WHY?

In the spring of 2010 I was scooping up paperwork after a church vestry meeting when I casually asked a fellow vestry member if he wanted to ride his bicycle across Iowa with 12,000 other cyclists. With as litte forethought as I had given the question he answered, "Sure." Thus friendships are sealed and mighty quests are set upon.

All that Peter and I knew about RAGBRAI was a little we learned on the web. It was a long ride, 450 miles or so, but we had a whole week and Iowa was pretty flat, right?
Peter and I rode about 650 miles from April to July preparing for the big ride. That seemed like ample practice, right?

After we had ridden up and down Iowa for five days Peter told me he cursed me under his breath the first two days for tricking him into going on RAGBRAI. Then he spent the rest of the week cursing that he might not be able to finish the ride. I guess that was the quest part kicking in.

NOTICE: Iowa is not flat. Iowa is actually borderline mountainous from the viewpoint of someone sitting on a bicycle seat, AND 650 miles might seem like quite a distance to ride if you are a newbie, but it doesn't even start to be enough for RAGBRAI.

I remember after the first day I hurt all over. I wondered what a rider did who wanted to throw in the towel, tuck his rear wheel between his legs and quietly go home. That's when someone mentioned there is no whining allowed on RAGBRAI. The next morning I found enough energy to ride one more day, and one more and another until I rode my bike into the Mississippi River on the last day. That is the tradition. You dip your rear wheel in the Missouri when you start and your front wheel in the Mississippi when you finish.

This ride is not fun but it is a wonderful adventure. The only thing that is scripted about the ride is where you will spend each night. Somewhere in the next campground there is a tent space with your number on it. In between camp sites there are sites to be seen, people to be met, incredible food to be eaten and ample libations to be libated.

Last year I rode a while with a 76 year old woman who had done 26 rides across Iowa in a row. I rode along with a woman from Chicago who carried her little Terrier in a basket on the back of her bike. If anyone wanted a photo of this cute critter they had to fork over a donation to the Chicago animal shelter. There was an entire team dressed in banana costumes. Really. I met a recently retired preacher, the last circuit riding Methodist minister in the state of Iowa. He rode the last few years of his circuit on his bicycle. Susan Farago was staying in our campground. She is one of the greatest cycling athletes in the US. Check her training site online.

This is Thursday night. Early on Sunday morning another adventure begins.

That's why. That's why I do it.

Roll on.

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