RAGBRAI "X3" - 2023 recap

It's been said that third time's a charm. 

Little did I know that phrase would ring true in terms of RAGBRAI and my participation in it. 

It's also been said go big or go home...so I did just that. You only live once, am I right?

Any regrets? None, whatsoever. 

I'm referring to my recent adventure via my bike, at RAGBRAI 2023.

Although I'm no stranger to this annual party of cyclists, it was only my third time participating as a rider. My inaugural experience happened in 2021, riding Day-1 (recap HERE). It was so much fun, I returned last year and rode Day-7 of the 2022 route (that recap is HERE).

2021

2022

But first, here's a brief introduction from the RAGBRAI site:  

RAGBRAI, The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, is an annual seven-day bicycle ride across the state. Heading into its 50th year, RAGBRAI is the oldest, largest and longest recreational bicycle touring event in the world. For those of you who have never ridden, this rolling celebration of Iowa attracts participants from all 50 states and many foreign countries.  It has covered thousands of miles through the years, and hundreds of thousands of riders have hopped in the saddle to pedal part of those miles.

The RAGBRAI route averages 468 miles and is not necessarily flat.  It begins somewhere along Iowa’s western border on the Missouri River and ends along the eastern border on the Mississippi River.  We change the route each year. RAGBRAI is a bicycle ride, not a race.  It started in 1973 as a six-day ride across the state of Iowa by two Des Moines Register columnists who invited a few friends along.  It is held the last full week in July.  RAGBRAI is planned and coordinated by The Des Moines Register.

This year, the route encompassed roads across the central part of the state (the previous two years had been across northern Iowa). The good thing about that? I live in the central part of the state, so the route would be coming right by my house, literally, which would allow for a huge logistical advantage.  I am all for seizing the moment...so, I made plans to ride not just one day, but two!

Here's how that all played out...

RAGBRAI Day-4 (which was my Day-1):

Since the route would be starting in Ames, where my youngest daughter lives, I made the trek there Tuesday after work. I was able to crash at her apartment, and then wait outside for my riding buddies (Barb and Chuck) and "jump in" and join them. 

Seriously, the route went right outside her building! 

I saw cyclists going by as early as 5:15

I headed outside around 6:00, and I spotted Barb and Chuck about 15 minutes later. Boom! And we were off! 

My Wednesday riding buddies!

The weather had been horribly hot all week, and extremely humid. Thankfully, by starting early, we were hoping to avoid the worst of the heat. It actually felt a little chilly for the first 30 minutes or so. The first pass-through town was Slater, about 13 miles down the road. I grabbed a breakfast burrito (since my granola bar had long been burned-through), and may have been persuaded to have a Bloody Mary as well.

We hung around for maybe 30 total minutes, chatting with a few people before hopping back on the bikes. Next town on the route was Madrid.

Each time you enter the towns, the bicycle traffic slows down and then comes to an abrupt halt. It gets really clustered and crowded, so everyone has to dismount and walk their bikes. The streets, in the main downtown areas, are lined with numerous vendors selling food, beverages and water, as well as biking gear and accessories. It's quite a party!

It was just after 9:00 when we pulled into Polk City. By then, we'd gone just over 30 miles. The temps still were feeling comfortable, though humid. We spent maybe 45 minutes at the town square, listening to an awesome rock band and enjoying some refreshments. There was a lot going on!

Photo op with the Polk City Bear, and I bumped into Deb, a high school friend, while in Ankeny!

The next town was Ankeny. We pulled into Ankeny around 10:30, and were greeted by numerous local residents handing out popsicles along the road. We wound up hanging out for awhile (maybe 90 minutes), and did a lot of walking around and snacking. I may (or may not) have bought another biking jersey and indulged in a larger-than-life lemon cupcake. 

By the time we left Ankeny, the temps had risen considerably and the sun was high in the sky. The 14ish mile ride to Des Moines was pretty low-key. Even though we were headed due south, and had the bright sun in our eyes, the elevation was minimal. It was just after 1:30 when we made it to downtown Des Moines. We had a few more miles to get to Water Works Park, where Chuck's team had their designated meeting place and all the main RAGBRAI entertainment was happening. Our ride had gone very well, and we ended the day with just over 53 miles under our wheels. We got a ride back to Ames (where all of our vehicles had been left), and we called it a day.

RAGBRAI Day-5 (Day-2 for me):

For my second day of riding, I was on my own. I had a friend shuttle me to Altoona, early Thursday morning. I got dropped off a few blocks from the route, at 6:15. I took a few minutes to lather on some sunscreen and then joined the rest of the riders, en route to Mitchellville. By starting in Altoona, I avoided the hassle of going into the city (Des Moines) and shaved a good 14 miles off my route, giving me a solid head start on what was forecasted to be another grueling hot day with sky-high humidity. 

ready to ride!

The first pass-through town, Mitchellville, wasn't too far away. It was such a foggy morning! My hair had been dry when I braided it earlier, but it quickly absorbed all the moisture from the humid air, and I could feel the wet ends sliding back and forth as I pedaled along. Once in Mitchellville, I hopped off for a quick walk (and a porta-potty stop), and promptly got back on and hit the road.

The next town was Colfax, and that was a relatively short ride as well. Along the way, I spotted the telltale smoke from the Mr. Porkchop pit stop. This guy is at RAGBRAI every year, and usually positions his rig fairly early in the route each morning. I decided to pullover and grab a porkchop for my breakfast...gotta have some extra protein, right? Little did I know what was awaiting me...two miles of gravel, shortly after my breakfast stop. I later learned there was a bridge out, and the 2-mile detour on gravel was unavoidable (and it had been posted in some of the pre-ride notices, but I had not seen it, #MyBad). As if riding amidst a cluster of bikes isn't scary enough, adding a narrow gravel road to the mix just upped the fear factor. Alas, I made it to Colfax unscathed, with approximately 16 miles ridden thus far. 

Up to this point, there had been a few hills, but nothing too treacherous. That said, the route's elevation chart had warned us there would be plenty of climbing...and that was quite an understatement. Spoiler: the #ish was about to get real.

Leaving Colfax, we were blessed with a nasty long (did I mention steep?) hill, right off the main drag...with no warning and no opportunity for a running start. UGH! Major ugh! I #hillfess, I had to assume the walk of shame, with countless others, to make it to the top. I had geared-down as low as I could go and gravity was pulling me backwards, LOL. 

Once outside of Colfax, the "rolling hills" of Iowa soon became steeper and steeper. The 12ish miles to Newton were pretty humbling, but thankfully not defeating (hold that thought).

Along with Mr. Porkchop, another must-have indulgent delicacy is homemade pie. I had totally forgotten to grab a piece of pie on Wednesday's ride, so upon arriving in Newton, that was my mission (#success #blackraspberrypie). I also gladly accepted a free cooling towel to drape around my neck. 

Newton is a 20-mile drive from my hometown of Grinnell. In other words, I have driven Highway-6 numerous times. That being said, I was totally taken aback as to just how hilly (and curvy) Highway-6 actually was on a bike! We're talking rollercoaster-like hills, with very little level terrain between said hills. After 10 miles or so, the route had us pulling into Kellogg. By now, it was around 10:00, and yowza, it had gotten hot! I parked my bike, found a porta-potty, and then walked around in search of a  tub of iced water bottles (and dipped my cooling towel into the melting ice).

Back on the bike, I was already dreading the next part of the route. Even though it would lead me to my ending destination (my driveway, LOL), I knew I had a lot of hilly work ahead of me. This stretch was one I had never been on, so every hill was a new challenging climb. We'd barely crest one hill...only to see another just up ahead. It was a constant game of gearing-up (to gain some downhill speed), and then gearing-down to ease the resistance on the next climb. I may have forgotten to mention there was a headwind to fight as well.

Thankfully, I ride hills every week, so I'm used to the work involved. After several miles of nonstop hills, though, it's tough to keep your mind in the game. I just tried to keep my focus on the road in front of my front tire and not look too far ahead. After what seemed like forever, we made the final turn towards Rock Creek...the lake that I ride to each week (on the hilly bike path, which runs alongside the road that was taking us into town). Passing the lake had me back on familiar terrain...hilly terrain, nonetheless, but at least these were hills I was very well acquainted with.

Pulling into Grinnell was pretty euphoric. Not only was my town conveniently a designated pass-through town, but I was back home. And, I was ever grateful that I had decided not to ride any further than my own driveway (although the main route did continue on for another 25ish miles, with even more hills, to Tama-Toledo). 

My Garmin showed I had climbed 2,648 feet in those 51 miles I'd ridden!

I did follow the route to the downtown festivities, and spent a good 90 minutes talking with some friends and listening to the live music in the park. Afterwards, I pedaled home, took a shower (and a short nap) and called it a day. 

Then, I did some thinking. Friday's overnight town would be Coralville, which is right next to Iowa City...a mere 60 miles down I-80. We have a vacant rental in Iowa City, which meant I would have a place to stay. Saturday's route had the riders going from Coralville to Davenport...if I could secure a ride back to Iowa City, maybe I could ride Saturday as well? So I did!

RAGBRAI Day-7 (Day-3 for me):

Well, once the thought of riding a third day of RAGBRAI entered my head, it would not die, LOL. Sure enough, I arranged to meet our friend, Joe, who would be driving an RV and coming back though Iowa City Saturday afternoon. Everything fell into place, and Saturday morning had me heading out, from our condo, around 6:00 and hitting the streets of Iowa City.

ready for the final day of RAGBRAI!

The route left Coralville, and had the riders stopping at Kinnick Stadium, where the University of Iowa Hawkeye football team plays their home games. Most know that's where the famous Wave happens at every home game...the fans in the stadium wave to the children at the Stead Family Children's Hospital. This part of the RAGBRAI experience was probably my favorite...getting to ride on the concourse inside the stadium, and pausing to wave to the kids was just SO neat!         

After leaving Kinnick Stadium, we got to experience several hills as we made our way through Iowa City, edging towards West Liberty. The morning was warm, and we had sunshine for the first 30 minutes or so, but then it got really cloudy. By the time we were out of Iowa City, it looked like it was going to rain, but we stayed dry (thank you, Momma N!).

Arriving in West Liberty, around 7:30, showed I already had around 18 miles in for the day. I took a quick potty break, and was back on the road within 15 minutes. Onward!

The next pass-through town, Muscatine, was a good 20 miles down the road. Thankfully, this segment of the route was pretty low-key, in terms of hills. There were, however, numerous rumble "strips" down the center lane, which made it difficult to pass in the left lane. I made it to Muscatine by 9:00. My Garmin showed just over 42 miles logged thus far, so I had already passed the halfway mark.

I'd had  some oatmeal before hitting the road, but I was feeling hungry. I spotted a food stand, where they were selling slices of pie...so guess what I had for my mid-morning "second" breakfast! Peach pie, for the win!

Back on the road, I couldn't help feeling a little giddy. Here I was, not only riding in my third RAGBRAI, but also riding a third day of the 2023 route! I couldn't help marveling at how all the logistics had worked in my favor, and I felt quite grateful that my body was feeling so good despite all the miles I'd ridden (and ALL THE HILLS). 

I'd gone about 20 miles down the road and saw a bunch of cyclists pulling over at a roadside bar, near the small town of Buffalo. I was eager to just continue on to Davenport and finish...but yet I really didn't want the ride to end either. So I pulled over as well. A favorite snack of mine, when doing long rides, is potato chips. They're not a typical food I keep in the house, but I do like the salty crunch of chips with an adult beverage...so I indulged in that as well.

at the Beach Pub

After a 20-minute break, I saddled back up and made my way towards Davenport. Those final 10 miles, towards the proverbial RAGBRAI finish line, went fast. My mind was a blur with all the events of the week, and the three days of riding. I'd chatted with a lot of different people, and I had seen many different types of bikes (in every color and every size).

Before long, I was entering the city of Davenport. There were numerous residents lining the streets, cheering for all the cyclists. 

When I officially pulled over, to check my phone for Joe's "location pin," my Garmin showed I'd ridden just under 71 miles that morning. Crazy how those 71 miles felt so much easier than Thursday's 51, LOL.

So, yeah, I did it!  My RAGBRAI totals showed 174 miles of biking, with 5,089 feet of climbing! Three days of riding, in my third year of being a RAGBRAI rider. Whodda thunk?

A few final thoughts:

***Although we were on rural highways, just like the two previous years, I never once felt in danger. The local peeps know, well in advance, when RAGBRAI comes to town, and they know that the thousands of riders will have the right-of-way...so they know to avoid those roads. Plus, there are ample police officers manning the traffic.

***As mentioned, the RAGBRAI route is different every year. It's a big deal for the towns that get chosen as "overnight" towns, but it also brings a lot of tourism and revenue to the smaller "pass-through" towns as well. 

***This is more of a ride than a race. It's very much a social thing. I had plenty of people to chat with, while on the road, and most were not from Iowa. 

***I've said this before, but I think cycling gear is more fun to admire than running gear. The jerseys are really cool (quite literally) as well as practical. It was interesting seeing the various organizations,  charities, colleges, cycling clubs, and racing events featured on the cyclists' backs.

***Unlike runners, cyclists don't seem to have any phobias or superstitions about wearing the event gear the day of the event itself. While I saw many, many RAGBRAI jerseys from years past, I saw even more showcasing the 2023 logo and artwork. I have not yet gotten a 2023 commemorative jersey (or any souvenir), but I plan to. This year's theme, being it was the 50th anniversary, was "One L of a Ride." Clever, huh! 

Anyways, that's my 2023 RAGBRAI story. I have a feeling this will continue to be an annual endeavor for several years to come. I still don't have any interest in riding the entire week; it's a huge commitment physically, emotionally, logistically and financially. I've really grown to love cycling, but am not sure I love it enough to take it to that caliber...but never say never.

Would you ever consider doing such an endeavor as this? Have you ever heard of RAGBRAI? What's the most miles of biking you've ever done in a week?

  I'm linking this with Kim and Zenaida for the Tuesday Topics Link-Up

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