RAGBRAI 2025 Day Zero saw me on the Pork Belly shuttle from Omaha, Nebraska to Orange City, Iowa. Along the route, I was amused to spot a sign indicating how far it was to Mondamin. A town called “cornstarch”? Well, after all, Nebraska is the Cornhusker State!

The shuttle left Omaha at 8:15 am; and when we got to Orange City at around 10:30, I had to visit the Pork Belly information booth to get my packet. This included my tent number; and baggage tags with my tent number.

Pork Belly services not only include tent set-up/take down; they also take your luggage from truck to tent and back. The tent number on the bag(s) let the crew know which bag(s) go to which tent.

Am I ever grateful that I didn’t have to lug my two duffle bags around every day. They were heavy! But on that first day, I did have to carry my bags to the tent. Fortunately, some kind person helped me. In addition to their weight, my bags hung almost down to the ground; and hit my legs as I walked.

After finding my tent, I had to pick up my bicycle. I should have given it more of a test ride! I immediately noticed that the saddle was too high; and had to get that fixed. I let it go at that, which was a major error. As RAGBRAI went on, I kept having various mechanical issues; and my local bike shop suspects that some damage occurred during shipment.

I didn’t get around to hitting the Expo until nearly 2 pm. RAGBRAI 2025 Day Zero kind of slipped away from me!

And my tent was right on the edge of a slight slope. I’d step outside and fall over because the ground wasn’t flat.