RAGBRAI 2012: Cyclists cool down in Lake View

Mon, Jul 23, 2012 | by Regina Zilbermints

After a hot day of cycling, an expanse of water was a welcome sight for cyclists pulling into the aptly named Lake View.

Dozens at a time ran awkwardly across the hot sand and into the water. Some had changed into swim suits. Others didn’t have them but couldn’t resist the lure of cooling off in the water. They plunged in wearing their biking clothes.

“It’s awesome,” said Eileen Forde, 30, of Chicago. “A+ for the lake.”

Areas along the route reached temperatures in the high 90s and hovered around 100 degrees in some areas Monday.

That heat, “was the motivation,” to enjoy the lake, Forde said.

“It was a good ride, but it got hot fast,” said Jason Woods, 38, Minneapolis. “I always enjoy routes where the host towns have lakes.”

Woods is on his sixth RAGBRAI and said he can recall several stops with lakes or rivers on previous years – but not all.

And even though the top layer of water was warm, swimmers said the water helped.

“We’ll let the wind dry us out, then if we’re still hot we’ll go back in,” Woods said.

2012 ragbrai, RAGBRAI, RAGBRAI 2012, RAGBRAI XL, ride across iowa

Latest Blog Posts

Where are people coming from to ride RAGBRAI? What types of bikes are they riding? How many Iowans? Average age of riders? Lots of information about ...
As the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa looms in the near distance, two notions and a question scurry about in my mind. The question, of ...
Several people have asked for Coach Ertl's Training Plan in an excel file, so here it is
I had a frightening thought as I looked out the window this past weekend and saw 3 inches of snow on the ground. RAGBRAI begins in two and a ...
High Country Shipping in cooperation with RAGBRAI is pleased to offer GEAR Forward! Ship your camping gear and luggage to RAGBRAI and have it waiting for you at the start of ...
Looking for the RAGBRAI XLI Overnight Towns web sites? What bands will be playing that night? Facebook pages? Twitter links? All that information is a click ...
Mark your cycling calendars for the “Grand Opening” of the Raccoon River Valley Trail North Loop scheduled for June 1, 2013 at Noon. This ceremony will take place in ...
Steve Van Deest has been riding his "custom" hand-cycle tandem bike for many years on RAGBRAI with his loving sister Carla pedaling behind him. Occasionally other family members would ...
This mass participation bike ride will take place during FRY Fest weekend on Sunday, September 1, 2013…the morning after the Hawkeyes open their home football season against the Northern Illinois.
brightcove.createExperiences();