This really sounds marvelous: RAGBRAI! As I watched the video, I even wondered whether I’ll ever be able to do it.

Shooting for that ride would be a MAJOR undertaking; make no mistake about that. Participating in the full-length RAGBRAI means seven straight days of riding an average of 67 miles per day; and it isn’t all flat.

Now that I’m retired, I can start lengthening my daily rides; that is, once my hand is ready for it. But getting up to the necessary distances won’t happen overnight. I also need plenty of simulated hills; and that’s where my prep for rides such as Tour de Cure (in hillier territory about 30 miles from home) always fell short. Somehow I never did enough of hard efforts; and those that I did weren’t hard enough!

I’d have to get to Iowa in the first place; and haul my bicycle and my camping gear with me. I don’t have any such gear; and I’d need a tent and a sleeping bag. Naturally I’d have to haul along clothes for seven days, in case I can’t wash anything along the way. Rain gear wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.

At least I do have a hydration system; and a tube of electrolyte tablets is easy to tuck away. I wouldn’t be able to bring along all my own food, though; and I can see from the video that keeping fueled across Iowa can get costly.

Registering for RAGBRAI is no guarantee that I would get to ride; if the number of entrants exceeds a certain count, the powers that be start drawing names out of hat, as it were.

But supposing I did make it into the pack? A week’s solid riding across The Hawkeye State! I have an idea that it’s addictive. And it sounds marvelous!