I am planning on doing Ragbrai this June. I live in Colorado and the person who I originally was going with is from Iowa.
I was going to be traveling with her. She knows all about Ragbrai, has tons of friends there. She was kind enough to tell me after I bought the ticket that she is going to Europe...(how nice)... and won't be doing Ragbrai... I don't know anything about Iowa... I have been using the Ragbrai site and its most helpful, but I have a thousand questions and a hundred needs..
Whats the best way to get there with a bike..??
Whats the best way to get home with a bike???
Whats the best way to get the gear there and back?
Is there anyone out there who would be going that I could
get a ride with and split expenses??
Your input and help would be most appreciated..
..................Thanks.. Steve
try to conect into the ragbrai web or site,there is a forum.
So you can ask for people in the same situation as you.
or drive you car to the start point and ask somebody that can get you back to the start pint from the finish.
Actually is what I m going to do.
I'm going to fly from CA to some point cloose to the start then I would ask to sombody to give me a ride back to the airport.
They are around 5-8 thounsad ciclists,has to be sombody in the way back.
good look
Gerardo
Steve,
I did ragbrai back in '78 when I was 15.
If time isn't a big issue and they do a southern route, take Amtrak (California Zephyr). One way coach is usually about $90. Trip is about 14 hr to Eastern Ia.
You can take the B from downtown RTD to Union Station. $5 bus fare. +$20 ($10 of it is an "inspection fee") if you buy a bike box at the station.
Ragbrai has a list of charter services that can get you to and from the start and end cities.
Iowa's hilly in the east. Lots of rolling hills but nothing like west of boulder.
Hydration is very important. It can be pretty muggy in the summer.
Practice riding peleton beforehand. You can check with Trek Bikes on Broadway and Baseline for group rides.
If you haven't ridden in a large group getting on the road in the morning can be a challenge. Otherwise it' s a blast.
FYI: It looks like I won't be on the road this summer. If you want to borrow my hard-case bike box it will be available. Ragbrai does not have arrangements for hauling cases. But I know people have made arrangements to get them shipped to the finish city.
Hope you win the lottery.
Honestly, I'd sell the RAGBRAI ticket, and take the money you had spent on that to join a "team". An actual RAGBRAI ticket doesn't get you a whole lot. The Register treats your baggage as if it's all a bag of plastic bags. They toss the bags out of the truck: rain, sun, snow - not great for clothes alone ... electronics, paper, etc ... yea. Iowa is like anywhere else. There are flats, hills, fields, farms, vast emptiness and crowded towns. You don't need to be able to ride in a peloton, but you do need (I say need, it's more like "best for you and everyone around you") to be able to control your bike in crowded situations and around lots of riders. There's plenty of awful cyclists that do RAGBRAI, so being the best and most aware that you can will minimize the chance for problems.
Use the RAGBRAI forum to find a ride from CO to IA. Plenty of people drive from the west coast to RAGBRAI - tons of Denver will likely be there. You could also just fly, bus or train there, and then back. Your options are kind of endless. Read the link below for a decent amount of information.
RAGBRAI is an experience, but it certainly isn't the same bicycle touring most of us on this site are used to or prefer.
http://www.wadenelson.com/ragbrai.html