Ragbrai 2010....Final Thoughts

Click here to go to beginning....2010 Ragbrai
We had a rather busy schedule after Ragbrai. The day after Ragbrai, we did a week long road trip, doing portraits in Chicago, Niagara Falls, Washington DC, and New York City. Our middle daughter was married the week we returned. So I've been a little slow getting this story online



Was it worth it? Would I do it again?
It was a whole different experience this year than last, mainly due to the fact that I had family along and we enjoyed the incredible hospitality of our over night hosts. I never dreamed we would be treated almost like royalty.
Not sure I could say what was the highlight of the week. So many surprises. People opening their homes to us.
I was surprised at how often I ran into Karla and Jason. I didn't really try to stay with them, but ever so often ran into them. Perhaps we were riding the same pace. But you'd think getting separated among that many cyclist, there wouldn't be much of a chance to find each other. About like finding a needle in a hay stack.
Yes, I plan to do Ragbrai again, but not next year, or at least that's my plan. Why? Twice now, I've ridden border-to-border in Iowa. I think it's now time to see my own home state. So in 2011, I'm planning to do a "Missouri to Louisiana" ride across Arkansas. Certainly not with 16,000 other riders, not even 16 others. Maybe 1 or 2 will join me.
On our last night before the final day of the ride, I told my wife that I wouldn't do Ragbrai in 2011. But then I told her, I thought the same thing last year. In 2009, it was fun, but at that time, thought it might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But Ragbrai has this weird addictive nature to it. During the ride you have times of uncertainty......long days in the saddle (yes, it can get painful at times), uncertain weather (rain, storms, heat, etc).
Or maybe it's the "absence makes the heart grow fonder" syndrome. After a few months pass, you look back at the photos, remember the good times, and you forget about all that pain and uncertainty you felt. To remind myself of why I don't want to go back in 2011, I sat down on the final night and made a list of "Why I Don't Want to Do Ragbrai In 2011". Here's what I came up with......

#1. It's expensive. While there is only a modest fee of $140 to be an "official rider", when you live 500 miles away there is a lot of travel expense involved. It's a long drive to and from Iowa.....food, gas, and maybe a motel. Most estimates are you spend around $35 a day on food and drinks. If you camp, the shower trucks charge about $5 to take a shower. Before the ride, you certainly want to have your bike checked out and tuned up. I put $130 into new tires, and had a new chain installed. I don't skimp here. Flying off a hill at 40mph on occasion, I don't want to be concerned about a blow out. In 2 years of doing Ragbrai, I've never had a flat or other mechanical break down.  You are gone over 2 week ends. Maybe not a problem for most people, but as a wedding photographer, I turned down at least one wedding because of Ragbrai. Then, there is the training time involved. I've read, you should get in at least 1,000 miles of riding in the months before Ragbrai, or 1,500 to 2,000 miles if you want to do it comfortably. That takes a lot of time.

#2. As mentioned previously, I want to ride across my home state, before riding across Iowa again.

#3. Pain. Ok, I wrote this down at the end of day 6. Now I don't really know why I wrote this down, it wasn't that bad. Actually, after about 7 days of riding, I think my body has adapted to riding and I could do another week or so. That's a future goal, a 2-3 week ride......or longer.

#4. Uncertain weather. This year we rode about 50 miles through a rather cool, steady rain. But it was memorable. Honestly, I'd rather ride in a slight shower, than on a hot, humid day. Almost like having your own personal radiator. And in 2 years on Ragbrai, I've never experienced what I'd call unbearable heat. In 2009, we did have an early morning thunderstorm with hail. Another memorable experience, while camping on a football field with no place to hide. Also had a couple days of light showers in 2009. One of my biggest fears of biking, is to get caught out in the middle of no where, in a lightening storm. But that's not happened.

#5. Keeping up with everything......clothing, camera, chargers, cell phones, wallet, sunglasses, etc. You are living for a week out of a suitcase. It would be easy to lay something down, and go off and leave it. But that's not happened to me.

#6. Long lines....for food, for bathrooms (exception....there's never a line at the corn fields....lol). Actually, it's not that bad. We did stand in line for about 45 minutes to get ice cream on a hot day. Not sure that was worth it. Stood in line almost 45 minutes for all-you-can-eat waffles....worth it! But generally, a long line just means you have time to be off the bike, and let your muscles relax. And there's always new people to meet and visit with. Cyclists are some of the most friendly people you'll meet!

Cell phone use was very frustrating. I think the main problem was usage over load. Imagine these small town, with maybe 20,000 people trying to make calls.

Ragbrai is incredibly well organized. So I'm sure that if you were to indeed experience some sort of bad luck, they have plans to solve the problem. Medical assistance seems to always be nearby, should the need arise. And you do have to be alert at all times on the bike. From what I've read, most fatalities associated with Ragbrai have come from medical situations like heart attacks. However, the past 2 years have each seen at least one fatality from a crash on the road. In 2009, Professor Donald D. Myers from Rolla, Missouri died from a crash. My understanding was that he hit a bad spot in the road while going down a hill. Ironically, I had visited with Dr Myers just a few days before. I'd seen his name tag, that he was from Rolla. Found out he was a professor at the university where one of my son-in-laws had graduated. There was also a second crash that year, that may have ended the life of a rider, but I never heard for sure. That fellow was riding to the far left, and didn't see the on-coming road grader (usually the roads are closed to motorized vehicles).He hit the grader head on.
In 2010, another death occurred. I came by not long after this accident happened. Stephen Briggs, age 68, of Waverly, Iowa was the victim. Reports I heard stated that one of Mr Briggs' tires touched the tire of another rider, causing him to crash. This was not a high speed crash on a downhill run, but rather on fairly level ground.

So, what would  I do different next time? Well, if any of our grand kids get into biking, I think it would be great to bring them along. Perhaps 2 of them might like to go. They could take turns, ride one day with me, one day with Nanna in the car. Or half day, each day.

But who knows, if things were to fall into line and I had the right opportunity, I might be heading to Iowa again in 2011.

Hope you enjoyed my photos and accounts of Ragbrai 2010. If you'd like to contact me, my email address is:
dad_5ks@yahoo.com


Team LostCause
Jason and Karla McCullough
Larry and Lajunta Plumlee
www.plumleephoto.com