Hi Rusty,
I think you have answered your own question. The big advantage of joining a team used to be your group was either all out or all in. Now that there is no lottery I see no advantage. In fact it may be better being independent. This will be my first year coming with a group. One of my guys did sign in as captain of our “team”. I told him he would then receive all the team packets, so the rest of us registered separately.
We too are going with a charter, so our team will camp together, and may ride together a few days. The big advantage for me is sharing travel expenses. I spent nearly $900 in gas this year plus a couple hundred in hotels. It will be great to only pay a third or quarter of that next year.
I’m looking forward to a great 50th Ragbrai. I am sure you will have fun Rusty, team or no team.