RAGBRAI

Pedaling to fight Parkinson’s (and make ice cream)

First, the fun part: Someone with a bright idea rigged up a stationary bike to a crank homemade ice cream. Now, the important part: A pair of spokespeople for BikeLayne.com, a website designed to combat Parkinson’s disease, set up the ice-cream bike at several stops along the RAGBRAI route this week to raise awareness about [...]

VIDEO: Riders detour to the Field of Dreams

Thousands of riders took a short detour near Dyersville to visit the Field of Dreams, the family farm and baseball diamond made famous in the 1989 movie. The ride’s last visit to the famous site was three years ago, when Dyersville hosted riders overnight. Much of the talk at the site Saturday morning centered on [...]

Big hill turns many riders into walkers

Graf, Ia. — A tense silence fell over RAGBRAI riders Saturday morning as they pedaled out of this northeast Iowa valley town. Everyone knew what lay ahead: Potter Hill. The big one. The winding, pedal-grinding, mile-long climb out of the valley, on the final leg of the 2010 Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. [...]

First-timer “absolutely” coming back

Dubuque, Ia. — Kevin Poch wasn’t sure about this bike across Iowa thing when his fiancé convinced him to join her on RAGBRAI. But the 25-year-old from Chicago doesn’t doubt he’ll come back. “I loved it,” he said after finishing the week. “I thought I might have been crazy.” The group he was with is [...]

Team goes back to reality after brief break

Dubuque, Ia. — If members of Team No Rules were frowning, it’s because they have to go back to go back to work soon. And that means back to reality. “When you’re on RAGBRAI, you’re not part of reality,” said Norm Halvorson, 56, from Plano, Texas. And that’s where they got the team’s name. Because [...]

Fly family adds airplane parts to bus

Team Fly’s bus is basically an airplane. Except for the whole flying part. They haven’t figured out how to make it do that yet. But the entire bus is decked out with parts of old airplanes. And Jesse Jordan, a pilot, can tell you exactly what airplanes each part came from. The throttle is from [...]

VIDEO: Warm hospitality in rainy Rowley

VIDEO: Singing nuns in Gilbertville

VIDEO: Thursday sights and sounds (Parkersburg, Hudson)

Storm front gives riders the chills as they roll along

Rowley, Ia. — Noel Shanteau grabbed a loose bag out of a trash can Friday when he saw clouds overhead. “Just in case,” the 27-year-old told himself, as he left for the RAGBRAI ride from Waterloo to Manchester. Two hours later, Shanteau and his girlfriend stood shivering in a garage in Rowley with maybe 100 [...]