Hey Pell, That whole camping idea was definitely out for this old guy too, although most of the riders did camp and didn't seem to be too much the worse for it. The idea of staying with folks along the way is appealing, I heard good things about those experiences.
I especially like the RV idea, maybe look for a driver/masseuse/chef combo. I actually tried to trade my house for a friend’s RV but turned out the RV was worth several times more than the house and required the equivalent of a jet fighter-plane training course to operate. Sure would have been the lap of luxury though what with DW as support and all.
In the end, we stayed in motels. It worked out OK because all of our wives went along in vehicles to pick us up and ferry everybody around. The wives had a blast too although the whole operation was something comparable to herding cats. That was pretty entertaining all by itself.
BTW, there were a lot of tandems on the ride, seemed like RAGBRAI is perfect for them. I played tag with several of them daily. I could catch them on the uphill but just had to get out of their way on the downhill. One more thing, you might want to warn DH that competition on RAGBRAI has more to do with who can hit more of the food stations along the route each day than it does with how fast anybody can go on the bike. I must have done pretty good in the food department, rode 400 miles in a week and managed to gain 5 lbs.
I might see you out there next year. My brother and his buds are formulating a plan and I might get to join in.
Joey, thanks for the “cool vibes”, they actually arrived about Thursday and stayed through Saturday. Made things quite a bit more pleasant. And thanks especially for the “I Ride With MS” jersey explanation. I’ll make a point of registering as a person with MS next year, seems as though it’s time. I’m just about ready to get back on the bike so look for a message soon. I assume you’re needing to get a longer ride or two in before your century.
Hey Stella, just saw your message and have to say, as usual, you make a very good point. The towns in Iowa were generally about 10 miles apart and they all had multiple facilities available. 10 miles might be an hour or less for most cyclists.
Of course, for that "emergency" situation, there was ALWAYS a corn field just a couple of steps away from the road. I actually saw a sign along the way that read "What happens in the corn, stays in the corn".
Larry
I especially like the RV idea, maybe look for a driver/masseuse/chef combo. I actually tried to trade my house for a friend’s RV but turned out the RV was worth several times more than the house and required the equivalent of a jet fighter-plane training course to operate. Sure would have been the lap of luxury though what with DW as support and all.
In the end, we stayed in motels. It worked out OK because all of our wives went along in vehicles to pick us up and ferry everybody around. The wives had a blast too although the whole operation was something comparable to herding cats. That was pretty entertaining all by itself.
BTW, there were a lot of tandems on the ride, seemed like RAGBRAI is perfect for them. I played tag with several of them daily. I could catch them on the uphill but just had to get out of their way on the downhill. One more thing, you might want to warn DH that competition on RAGBRAI has more to do with who can hit more of the food stations along the route each day than it does with how fast anybody can go on the bike. I must have done pretty good in the food department, rode 400 miles in a week and managed to gain 5 lbs.
I might see you out there next year. My brother and his buds are formulating a plan and I might get to join in.
Joey, thanks for the “cool vibes”, they actually arrived about Thursday and stayed through Saturday. Made things quite a bit more pleasant. And thanks especially for the “I Ride With MS” jersey explanation. I’ll make a point of registering as a person with MS next year, seems as though it’s time. I’m just about ready to get back on the bike so look for a message soon. I assume you’re needing to get a longer ride or two in before your century.
Originally posted by Stella
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Of course, for that "emergency" situation, there was ALWAYS a corn field just a couple of steps away from the road. I actually saw a sign along the way that read "What happens in the corn, stays in the corn".
Larry
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