RAGBRAI
babytis
Posts: 330 Member
Who has done any part of RAGBRAI before? I did one day back in 2010 as a non-registered rider. It was a BLAST. I'm planning on riding a day or two of it again next week, but I have a question and I would appreciate any advise anyone can give. Being I want to do more than one day how does the camping work? Keeping in mind I'm a non-registered rider.
Thanks,
Jenny
Thanks,
Jenny
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Replies
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Ok - now I am curious, what is RAGBRAI?0
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in South Africa it'd be Barbequeing a bag of old clothes...
but I think this may explain...
http://ragbrai.com/about/general-information/#10 -
Ok - now I am curious, what is RAGBRAI?
It's only the biggest cycling event of the year:) The letters stand for ..... Registers Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa.
I live in SE Minnesota and this years RAGBRAI is traveling the northern part of Iowa so I have to hop it once again:) 30,000+ riders......
10,000 registered 20,000 non registered give or take0 -
in South Africa it'd be Barbequeing a bag of old clothes...
but I think this may explain...
http://ragbrai.com/about/general-information/#1
Basically I want to know if people just pitch tents in parks. I plan on tenting it Sunday night, riding Monday, then driving to another town for a hotel Monday night, then riding again on Tuesday.0 -
Been on RAGBRAI for the last 8 years both full and partial rides. I cannot stand camping so I have family that comes along and we drive to a hotel at the end of every day. I am registered for only 1 day this year as I have a big vacation planned. I am actually going to ride the 2nd day route as well on Sunday.
As a non-registered rider/bandit, you will not get access to any of the official camp grounds that are set up in each town. Each town will have different rules about just finding a park to camp in-this year is a lot of smaller towns at the start of the route so most of the parks will be filled up with official campers. I know that campers/rv will just set up in business parking lots and there always seems to be some business that has space available. If you want to try and get into an official camp ground, you can always check with the RAGBRAI booth to see if there are any day passes left-they only cost $25 per day. I feel it is worth it to help cover the costs of everything that goes into making this the longest, most popular organized ride around.0 -
Sounds fun0
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Who has done any part of RAGBRAI before? I did one day back in 2010 as a non-registered rider. It was a BLAST. I'm planning on riding a day or two of it again next week, but I have a question and I would appreciate any advise anyone can give. Being I want to do more than one day how does the camping work? Keeping in mind I'm a non-registered rider.
Thanks,
Jenny
Jenny,
Glad to hear you're going to ride a day or two this year. I'm riding the entire week with my wife and son on a team that camps in overnight host yards. Without the wrist band, you won't be able to camp in the "official mass campground". However, just riding through neighborhoods and seeing where various "teams" are camping, you can just stop and ask if anybody would mind if you pitched your tent in the yard with them. I guarantee you'll get plenty of invites if you do that as everyone is, in general, a friendly group. Or stop by a house where the owners are out in front in lawn chairs watching everyone ride by and ask them if they would be willing to "host" you and let you pitch your tent in their lawn. Again - everyone is super friendly and it shouldn't be a problem.
Edit: Or message me, and I can tell you the name of our team and the address where we are pitching our tents with our host family. It's a wholesome group of about 50 (college alumni, faculty, staff from a Methodist private college) - and I remember last year we had a few "guests" or "one day riders" join us in various yards without any issue. We could just say you are an "old family friend"...0 -
Been on RAGBRAI for the last 8 years both full and partial rides. I cannot stand camping so I have family that comes along and we drive to a hotel at the end of every day. I am registered for only 1 day this year as I have a big vacation planned. I am actually going to ride the 2nd day route as well on Sunday.
As a non-registered rider/bandit, you will not get access to any of the official camp grounds that are set up in each town. Each town will have different rules about just finding a park to camp in-this year is a lot of smaller towns at the start of the route so most of the parks will be filled up with official campers. I know that campers/rv will just set up in business parking lots and there always seems to be some business that has space available. If you want to try and get into an official camp ground, you can always check with the RAGBRAI booth to see if there are any day passes left-they only cost $25 per day. I feel it is worth it to help cover the costs of everything that goes into making this the longest, most popular organized ride around.
Yes I want to get a day pass and I'm going to try. I totally feel it's well worth the $25 per day, but I also know they have limited numbers of those too. As it stands right now I will be staying at the Jackson MN AmericInn tonight and tomorrow nights. With this heat A/C is going to feel SOOOO GOOD!
I hope you have a great ride:)0 -
Who has done any part of RAGBRAI before? I did one day back in 2010 as a non-registered rider. It was a BLAST. I'm planning on riding a day or two of it again next week, but I have a question and I would appreciate any advise anyone can give. Being I want to do more than one day how does the camping work? Keeping in mind I'm a non-registered rider.
Thanks,
Jenny
Jenny,
Glad to hear you're going to ride a day or two this year. I'm riding the entire week with my wife and son on a team that camps in overnight host yards. Without the wrist band, you won't be able to camp in the "official mass campground". However, just riding through neighborhoods and seeing where various "teams" are camping, you can just stop and ask if anybody would mind if you pitched your tent in the yard with them. I guarantee you'll get plenty of invites if you do that as everyone is, in general, a friendly group. Or stop by a house where the owners are out in front in lawn chairs watching everyone ride by and ask them if they would be willing to "host" you and let you pitch your tent in their lawn. Again - everyone is super friendly and it shouldn't be a problem.
Edit: Or message me, and I can tell you the name of our team and the address where we are pitching our tents with our host family. It's a wholesome group of about 50 (college alumni, faculty, staff from a Methodist private college) - and I remember last year we had a few "guests" or "one day riders" join us in various yards without any issue. We could just say you are an "old family friend"...
Awwww thank you, your so kind. Looks like I have a room in Jackson Mn , a little extra driving will be well worth air conditioning with this heat we will be dealing with. Take care and ride safe.
Jenny0 -
Hope you had a good time on the day(s) you rode!
My wife, son, and I really enjoyed the week this year. The best riding day thanks to some great hills and bomber descents was day 7 from Independence to Guttenberg. Beautiful scenery and perfect weather.
I enjoyed Tuesday's century loop where I got to ride with my son for the 108 miles pumping out some good tempo most of the way. Nothing like a 5,000 calorie burn day on the bike to allow consuming plenty of fuel to keep going. Although warm, it didn't feel like it thanks to the wind and lower humidity that developed that day.
Now that you got a taste of RAGBRAI, Jenny - will you be back?0 -
I dated a guy last year that did this ride and from the pics he was sending me, I was so confused... I was like, "is this an orgy or a bike race." It looked like Burning Man on Wheels.... I swear this was the race he did, he sent me pics of him in a bus with all these people getting it on... I was like, "don't ever ask me out again, please.' LOL!0
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No, but I've done the Delaware Doublecross a few times. We ride across the entire width of the state and back. It's a 30 mile ride!0
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I dated a guy last year that did this ride and from the pics he was sending me, I was so confused... I was like, "is this an orgy or a bike race." It looked like Burning Man on Wheels.... I swear this was the race he did, he sent me pics of him in a bus with all these people getting it on... I was like, "don't ever ask me out again, please.' LOL!
Boo!0 -
I dated a guy last year that did this ride and from the pics he was sending me, I was so confused... I was like, "is this an orgy or a bike race." It looked like Burning Man on Wheels.... I swear this was the race he did, he sent me pics of him in a bus with all these people getting it on... I was like, "don't ever ask me out again, please.' LOL!
Well, it's not a race. It's 20,000 folks on bikes from all types of backgrounds, ages, locales, diverse cultural interests, etc....enjoying a 7 day journey across the state of Iowa. The experience is unique and different for each individual as you can tailor the week how you want to based on your interests. The only really major challenge is finding greens to eat during the week. Plenty of protein and simple carbs everywhere, but you've got to go on a major treasure hunt to find some other nutrients.
You can wear normal cycling clothes and ride like a normal cyclist. Or you can get a bit left or right and dress how you want, and ride what you want. You can ride fast. You can ride slow. You can stop in every town to enjoy what they have set up for the masses of people, or you can bypass all of the towns and just ride to the overnight stop. You can drink. You can also not drink. You can join a "team". You can also ride solo and skip any of that team stuff. You can do it on a budget. Or you can spend a lot of money. It's what you want to make of it.
I rode it with a pretty tame "team". No orgy. No odd costumes. No party bus. Just folks who love to ride bikes, and see the countryside and small towns in Iowa.
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sign me up for the "drinking party bus" if they've a "Fat ageing hippy" subsection.0
