RAGBRAI Started Today in Great Weather

Today was the start of RAGBRAI - a bicycle ride all the way across Iowa. In July 2007, less than a month after I "arrived"/moved here, RAGBRAI came through our little town!! It had never come through Rolfe before and who knows how long it'll be until it does again. It was fun to be in town and watch the thousands of bicyclists come through. Also fun talking to some of them. They were from all over the US and other countries. I told Bill tonight that it would've been a lot more fun if I had known more people like I do now because all the different groups had tents set up with food and beverages to feed all of these people and make a buck at the same time. Actually, I probably would've been working at one of them if I'd been here longer rather than getting to just watch! The last picture of the bus - many of the groups that ride together have a decorated bus that follows them on the route and carries their camping gear, party supplies, etc. Some of them go all out on the paint jobs. Here is some more info. about RAGBRAI from their web site.

RAGBRAI®, The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa®, is an annual seven-day bicycle ride across the state. Heading into its 37th year, RAGBRAI is the longest, largest and oldest touring bicycle ride in the world.

In the beginning, no one imagined that RAGBRAI® would become the Iowa tradition it is now.

This rolling celebration of Iowa attracts participants from all 50 states and many foreign countries. It has covered thousands of miles through the years, and hundreds of thousands of riders have hopped in the saddle to pedal part of those miles.

RAGBRAI is a bicycle ride, not a race. It started in 1973 as a six-day ride across the state of Iowa by two Des Moines Register columnists who invited a few friends along. It is held the last full week in July.

The RAGBRAI route averages 472 miles and is not necessarily flat. It begins somewhere along Iowa’s western border on the Missouri River and ends along the eastern border on the Mississippi River. We change the route each year.