Drum roll please.....the RAGBRAI route has been announced! Last year was my first RAGBRAI and though I was really glad I had the RAGBRAI experience, I knew it wasn't a ride that I felt I needed to do every year. I think I'm kind of strange, but I prefer Tour deKota.
My main complaint with RAGBRAI was that it is just too long, with the travel to the starting point and the travel home, it really takes up 2 consecutive weekends. And then the Pedal the Plains MS Bike Ride is held the following weekend. I guess I just feel a little guilty leaving my non-cycling spouse home for three weekends in a row.
Riding a few days of RAGBRAI would be ideal. And this year, I need to be at work the Wednesday of RAGBRAI week (we've been warned well in advance to be present that day for a pre-accreditation 'run-through') so I know riding the entire week is not possible anyway.
No decision has been made yet, but I am contemplating riding the first few days from Council Bluffs to Indianola. It would be worth returning to RAGBRAI for the food alone! Pasafari, Peace Coffee, Farm Boys, Mr. Porkchop, Beekman's Ice Cream, etc. We'll see what develops! (I'm definitely planning on riding Tour deKota.)
Here is a little teaser about the route from Des Moines Register:
Start training, people: This year’s RAGBRAI is going to be just as hilly as it was last year.
The 37th Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, from July 19 to 25, cuts a 442-mile route through the southern half of the state, with overnight stops in Council Bluffs, Red Oak, Greenfield, Indianola, Chariton, Ottumwa, Mt. Pleasant and Burlington.
“You go south and people just assume it’s going to be really hilly, but this year will be pretty close to last year,” said RAGBRAI director T.J. Juskiewicz. “It’s the sixth-shortest route of all time, and it’ll be an extremely scenic adventure.
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