag wagon.
Don’t worry about food, there is plenty. You must have some church lady’s home made pie, farm boy’s burritos and make at least one stop at the pork chop mans trailer.
Ps. I have never seen anyone on RAGBRAI use power cranks.
I have done RAGBRAI many times & have always found that almost every overnight town has a city pool with showers. You can pay $5 to $10 to shower in a portable shower on a truck & wait in line or pay $3 or $4 to shower at the pool & also jump in and cool off, Iowa in August can be hot. Another option I’ve found works is to party in every town & you will not care how dirty you get. Bathrooms are not an issue portables are everywhere & by the end of the week the 100 plus degree temp in them & the smell will hardly bother you. Lance put it best when he rode a couple years ago “Bike, Beer, Pork Chops & Pie this is amazing who knew”. Have fun
there are, the breakfast burritos are awesome, get em about 5-7 miles in to the ride each day. Theres also a breakfast buffet like placethat serves breakfast. tons of other food vendors along the way as well. i dont suggest cooking your own food there is plenty on the way. The expo portion is pretty loose, and generally not super crowded till later in the afternoon and evening. Kind of depends on what kind of day it was, hills, wind, distance. I can get you in touch with some who have done the expo thing before. We are riding with Bikeworld charter. We meet them in Des Moines and they transport us to Sioux City carry our gear during the week and then bus us back to Des Moines from Dubuque. Its a pretty nice setup, they have their mechanics available at camp for minor repairs as well as set up in the expo. They still have some spots available with their charter as well.
Weather in Iowa, for those of you who don’t live in the Tall Corn State- has been wet and rainy. Yes, I know that means the same thing, but this spring has been just crazy. When it rains we get at least an inch… flood watches have become the norm. Friday we had sunrise, then a crazy cold front came in with 40-70 mph winds and some rain, then more sun, and a short rain shower, sun, and then pouring rain. Yes, folks, that is Iowa… be prepared for just about everything!!
Something you might want to put on your “to do” list while in Sioux City is to visit the Lewis and Clark Center… beautiful gardens surround some amazing buildings that are filled with artifacts from the Lewis and Clark expedition.
In fact, water seems to be a recurring theme this year… along the river in Sioux City, then Storm Lake… Algona should be dry, Clear Lake, Charles City is another dry area, Waterloo we will be near the Lost Island Water Park, Manchester doesn’t have any water, and then Dubuque and the big Mississippi… Know what that means? Bugs. Lots and lots of the pesky little things. Mosquitoes will have a habitat to thrive in at several of our overnights. Don’t forget to pack your bug deterrent of choice this year!
The other thing about this years route… and the fact that it is “flat”, is that it allows some great views… this part of the state has lots of windfarms… bunches and bunches of them. In the early morning hours as you ride out on the road you can hear the whirring thump as they turn in the wind… pretty good photo op too. Glaciers came along way back when and ground down the hills and valleys of this area… leaving behind wonderful flat prairie land, which is now home to some of the best farmland in the state. Farmsteads surrounded by acres of corn or beanfields will be your view come July… and it is pretty darn nice to look at.
f you all have been keeping an eye on the weather in Iowa (or experiencing it) you know this week brought lots of storms. Fear not if this happens while we are out sleeping under the stars. Each of our overnight towns will have an emergency weather plan in place. The most important thing to remember if severe weather happens is to LISTEN to what instructions we are being given. Our staff sleeps very lightly, and we are usually up and about if there is a hint of bad weather… and we will find out from the folks in charge where we are to go, and what we are to do. We will then quietly visit each tent… please cooperate!
The nice thing about the rain… we are about 8" over normal for the month thus far… is that there will be lots of rolling green countryside which shows off old white farmhouses and red barns to perfection! The corn will also be tall- and the sweet corn sweet.
For the first timers who are riding with us… here are some things you might be surprised with: tent zippers opening at 4:30 am, the number of people who are actually cheerful at 6 am, Yes, you can smell corn growing : ), Showers are usually not private, and are sometimes open air, and the best ones are in car washes, churches have the best pie… but get there early if you like rhubarb! Small towns in Iowa have the friendliest people!
So we are drawing ever closer to our week in the sun, in the flattest part of Iowa. Remember that RAGBRAI is an event like no other… even after 15 rides I still can’t explain it. You will experience hot weather, cold showers, long lines for almost everything, probably a little rain, some headwind somewhere along the way. You will also see the best Iowa has to offer… midwest hospitality, small towns, wonderful food, rural landscapes, and of course, the largest bike ride in action. Be prepared for the unexpected to happen, because it will. There will be a campsite without trees, a hike to the kybo’s, a day when the ice melts almost as fast as it is found… There will be a day when we won’t be camped where we thought we would be, where you wake up to thunder- or maybe hail, where the water tower isn’t where you get to go… patience is something to have at hand at all times, an encouraging word for a fellow rider is nice to have too, and an appreciation for morning- because morning comes earlier on the ride than anywhere else… but it is RAGBRAI, and you will get to the end of the ride, dip your tire in the Mississippi, and realize that you aren’t ready to go home, because where the heck else can you be with 10,000 other people who love what they are doing as much as you do.
Weather One of the great things about Iowa (and the most frustrating) is the weather. This summer has been unusually wet. Be prepared for rain and chilly temps… also be prepared for crazy high humidity and hot temps… we are guaranteed to have a bit of everything during the week. Each overnight town is to have a severe weather plan. We do not know these in advance… but they are in place. We rely on the law enforcement of each town to keep us in the loop. If we need to get up and move, our staff will be up and visiting each tent. Please cooperate with us if that happens… Pack your clothing in large ziplock bags… that way everything will stay dry no matter what!
Safety Tip In Iowa we have these things called rumble strips… they come ahead of most major intersection stop signs. If you are observant, you will see everyone riding to the right or left to avoid the rumble strips. If you happen to miss the folks moving, or pointing at the pavement, or hollering “rumble strips” at the top of their voices, don’t worry: You can safely ride your bike over them, do not swerve into people next to you in order to miss the strips… they are just grooves cut into the road pavement. Ride them at a right angle, and stand in your pedals… if your butt could use a massage, stay seated. It won’t hurt your bike and it won’t hurt you as long as you just ride steady on.
Activities RAGBRAI is not a cruise ship vacation… which means you don’t have anyone that is going to serve as your cruise director. The best source of what is happening in each town is the newspaper that is printed. It will show maps, food locations, entertainment choices, cool things about the towns… everything you wanted to know and do and more. These papers are always available under our shade tent. If you have questions, by all means ask them, and we will do our best to find the answer, if we don’t already know!
Frank, you will have the time of your life. This will be my fourth. I have showered in Car Washes converted, and pig barns. The group I am riding with have their own shower stalls and we fill and use a sun shower bag.
Tim
PORK CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!
Frank - We use shower bags.
I will be the big freak’n dude on a black tarmac SL2 with red helmet . . . Look for me - amongst the other 12,000 people out there!!!
Love me some RAGBRAI!
Cheers
Getting a little bit of a late start because Andrew is under the weather but should make it just fine. Have my sun shower packed and ready to go. Only bringing the ability to heat liquids (AM coffee), sounds like plenty is available to eat and drink. Looking forward to the experience.
I’ve done RAGBRAI in the past and am packing up for the full week this year again. Just like everyone else said, don’t worry about showers or food. You can cook as much as you like but there is ample foot available both in the overnight towns and accross the entire bike route all day. In fact, I would go as far to say the problem with RAGBRAI is not too little food but rather that there is far too much of it available to you at any given time, people consistently report gaining weight during the week rather than losing it.
Likewise on the showers, don’t sweat it. I’m going to be sleeping in an RV this year but we don’t use the shower on it, the tank is far too small to accomodate that, I got a shower every night last year at the city pools or HS along with everyone else. In general at RAGBRAI you can go as bare bones or as all out if you want, but you could make it through the entire week with nothing but your tent, bike and wallet if you wanted.
PORK CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!
Actually it is “Paaaaaaaaaaaaawkk Chooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooop!”
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this will be my 15th RAGBRAI. I ride a red Trek Y-foil. There aren’t too many of us left. So if you see me, introduce yourself!
I will be riding a lime green S-Works, my wife will have the white and purple “Ventus” which is really a repainted cinelli frame, and our friend Thomas will be riding the pearl black/white/red Giant TCR that I painted with the parts donated by Slowtwitchers.