I've done "it" 7 times
- bigrickstuart
- Jul 15
- 2 min read
Of course, I am talking about riding a bicycle across Iowa during the last week of July. It started in 1973 when two reporters for the Des Moines Register decided to cycle across the state and visit little towns and report on what they see.
Now, over 50 years later, it is a rolling county fair with 20,000 bicycle riders spending 7 days and about 400 miles together riding across the state.
It is waaay more than a bicycle ride. It is an unreal world with people from around the world. People are really nice, mostly happy, (except for the occasional flat tire) and it is a break from reality.
RAGBRAI is the kind of event where you have pancakes and pickles for breakfast, a visit to Mr. Pork Chop for grilled chops and karaoke, then every overnight town has a huge fair with food, live music, and more.
I use Pork Belly Ventures for all my needs from shipping my bike to duffel bag transportation every day. They have hot showers, good food, and live music every night. Plus, if you don't want to set up and take down a tent all week, you can use their tent rental service for the week. They are great, GREAT people, and every year the ride is like a family reunion with them.
Honestly, the training for me isn't fun, but the payoff to camp and ride and get away from reality is worth it. I use a lot of Spinervals videos from YouTube on my Spin Bike.
Here is a link to a lot of Spinervals video workouts you can stream for free on YouTube.
I rode this one many times to get ready for the ride this year.
The route is different every year but always goes from west on the Missouri river to east at the Mississippi river and it covers about 400 miles. There are gravel options and at least 1 optional 100 mile day.
Here is a video from my buddy Ryan Van Duzer that shows what it is about. Below that are some of my favorite RAGBRAI photos.
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