Bike touring, RAGBRAI style

I just returned from riding the last two days of RAGBRAI in Iowa. For those of you not familiar, this is the grandaddy of long distance but casual bike rides. In fact, this year was the 40th anniversary of the event and with almost 15,000 riders it has been an amazing success. The route varies year to year but the idea is it goes from the Missouri to the Mississippi, border to border. It takes a week and always occurs in the hottest part of the summer. I got lucky this year since earlier in the week, when I was not riding, temperatures reached into the 100s with high humidity. Imagine thousands of bikers camping in city parks and the like after riding 70 miles in 104 degrees. Not a pretty picture (or odor).

This year I invited our friend Leo from Chile to come along. Leo had been visiting for a wedding and was staying with us for several days. He is usually game to try anything once so I got the winter bike set up for him and we spent some time in Iowa. My wife came up with the great idea to put this little sign on the back of the bike that said Chile.

Since it is a RAGBRAI custom for the locals to shout out and ask where you are from, this fit in perfectly. Leo met more people in 2 days than many meet in years on the ride. 

The first day was a challenge since I brought 'the train' for the kids. Since I like to involve the kids in biking when I can I end up pulling a 5-wheel monster that consists of my bike, a third wheel trailing bike, and a Burley bike trailer.

The six year old's pedaling does help a bit but the Burley more than makes up for it by acting as a parachute. At one point we turned north into a gusty NW wind and I was struggling. It is a bad sign when you are wondering at what speed you will need to put a foot down so you don't tip over! So, I was ready for a break by the next town and as we rolled in, we passed a 'Santa' who had apparently been enjoying some early holiday cheer. We waved and said hi but it took him a few seconds to remember how Santa is supposed to act. He eventually asked if my kids had been good and did manage to avoid tipping out of his lawn chair. Not sure if this was a suit he won in a bet or if he really does this around the holidays.  I was just relieved to not have to explain what was wrong with Santa.

This was kind of a typical RAGBRAI moment. You roast in the heat, roll through some glorious countryside, eat great pie and drink some cheap beer. There are ups and downs but there is often something just around the corner that will amuse, entertain, and, occasionally, enlighten.