This is an annual cross-state ride called RAGBRAI. It's been going for 52 years now. Riders typically use support teams, but I ride self-supported from the center of the state, ride half the route, and ride home. More photos:
I have wanted to do RAGBRAI since I was in middle school. I'm 60 now and retired, so once I get my knees replaced, I think I'm gonna do it.
Nobody thinks Iowa is hilly until you ride a bicycle across it.
My grandparents were on the first 25 or 30 RAGBRAIs. The year I was supposed to go was the first year they missed :( I hope you had a blast.
that's.. amazing, truly as an Australian you hear all this crazy political shit going on in the US and this seems like comparative peace and calm
I did RAGBRAI a couple of years ago with a friend! It was really fun and I recommend it to people all the time. My favorite memory was a guy running a slip n slide in his front yard, offering free jello shots to everyone who went down it.
That said, I'm not sure I'd do it again. The days (and especially the food) felt very same-y by the end of the week.
I've so wanted to do this event. It seems like such a cool wall to see Iowa.
A friend of mine has done it a few times, and I know a couple other people that have done it.
I'm trying to imagine what flat midwest/central USA would look like to the naked eye if air didn't obscure sightlines. Like if the air were absolutely perfectly infinitely clear, no fog, no mist, etc. Like if it were a game and you set the view distance to infinite.
all 12 comments