Bacon, Bikes & Bliss - 2025 Baccoon Ride

I’m always up for a fun fitness adventure, and I’m grateful to have friends who share the same sentiment.

If there was an event that combined fitness (like cycling, for example), food (maybe bacon?) and a great venue (I’m thinking a favorite trail)…wouldn’t it be a grand time if a favorite friend joined you for the festivities? Add the camaraderie of fellow cycling enthusiasts (with plenty of sunscreen on standby) and you’d have the makings of a fabulous day…

Such was the setting for the Baccoon Ride. The location was the Raccoon River Valley Trail, and my dear friend Barb was my accomplice. 

Pic courtesy of Barb

This wasn’t our first rodeo on wheels. We’d done numerous long bike rides, including a day of RAGBRAI in 2023 (recap HERE). We conquered a century ride in 2022 (recap HERE). We even rode the 2024 Baccoon Ride (recap HERE). 

And, there we were, ready to hit the trail again. Last year’s ride was laden with a lot of rain, wind, and cold weather (until the last 20-ish miles). This year, though, the forecast was looking picture perfect.

We met, near the trailhead in Waukee, around 6:45 and were saddled-up and headed to the event’s “rolling” start by 7:00. The early morning temps were tricky so I brought my arm warmers along, just in case (Spoiler: I never needed them).

Now in its 11th year, the Baccoon Ride gets its name from its location on the Raccoon River Valley Trail and the bacon-themed food provided at all the stops along the route. Clever, huh! What’s more, this year’s theme was Riders of Hogwarts, so there were numerous Harry Potter-related signs and features along the route. I was totally good with that!

The Baccoon Ride encompasses about 71 miles of the Raccoon River Valley Trail. This trail is very familiar territory to Barb and myself. Not only have we run numerous Market-to-Market Relays on it, we’ve also ridden on several occasions, including our century ride. 

Since this event was all about bacon, there were numerous stops along the route that featured bacon-themed food. The first stop of the morning, six miles in, was at Dallas Center. 

The first featured bacon-ish food of the morning was a bacon pastry (I’d compare it to a croissant with a maple/bacon filling). I hadn’t bothered with breakfast, since I knew there would be intermittent food offerings all day, and this sweet and tangy item really hit the spot.

I’d forgotten how crowded the trail had been last year, especially at the ride start, but it was crazy this year! It was difficult chatting with Barb (and playing catch-up, since we don’t see each another as frequently) because we were constantly getting “On your left” warnings from fellow cyclists approaching from behind.

It wasn’t long before we arrived in Minburn, six miles from the Dallas Center stop. The El Rincon Tapatio was serving breakfast tacos, and they were tasty!

A really fun aspect, for myself at least, is seeing all the bike jerseys that the riders are sporting. Some represent cycling clubs, there are occasional jerseys repping alma maters, and many are from previous RAGBRAI rides. Nonetheless, there’s a lot of fun conversation while pedaling en route to the various food stops along the route.

The next stop was seven miles away, in Perry. The route took us to the downtown area, where pulled pork sliders were handed out to the riders. At this point we were nearly 20 miles in, and had already had “lunch” (and it was only about 9:30 in the morning).

Did I mention how perfect the weather was feeling? The air was humid, but the moderate temps felt nice. Besides, we had a slight NW breeze keeping us cool. 

Around six miles later, there was a short stop in Dawson. This wasn’t a specific food stop, but there was an old train station “depot,” with indoor restrooms and a beverage tent set-up outside.

After a brief 20-minute beverage stop, we lathered-on more sunscreen and got back on the trail. The next town, five miles up head, was Jamaica (yes, there is a Jamaica in Iowa, LOL). There wasn’t a sponsored bacon stop, but the Just One More bar (along the trail) had food and beverages available for purchase (and, more importantly, indoor plumbing).

At this point, leaving Jamaica, we had nearly 30 miles ridden thus far. There was a 2-mile jaunt to Herndon, then the route turned south…and we had a gentle south breeze (which had shifted from the northwest) to, ummm, enjoy. Five miles later, we rode through Yale. 

Another fun aspect of a ride such as this is seeing so many of the same riders after each stop. There were several groups of peeps that kept passing us, repeatedly, after each of the various food stops.

By the time we reached Panora, we’d long passed the halfway point of our adventure, and 43-ish miles were showing on my Garmin. This stop featured Bacon Mac & Cheese and a great band playing Lynyrd Skynyrd tunes.    

The temps had climbed substantially (into the low-80F’s), and the humidity was feeling pretty heavy by the time we pulled into Linden. Although we had to fight a bit of a headwind, the breeze felt nice. We didn’t need any food or drinks, but I took advantage of the porta-potty. Then, in keeping with my long-standing tradition, we headed to the nearby city park and I took a quick ride down the vintage slide (I do this every year during the M2M Relay…just ask my teammates, LOL).

So, onward to Redfield! It was just before 1:30 when we pulled into Redfield. Wow, their Central Park was all decked-out in Harry Potter everything. I should have taken more pics, but Professor Dumbledore was there, as was Dobby (holding a sock #IYKYK). Numerous volunteers were wearing wizard robes. There also was a Quidditch field! It was quite the scene!

The Quiddich field and Platform 9-3/4…

Adel was the next stop, 10 miles down the trail. It seemed like a lot of riders had either bailed-out for afternoon or were lingering at the food/drinks stops much longer than we were. There didn’t seem to be as much trail traffic, but we did continue seeing several familiar riders (who had periodically been starting and stopping with a similar time frame), so that was fun! Once in Adel, the featured treats were ice cream sandwiches.

A small snag in this year’s route was a short 2-mile detour during the final stretch back to Waukee. There were approximately six remaining miles back to the trailhead, so this wasn’t a huge deal because there was traffic control and cones separating the detoured route from the vehicular traffic.

Despite there only being six miles to the assumed finish line, these final miles were some of the toughest of the day. We were feeling tired, slightly sunburned and mentally exhausted. Also, these remaining miles were on an incline and into a headwind.  

 

Finally, we made it back to the trailhead. It was around 4:00, making for a 9-hour day. Although the actual route was 71 miles, Barb and I had a few extra miles logged in getting to the start line and then back to our vehicles afterwards. Let me tell you, it felt great to be done!

Obviously, cycling events such as these are rides and not races. There’s great camaraderie amongst most of the riders, and a lot of pit stops along the way.

And, there was swag! I’m not a fan of cotten shirts, as we all know. This one is kind of cute, but it’s doubtful I’ll wear it.

There was the option to purchase event-themed jerseys, but they were somewhat costly. As much as I love a funky bike jersey, and I was a bit of a Harry Potter geek back in the day, I took a pass.

A few final thoughts:

**This event was very well organized, and the communication was top-notch!

**The registration included all the food at the various stops along the trail. While most of the portions were conservative, they were adequate. It was just enough food to keep us fueled between the stops.

**The RRVT is a rail-to-trail route. The advantage of such a tail is the inclines aren’t very steep (though some are quite lengthy). The disadvantage of such a trail is constant pedaling. Hence, no big hills to climb also means no big hills to coast down, LOL.    

So, that’s what went down on a warm summer day, cycling with a dear friend, and indulging in a little bacon. The Harry Potter fun was just a bonus.

Have you ever taken on a day-long cycling event? What’s the longest distance you’ve ever ridden a bike? Are you a Harry Potter fan?

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