Charlie Harper of Harper’s Cycle & Fitness in Muscatine has enjoyed tinkering with bikes for many years.  Harper and his family has been on RAGBRAI since the maiden voyage across the state and are still one of the official bike shops on RAGBRAI.  Charlie spotted the same bike (although yellow) at a bike swap that Mr. Pickard pushed across the state back in 1973.  Charlie restored it to all it’s glory. 

Thanks Charlie!

The Des Moines Register and the Iowa Bicycle Coalition are proud to sponsor the Iowa Goes by Bicycle Challenge.  It’s pretty simple: ride your bike, log your miles and win prizes.

By John Karras, Co-Founder of RAGBRAI

With RAGBRAI XL (that’s 40, to you non-Roman-numeraly hip dudes) looming ever closer, an unwanted fact keeps bonking around in the back of my mind: That fact is that I am one year younger than Clarence Pickard was in 1973, when Donald Kaul and I launched this general silliness.

Well, so what? you say. And so something, I say.

And that something is, simply, will I be able to live up to the example that wizened little fellow, delightful and accomplished as he was (four years in the Peace Corps, professor at ISU, county agent, farmer, taught Hindus they could eat eggs if they kept the rooster out of the chicken yard), set 40 years ago? Ah, yes, as Terry Thomas might have said, there’s the rub.

Clarence showed up—maybe 5’5”, maybe 100 pounds—in Sioux City that August Saturday in 1973 in a pith helmet covered with duct tape and with a green and white woman’s Schwinn 10-speed that he’d purchased two weeks before. Asked about training miles, he said, “I rode around the block a couple of times.”

We all figured he might make it to the Sioux City city limits, but not much beyond. The truth is he rode every bloody mile of that first year’s insane route, including the 100 miles from Des Moines to Williamsburg and the sixth and final day’s 80 miles from Williamsburg to Davenport.

Have we ever repeated that route? If anyone had insisted on it I would have resigned from The Register and insisted on erasing my name from anything associated with RAGBRAI.

The route was dumber than anyone today could imagine. The only part of it that any of us had looked at was the stretch from Des Moines to Williamsburg, which Kaul and I and a few friends had ridden a few years before as part of our journey to becoming touring cyclists. The rest of the route—Sioux City to Des Moines, Williamsburg to Davenport—was terra unknown. Indeed, we encountered at least half a mile of gravel on the way into Moscow, IA, a town we hadn’t known existed.

But back to Clarence.

Not only did he have this clunky bike that probably weighed half as much as he did, he also hadn’t the foggiest notion of how to shift the gears. 

The levers were mounted on the handlebar stem, as was common at that time. Clarence thought the proper positions for both were as far forward as they could go, or as far back, which meant, of course, that he was always in the wrong gear.

I caught up with him as we were approaching the dreaded Boone Hill out of the Des Moines River valley and mentioned that we were approaching a really difficult hill and I thought he would be much happier climbing it if the left lever were as far forward as it could go and the right lever as far back (which, of course, would put the bike in its first, easiest gear).  I saw him later in the day and he said, “That sure did help.”

Yes, he was slow. He also fell off his bike frequently. He’d become such a household name by the time the ride reached Iowa City that an elementary school there let all the kids outside to watch Clarence come by. He saw them, stopped and promptly fell off the bike. Then, picking himself up he swept off his pith helmet and did a deep bow. The kids went nuts.

Okay, so what does any of this have to do with me and RAGBRAI XL?  Just this: As I approach Clarence’s age, can I measure up?

As this is being written, friends, we are nine-plus weeks from the start of RAGBRAI XL, and at this  point, I ain’t measuring up.

Okay, okay, Ann and I are living at 9,000-plus feet here in Summit County, Colorado, so I can make some excuses about elevation and whatnot, but the simple fact, at this point, is that I can’t cut it. We struggle up small hills for a total of five miles and then retire to the condo for naps. That ain’t RAGBRAI-quality riding, but I’m going to keep working on the legs and hoping to make it.

Stay tuned for more….. Thoughts from Grampa RAGBRAI

John Karras is the former copy editor at the Des Moines Register who co-founded RAGBRAI in 1973 with columnist Donald Kaul.  John plans on riding RAGBRAI XL this summer.  He and his wife Ann now reside in Dillon, Colorado.

Tickets are now on-sale $25 in advance, $35 day of the show.  Registered RAGBRAI participants are admitted free to the concert by showing their valid  RAGBRAI wristband.

The Counting Crows released the album Underwater Sunshine (Or What We Did On Our Summer Vacation) last month. The band is sharing four new songs from the album to BitTorrent users as well as liner notes and other goodies.

Addition bands and entertainment for Cedar Rapids will be announced soon for the downtown celebration area and the RAGBRAI campgrounds.

For more information on the Outlaw Roadshow visit http://www.countingcrows.com/

The Code of Iowa states bicyclists have the same rights and duties of the operators of vehicles. This means you can use the roadways, but you must follow the traffic rules. Just because you are on RAGBRAI doesn’t mean the rules are suspended. These are public roads that are open to trucks and cars. Attention to the traffic laws could save your life.

The Iowa State Patrol and local law enforcement are present at many intersections along the RAGBRAI route. If a law enforcement officer is at an intersection they may direct traffic and supercede the traffic sign or signal. If an intersection is being directed by a law enforcement officer, you should follow the signals of the officer.

It is not unusual to have uncontrolled intersections along the route, especially on the right turns and lower traffic roads.  If no officer is present, follow the traffic control sign or signal as you would in your car or on your bike during any other week of the year.

Some of the main rules to follow are:

• stopping completely at stop signs
• obeying yield signs
• not crossing yellow lines in your lane
• riding to the right
• signaling for turns
• not cutting corners
• riding in a respectable manner

One of the biggest problems is when the RAGBRAI route enters a town. The bicycle traffic becomes congested and people are trying to go every direction. Be careful, slow down (you may even be walking your bike through congested towns), and follow the traffic rules to be safe.

This is especially true in the overnight towns. Remember that many of the riders are not from Iowa. They are trying to navigate a new town and locate their campgrounds or other services. Combine the bicycle traffic with support vehicles and spectators and things can quickly become chaotic. Simply follow the traffic rules and everybody will reach their destinations safely.

If you are going to ride RAGBRAI safely, you are going to keep in mind the following safety tips:

1. The RIGHT stuff.
2. The RIGHT gear.
3. The RIGHT communications.
4. The RIGHT riding.
5. The legal RIGHT.
6. The RIGHT frame of mind.
7. The RIGHT abilities.
8. The RIGHT attitude.
9. The RIGHT attention.
10. The RIGHT condition.

Mark Wyatt is the executive director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, a statewide advocacy organization for bicycling.  Mark is also a League Cycling Instructor (LCI), board member for the Alliance for Bicycling and Walking.  More information about the Iowa Bicycle Coalition can be found at www.iowabicyclecoalition.org.

Enjoy your special day!

RAGBRAI is not in the business of reselling credentials because of the assignment of ID numbers that coincide with the application and waiver/release of liability that you signed. The five rider credentials with an ID number are the wristband, the bike band, the baggage tag, the bike license plate and the redeemable patch certificate. The transfer or sale of ride credentials is a private transaction, and RAGBRAI is not responsible for misunderstandings between the two parties, misplaced credentials, or the failure to transfer the credentials into the new owner’s name.

A transfer or resale of credentials will only be valid if it is officially transferred by the RAGBRAI office to the new owner before the event begins. To transfer a wristband, the new owner must complete an online transfer form, found on RAGBRAI.com, and an electronic waiver of liability. This procedure not only transfers the wristband, but also the liability associated with it. If we do not receive a completed online transfer form and an electronically signed waiver of liability, the wristband and the liability will remain in the original purchaser’s name. The transfer period will begin on June 15^th and will close on July 18^th. Call RAGBRAI at 1-800-I RIDE IA (474-3342) if you have questions about this procedure. 

by Chuck Offenburger

So when’s the last time you decorated up your bicycle with crepe paper streamers and rode it in a parade?  And you RAGBRAI teams, what better way could there be to make sure your bus is ready for the big trip this summer than by putting it in a parade and letting the public “tour” it at the end of this month?  Want to watch a graffiti artist paint a team bus, or even help him?

The first-ever “Iowa Bicycle Festival” will let you do all those things in the west central Iowa town of Jefferson on Saturday, May 26. 

Operating from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on that Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, the festival is “a celebration of the bicycle and the people who ride it.”  Coordinating and hosting the event are the members of the Cyclists Of Greene (COG) bike club based in Jefferson and using the county’s name.

You will be able to browse a bicycle-themed art show featuring the work of top artists from across the Midwest; see live models show off the latest styles in bicycling apparel in a fashion show; take escorted bicycle tours of Jefferson’s historic sites, interesting homes and businesses; let your kids enter a variety of bicycling games and competitions, and interact with a half-dozen of Iowa’s cycling leaders in a series of lively seminars.

The parade forms at 10 a.m., and will roll through the town beginning at 11 a.m.  Organizers want to include people of all ages on bicycles and also the colorful RAGBRAI team buses.  After the parade, there will be a “bike & bus display” and the bus painting on the town square, so that the public can meet cyclists and ask questions.

Several sponsors are making it possible for substantial prizes to be offered for events during the festival.

The seminars, to be held in the beautiful rotunda of the Greene County Courthouse, will include T.J. Juskiewicz talking about RAGBRAI; the bicycling & art of Brian Duffy; the Raccoon River Valley Trail with trail officials; Iowa’s other recreational trails with Andrea Chase of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation; bicycling business & entrepreneurship with BikeIowa’s Scott Sumpter and the Iowa Bicycle Coalition’s Mark Wyatt; Greene County outdoor recreation with Conservation Director Dan Towers, and “Iowa’s Bicycle Clubs” with several club leaders.

The festival is being organized to appeal to the public as well as avid cyclists.

“There’s so much more to cycling than just riding bikes,” said John Brunow, the Jefferson bike shop owner who is chairperson of the festival.  “One thing that makes this unique is that we’re going to put some focus on things like education, fashion and art in cycling.”

You can get full details at www.iowabicyclefestival.com or on the festival’s Facebook page.

For more information on to order your RAGBRAI classic cycling cap, visit the RAGBRAI SHOP.