The RAGBRAI route will be announced in just a few more days, and excitement is in the air. What makes RAGBRAI so awesome, you ask? Here are 9 things:
9. The people of Iowa are really cool!
Did you know that Iowa was the third state in the U.S. and first in the Midwest to permit same-sex marriage? Yup! The good people of Iowa are pretty open minded and fair. I love the Hawkeye State, and always feel very welcome and accepted there.
8. The "pass through towns" open their arms. Wide!
RAGBRAI is unique. Every year the route is different, and every year we travel through a completely different part of Iowa. Since RAGBRAI is completely self-supported, there aren't "rest stops" along the route. Instead, the route is designed with "pass through towns" every 10 miles or so. And these pass through towns are more than happy to welcome the 20,000 or so cyclists (and our wide open wallets). Churches, schools, and every kind of civic group you can think of comes out to join the celebration. Bake sales, spaghetti feeds, beer gardens, you name it. Anything a group of cyclists could possibly need!
7. Say it with me: MAID-RITE.
Yeah, they're kind of weird, but this regional favorite is one of my favorites, too! Every time I cross the Missouri River I start looking for a Maid-Rite franchise to satisfy my craving for this messy loose meat sandwich. Seriously, you can't visit Iowa without a trip to Maid-Rite. And for those of us riding RAGBRAI, we're in luck: Maid-Ride has a food truck that follows the route.
6. A Root Beer Float on a hot, muggy day is nirvana.
I have been known to wait in line for 45 minutes to get my hands on a Beekman's Ice Cream Root Beer Float on the RAGBRAI route. One of the coolest things about RAGBRAI is that the vendors follow the ride every day, so you get a huge selection of really cool stuff throughout the event. My favorite by a mile is Beekman's, who make their old fashioned ice cream with steam powered machines... and they even have a bike powered ice cream maker! I'm telling you, on a day when it's 95 degrees and 95 percent humidity, ain't nothin' better than a home made root beer float. And to "sweeten the deal" (nyuk-nyuk) they've always got a band playing for you to enjoy as you're making new friends while you wait in line, and as you savor your ice cream in the shade of a nearby tree.
5. Fireflies make me happy.
One of the coolest things about Iowa in the summertime is the fireflies. They're craziest right at sunset, and they're such cool company after a long day on your bike, beer in hand, feet up and eyes half closed. If you didn't know better, you'd think the pops of light all over were your eyes playing tricks on you!
4. Peeing in the corn is funny.
The soy fields don't offer tall enough privacy, but take three paces into a corn field, and you've got the perfect place to answer nature's call. 'Cuz sometimes, you've gotta do what you've gotta do!
3. RAGBRAI is for everybody!
One of the coolest things about RAGBRAI is the wide assortment of participants it attracts. Young people, old people, elite cyclists, hipsters on fixies, entire families, people with their dogs.... And they're from all over the world, riding all kinds of bikes. Diversity is the word.
2. Amish baked goods are better than anybody else's baked goods.
Iowa has a population of about 10,000 Amish. These simple-living folks will sometimes set up a bake sale along the RAGBRAI route to raise money for their community. And let me tell you, people, DO NOT HESITATE! I succumbed to peer pressure on my last RAGBRAI and tried the rhubarb pie and it was honestly the best I've ever had. Amish pie. Who knew? And I still dream about those snickerdoodles....
1. BEER!
RAGBRAI isn't exactly a sober event. Every pass through town has a beer garden. People ride with trailers holding kegs on ice. And every major brewery has a major presence on the route. It's not like you can ride 50 to 100 miles each day with a beer buzz, but an ice cold brew with lunch in some charming little town in the middle of America is my idea of heaven.
