RAGBRAI?! What on earth is that?

Oh, those long rides to put on a bucket list! I’ve daydreamed about Adventure Cycling tours. And about riding the Katy Trail. Or at least doing another personal century ride.

Now I’ve got another item on the list: RAGBRAI! Although there are moments in that video when I think that RAG-PIE is more like it!

The Queen Anne’s lace (those white flowers growing beside the road) is beautiful. I get a big kick out of that Fiddler on Two Wheels. And did you catch the fleeting glimpse of the rider on a penny-farthing?

I thought that the video made it look like RAGBRAI is a pretty flat ride. Not so fast.

When I actually read about it, I saw that  this year’s route includes well over 14,000 feet of climbing! I guess I’ve never shed my childhood idea of Iowa as endless flat miles of cornfields. Well, come to think of it, I’m sure Iowa isn’t only about corn, just as Louisiana isn’t only about swamps.

RAGBRAI sounds like a wonderful ride; but apparently it’s not about “register; show up; and ride”. It’s a sort of lottery. As I understand it, you pay the registration fee; and your name is “put in the hat”. If your name isn’t drawn to be a rider, the fee is returned.

It’s too late for this year. But maybe I can dream of riding across Iowa in a few years?