In Which RAGBRAI Will Follow the River

Photo posted on Facebook by RAGBRAI. The Jan. 26 announcement.

The big surprise is now out—I wondered if they would do something really new, like a north to south route—but no, the surprise for RAGBRAI 2019 is the final day—Burlington to Keokuk.

Honestly, I’m not 100 percent on how I feel about that. I do like the idea of a day along the mighty Mississippi, but it ends in Keokuk. Granted, that’s a city of some size, not some isolated hamlet like Guttenberg or Lansing, but by accident of geography (being at the tip of a peninsula formed by the Des Moines and Mississippi rivers) Keokuk manages to be geographically isolated. We’ll have to mount an early summer scouting mission—how hard will this city be to get into and out of?

And it’s just way, way down there. Clinton-Davenport-Muscatine, heck, even Burlington—those are easy cities to get to for CR Biker, and easy to enter and exit. Keokuk is way the heck down into Missouri, a strange, exotic and (maybe) isolated town.

2019 RAGBRAI Logo from DesMoinesRegister.com.

Which may not be entirely bad news. I have been by the city K often in my life, but never into the city (no major north-south highway leading from parts of Iowa to parts of Missouri goes through Keokuk—it is a city that is not on the way to anywhere). So for me, it is an unexplored corner of Iowa.

The start in Council Bluffs is not bad—that’s a big place with lots of ingress and egress options, and they have a pretty cool by-the-river facility to start this sort of thing.

Other overnight towns include Atlantic, Winterset, Indianola and Centerville, in addition to Burlington.

Ah. And Fairfield. A nice little town, with a pretty town square—but last time RAGBRAI stopped there, ape excrement cray-cray, too. The was the city where an officious gate guard would not let our clearly legit support vehicle in because we could not name a team on her odd little list, and so others in town had to conspire to sneak us in via a back alley to get to the official camp site we were entitled to in the first place.

Fairfield—the land that brains forgot.

OK, OK totally unfair and not accurate, either. That was an uncalled for rant—an unfair smear against a fine, slightly off-balance, Iowa town. One crazy gate guard does not a crazy town make, although it says something about the level of Fairfield Crazy (one step below Trump Crazy) that the other organizers, instead of correcting crazy gate guard lady, found it easier to sneak us in a back way.

Never argue with a crazy lady wielding a clipboard in Fairfield. That’s a rule, like never get involved in a land war in Asia.

One of my images from RAGBRAI 2018.

Anyway, I’m a bit mixed at many levels. RAGBRAI is a southern route this year—not the far south route of a few years ago through the most impoverished areas of Iowa, but close enough to Missouri that it will feel a little less like Iowa.

And I’m just a bit up in the air in riding the whole thing, anyway. I’ve done the whole RAGBRAI for enough years now that I’m starting to look for the off ramp. Not that I want to give it up—I would like to celebrate the year of my 80th birthday with a full RAGBRAI, if I’m physically able, and if I’m will probably ride part of the route most years—but the time, expense and sheer wear of an entire week seems less attractive to CR Biker as he ages.

I don’t need that mark on my bucket list. Been there, done that, it was great fun and I think I’ll do it again sometime, but do I need to ride the full week every year? How about starting in Winterset or Indianola?

What do you think, Team Joe? Are we ready for a more truncated ride?

Group photo of Team Joe, Boone, 2018.

This was the year that I might have missed RAGBRAI completely. We are planning to visit our daughter in England, and had thought of doing an Ireland tour and meeting her in Dublin. Given their school breaks, late July was looking as the time to do it.

Then, we decided that while we do want to tour the emerald isle, it will just not be this year. We want a little more time to plan that adventure. So our England trip this summer may not conflict with RAGBRAI (although, to be honest, it still could because dates are not firmly set yet).

Still, between registration, bike maintenance, meals, travel to the start and finish, etc., I probably invest something around $750 in RAGBRAI each year, not counting the training cost (and I should not count the training cost because I would plan to spend my whole summer on a bicycle even without RAGBRAI). I’m good for the money, but my wife and I had a ball traveling to Missouri last year—we’re getting to a life phase where doing more joint travel is a priority, and my wife is not interested in riding RAGBRAI.

Maybe it would make sense take $300 or so of the RAGBRAI fund and use it for the elderly couple travel adventure fund. I bet I could do 3 to 4 days of RAGRAI for around $450, give or take.

Anyway, I still have to confer with the team (and the spouse). I did buy two camp chairs just for RAGBRAI use. But I would like to have part of my late July week back home, too.

Still, there is Keokuk. Hmm. I might enjoy seeing you on two wheels.

The route was announced tonight, and I watched it live on The Gazette’s web site. Here is RAGBRAI 2019:

• Day 1, 58 miles, Council Bluffs to Atlantic.
• Day 2, 68 miles, Atlantic to Winterset.
• Day 3, 39 miles, Winterset to Indianola.
• Day 4: 68 miles, Indianola to Centerville.
• Day 5, 65 miles, Centerville to Fairflield.
• Day 6, 57 miles, Fairfield to Burlington.
• Day 7, 62 miles, Burlington to Keokuk.

It’s 427 miles total, with 14,735 feet of climb, according to the announcement today. That may alter slightly as details of the route are fleshed out, but there you have it.

In Which Four Or Five Heads Are Better Than One

The mighty awesome Team Joe at the end of RAGBRAI 2013. Brandon Kent, Cate Sheller, Brigid Rocca, Eldon Rocca and your correspondent.

My son-in-law could have borrowed my sweatshirt—I would have been warm enough in my sleeping bag. As it was, he got very cold in his thin sleeping bag liner and airy summer tent that night in Fairfield. I was fine.

Then again, while he mostly rode and camped alone, I was with a group. And again, as in last year, my RAGBRAI 2013 experience reinforces the idea of a group experience being the better way to go.

Not that groups are always better. The first year I did RAGBRAI, the young men from Seattle who I was with would sleep until almost 8, whereas I awoke at 5. I would hit the road by 6. They would always finish before me anyway, being young and strong on nimble road bikes, whereas I am old—still strong, but in biking terms “old” is almost synonymous with “slow”—and ride Francis.

My bike, Francis, is very reliable: a solid, sturdy bike that is ideal for commuting. Maybe Francis is not quite as ideal for RAGBRAI, although, on the other hand, Francis is of a style that promotes both front baskets and back racks, which are handy to have on a long bike trek.

Anyway, since I was on my own during the day during that first RAGBRAI, I could move at my own pace and always make my own decisions. But since I was with a group, there was a support vehicle and friends to pal around with each night.

This year, things were a bit different. We were trading drivers at the meet towns each day, so meeting was more important. And our style of riding was different—we tended to ride in mini packs. Again, this is not bad—there were many advantages—but group dynamics, the need to discuss decisions and come to agreement, slows things down.

On the other hand, being with other riders during the day means both many bad shared jokes and mutual support. One of our riders, not me, became ill one day, and it was good that someone (me) could stay with that rider until the SAG wagon came. I stopped twice to help strangers along the way, and once had my sister with me—she provided me with a glove that kept me from getting all greasy. I got all greasy the other time. I did better with my sister there.

Overall, I would say 2013 ranks second in my RAGBRAI experiences. The first year was number one, the second year was number three. I enjoyed the second year, but doing it alone proved not as good as doing it in a group. And the biggest reason 2013 doesn’t rank number one has zero to do with the company I kept, which was excellent in both 2011 and 2013, but more with the fact that almost any good experience is just better when it is most novel.

Will I do RAGBRAI again? With siblings? I can’t speak for them, but I suspect so. I am 100 percent sure that I will do at least parts of RAGBRAI again, and, while I’m not prepared at this point to commit to the full week in 2014, on the other hand, when winter rolls around and the Des Moines Register announces the route for the year—well, 2013 was such a positive experience that I’m sure RAGBRAI fever will be high.

We—my sisters, brother-in-law and I—talked of many things, including possible blog posts. I may yet write the one we discussed about advice for vendors, host towns and RAGBRAI itself—including, RAGBRAI, marking the darn route for support vehicles much more effectively. Another possible blog post, that I sadly suspect will not be done because I did not take notes, was RAGBRAI quotes.

One I recall is “Eldon gives the best Hickeys.” A hickey is a naughty mark on the skin. A Hickey is a rubber device that replaces shoelaces, and my bike shoes now have Hickeys courtesy of Eldon.

Maybe next year I will remember to have a notebook handy so I can recall all of the cool quotes from the journey. There, see, I haven’t even committed to doing RAGBRAI again, but I’m already writing “next year.”

Some final thoughts on RAGBRAI 2013:

What went well:

Picture perfect final day--Des Moines River at Bonaparte.

• Eating at churches. Even the hapless one in Perry where the system broke down and the food was an hour late still fed us well, and the time in line worked in our favor because we avoided the worst of a thunderstorm. Methodists still make great pie, but Catholic pasta proved filling in two overnight towns.
• Having a support vehicle. I owe many debts to both of my riding pal sisters—Brigid and Cate—and to Eldon, my brother-in-law. Among the greatest is to Brigid and Eldon for supplying the SUV. We didn’t have to worry about RAGBARI baggage limits (which meant a real pillow, hooray!) and had coolers so we could buy our own beer at $6 a six pack instead of $6 a drink
• Taking turns driving. It meant I missed some cool things, such as the drive over the mile-long bridge on Red Rock Lake, but having a few driving shifts meant some half days off, which were good for my aging body. I suppose I technically did only 5 ½ days of RAGBRAI on a bike, but still. When one member of our team was faded for any reason, he or she could pick up an extra diving shift and get a break. CR Biker did not need any extra breaks this year—and having a few more team members so there are fewer driving shifts would be OK, too—but the whole trading driving thing turned out to be a great idea.
• The weather. We had rain twice this year, but both times at night. Since my little tent continues to be the watertight shelter that could, night rains didn’t bother me much. Dry, warm, sunny days make the week overall very beautiful. If it had been one week earlier, we would have sweltered under high heat and astronomical humidity—but as it turned out, Mother Nature smiled this year, and the weather was gorgeous.
• The shirts. My daughter's grand design for Team Joe was a hit. I wore "I am Joe" and "Joe I am" shirts on four days of the ride, and met lots of other Joes. Many riders made a sport of yelling "hi Joe," or, in the case of the Christmas team (yes, there was one), "Merry Christmas, Joe!" I felt like Lance Armstrong without the biking ability.

  

  Awesome shirt front,
  it said "Team Joe" above picture.

What did not go well:

• Fairfield. The little town that is slightly cray cray. From the gate guard who turned us away from the main campground because I could not name our team’s official RAGBRAI name on the spot to the shortage of portable toilets (and total lack of water) in the main campground, the little town that is schizophrenic, divided between old-school Iowans and Vedic spirituality, seemed a bit, well, incompetent. Don’t get me wrong—overall the town was very friendly and most individuals we encountered were delightful, it’s just that the powers that be running this RAGBRAI stop managed to get many key details wrong.
• Getting late starts. We did better at the end, and usually were on the road by close to 6:30 if not 7—but as I’ve written before, a good RAGBRAI ride starts promptly at 6. In the future, maybe we pack breakfy rather than seeking it in town. Coffee is important, but then again, it’s also readily available on the road.
• Eating vendor food one night. Yeah, not so much. Stick with churches. Our search for food became late in Oskaloosa, and we didn’t find either Methodists or Catholics, but instead ate in the downtown vendor area. Never again. The food was OK, but it was not plentiful enough and the lines were huge. Churches feed you much better. You pay more, but sitting down to a hearty meal is totally worth it.

Anyway, RAGBRAI 2013 is now history. See more of my photos here.

The giant bike at the Fairfield  Middle School was cool.

Was it good? When it was good, it was very, very good. When it was bad, it frankly wasn’t all that bad. Even Fairfield was enjoyable. Overall, I would say it was great.

Some thank you notes: Thank you again, Brigid and Eldon, for supplying the support vehicle. Thank you Eldon for fixing my front derailleur. Thank you, Cate and Brigid, for your quirky sense of humor and knowledge of 1970s and 80s song lyrics. Eldon, thanks for putting up with three Shellers for a week. Thank you Cate for the many training rides and the cool guest blog post. Brandon, thanks for hanging out with the old folks for a few nights. Thank you Iowa and Des Moines Register for going along with this whole RAGBRAI idea. Amanda, the shirts were totally awesome, thanks a ton, and again thanks to Eldon for arranging the printing. Most of all, Audrey, a thousand thanks. You encouraged me to do RAGBRAI again, you left me off and picked me up despite the coordination problems that inevitably cropped up, and you reminded me often to go out and ride my bike to practice for RAGBRAI. I’m sure sometimes it just got me out of your hair, but still.

It’s good to be home. Of all the RAGBRAIs so far, I think I finished this one in the best physical shape—Audrey had the idea to take several pairs of gloves, which proved a very wise move since I had no hand rashes as I have in the past, and trading time cycling with driving time means my body is just not that beat up. The weather was beautiful today and it was tempting to pop the wheel back on Francis and head for a spin on the trails near my home.

My butt said “no.” OK, butt. But I’m sure I’ll be back in the saddle again soon, and probably again in future RAGBRAIs, too.

Final look at Team Joe. So long, RAGBRAI 2013.