RAGBRAI

For those who know RAGBRAI, I had the classic experience- enough said.

For those unfortunate naïve few who don’t know what RAGBRAI is, here’s your primer: RAGBRAI is an acronym for The Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. Every year, approximately 15,000 cyclists from all walks (rides) of life meet on the western side of the state along the Missouri River and take a weeklong jaunt across the state to the Mississippi River. Each of the 37 editions has been a different route but they always travel west to east with designated overnight stops along the way.

The folks who participate in RAGBRAI span the entire spectrum of lifestyle preferences- from family churchgoers, farmers, and factory workers to amatuer racers, triathaletes, and sports enthusiasts, to college students, partyers, drunks, and all-out hellraisers. I fall near the back end of that spectrum b/c those are the folks I’m most comfortable with, but I appricate the fact that RAGBRAI summons them all. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you came from, or what you’re into- in July, in Iowa, we ride bikes.


This year, our team’s bus was out of commission, so the Crackanooners jumped on with Team Kamikaze and joined forces for the week. We couldn’t have hoped for better adopted teammates than the Kamis. They shared our same views as to when it’s time to drink (always) and when it’s time to get up and ride (late!). I want to thank Terrance and Skip for taking care of business so we could play all day. Also, Dirty Timmy deserves recognition for his endless entertainment. Tell us again about the kybo fleamarket, Timmy. And to all the rest of Team Kamikaze, I hope to see you again next year!

So it’s back to sobriety and normallity for me. After a week spent living in the sun and laughing with friends, it’s hard to be back in the cage. Alas, like most good things, it can’t last forever. But the memories always will.