Best: Riding with my 14 year niece on a tandem the whole week.  She will carry a confindence in what she is capable of doing for the rest of her life as a result. Worst:  Tearing my hammy trying to out run a grounder on the Field of Dreams and not being able to ride the last day:(

The absolute worst time was walking back to camp in Ottumwa, stopped at a kybo in the dark – no flashlight – and sitting doown on a wet seat. Then some guy opens the door cuz I couldn’t see to lock it! I still shudder!

The best time? It’s all good! Seeing Papa T, Helen, Mich, Tony, Zink, sandaltan, Ron and all the rest of the people I chat with over the winter. And riding with my buttz sisters and the rest of the Fungi’s. And meeting 82 yr old Lucy, a RAGBRAI rider. That was awesome!

Best: Riding the 150 Mile day in 1996 with my friends. Couldn’t have asked for better weather, conditions, route. 

Worst: Having to ride the final day in 2002 after I just learned that my Grandmother passed.  It was cool and raining that day, and I just wanted to get home. 

Amanda, Ewww!  Always take a flashlight to a kybo after dark!

Amanda said: The absolute worst time was walking back to camp in Ottumwa, stopped at a kybo in the dark – no flashlight – and sitting doown on a wet seat.

I would have loved to have seen that.  The Princess on her throne!!!

-“BB”-

I gashed my leg good  and not even riding. I wanted to jump in that water hole last year and took a spill on the wet bridge. The good part: I jumped. The bad part: I tried to ride on a busted leg. After my tent was harassed at 2am by drunks, I missed the loading truck in Charles City because my cell wasn’t producing the correct time. Once finding a way to get my stuff to the next town, I got on my bike and had a flat (thank u lovely gentlemen from Team Screwed). Then my leg failed halfway and I rode into town with the completely awesome Team Angry only to find my stuff was on the exact oppisite side of town. The taxi never showed up. I found a ride to my stuff at 1am finally. Got scared of the drunk hosting house and called a number given to me in Charles City for help. Thank you Sam and Brian. Luckily, Brian was going to Davenport the next day so I cut my losses. Glad I did because I was hobbling around for a month because of that blasted leg. And honestly its still not right so Im not going this year. I still fricking love RAGBRAI, Iowians, and the not so drunk. Cheers.

So hypothermic on Soggy Thursday, last year, I had to have the menu read to me at Pastafari. We were praying for hills to climb just to get warm. 2 hours later we were eating ice cream under a warm, aqua-blue sky while wringing our clothes out, laughing the rest of the way to Manchester.

I could write a book – an yet  I’ve only ridden one Rag and driven one.
Ragbrai is one week of joy and fifty one weeks of joyful anticipation.
And I agree with the princess – meeting the forum peeps is a ton of fun.
I’m excited for Altoona, and to meet even more e-friends.
See you there – if not before
xoxoxo

AnnG said: Amanda, Ewww!  Always take a flashlight to a kybo after dark!

LOL! I do now. That’s what started my flashlight collection. I have 30+ flashlights and no, I don’t take all of them. Just 4-5!!

so so many of both. This makes 29th year. we rode in almost no rain at all last year. didn’t leave Waterloo until 11. Still in whatever town we were going to next by 6:30. A lot of them you just had to be there, trying to tell someone about them just isn’t the same.
Heather’s “Watch out for me!”ride, good thing we were about the only ones on the road at that time. maybe it was just a little too long of a stop at that bar. Wendy’s grash after insisting that she was not one of those who would tip over whill still clipped in, after all, she had them on the bike all summer and done it yet. Guess what happened day 2 in a town with a couple hundred people watching.
Anybody else ride the Elephant last year? That was something I never expected to do on RAGBRAI.
bad ones, the Sheldon storm, heading out of Wadena when it was so hot the tar on the road was melting so all the way up that long hill every 50 feet that tar grabbed your tire and tried to slow you down. by the top I think the tire was twice as wide.
Windy Thursday from Tame to somewhere south. by 5 the wind died down so the last 25 miles or so was easy. the day into Audubon a couple uears ago was kind of the same, a strong south wind and route that heads south.

jwsknk said: Windy Thursday from Tame to somewhere south. by 5 the wind died down so the last 25 miles or so was easy. the day into Audubon a couple uears ago was kind of the same, a strong south wind and route that heads south.

I live in Iowa, and we have yet to experience wind direction prevailing from the west this summer. Every single time out this year I swear the winds are SSE – lost of easterly wind this summer. Hopefully, by RAG week, we experience more westerly wind. Or it could be a LONG week.

Just thought of another one, OK maybe two, both in North Liberty in 2008. We fit 12 Bonders in a kybo(clean)! Earlier that day we’d purchased “prom” dress at the Goodwill in Marshalltown, so we celebrated a Gold Bond prom at the beer tent in North Liberty. It was fantastic!!

First Rag last year. 

Best: Riding with 10K of my buddies. 

Worst: Soggy Thursday, trying to decide to stop & eat to get warm, or keep going to keep warm.

Amanda, you just convinced me to replace the batteries on this weird flashlight that I can hang around my neck like a pendant.  Good to have a backup.

My first RAGBRAI was 2006.  It is also my worst memory:  Death march from Manning to Audubon, extremely hot.  Severe headwinds, hills up the ‘wazoo’ and hardly any vendors.  It was very brutal and made me wonder why I ever thought RAGBRAI would be fun.

I would have to agree also with many of the previous posts regarding rainy/cold weather.  That just plain blows when you can’t get warm!

Best experiences are many.  2 come to mind, STYX in Ames (2008) and HAIRBALL in Chariton the next year.  I love riding and meeting all the people on the route, but I also love the concerts.  I guess those are the things that stick in my mind.

I can’t imagine missing another RAGBRAI.  It is so unique and special.