CR Biker: In Which We Look Back at RAGBRAI 2019

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

In Which We Look Back at RAGBRAI 2019

Saturday at Nile Restaurant--Team Joe celebrates before we remove the rider bands.

On ride home.

Day one was wet. Day seven was hot. In between, it was gorgeous.

And even when it was hot on the final day, it was normal summer hot, not the oppressive heat that hit Iowa the week before.

My bike computer was calibrated incorrectly, so I don’t have data, but I rode for 5 days and I think I rode about 300 miles in the week. I also rode rather slowly, and need to work on stepping up the speed so that I can finish a day of RAGBRAI in a reasonable time.

What will I remember most when looking back on RAGBRAI 2019? Here are some of my impressions.

First, teamwork is important. On Tuesday, I was the driver from Winterset to Indianola, and when I tried to gas up the support vehicle at a Casey’s in Des Moines, the gas cap on the small SUV broke. I called the Ford dealership in Indianola, who were no help whatsoever.

Fortunately, with a bottle opener, my sister Cate was able to finagle the broken gas cap out of the hole.

During the week, Cate had persistent shifting and chain problems with her new trike, and had several bike shops work on it. As we got ready to leave camp at 6 a.m. Saturday, the final day, Cate was unable to cycle because her chain was sticking.

Eldon, our team’s gadget guy, figured out that two of her links were coming apart and causing the sticking—and he had two emergency replacement links he could install. Cate got a later start than she wanted to that morning, but then again, she was able to start and Eldon fixed a problem two bike shops had not been able to fix.

I’m not sure I could point to anything of equal value I contributed to the team, but then again, I did suggest the peanut butter-filled pretzels which were a nice Friday afternoon snack.

Along the way, I met a Californian who was riding his first RAGBRAI with his family. He had been encouraged by my daughter-in-law, who he met at work. It was fun to communicate with him via WhatsAp before the ride, and to meet him during the ride. He messaged me after the event that he hopes to do it again.

Four scenes from the week--the wet one was Sunday, the rest of the rides were sunny.

I will also remember sunshine and hills. The beauty of the rolling Iowa countryside. How Centerville and Fairfield redeemed themselves. In Centerville, nobody rode in an ambulance. In Fairfield, gate guards welcomed the team to the campground rather than trying to enforce an odd set of rules.

Food was a thing—pie, naturally. And Methodists cooks who made great evening meals.

For two days, we were hosted by family or friends of team members, and our hosts were great. We depended on the kindness of both strangers and friends on this ride.

It did not seem like a crowded RAGBRAI. I think years when we go closer to Ames, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids or Iowa City draw more people. But it was a pretty RAGBRAI. Also, thank you, hosts, team drives and team members. It takes more than a village to stage a RAGBRAI, it takes an army of riders, volunteers and helpers. And, once again, we pulled it off.