When I first rode RAGBRAI in 1980, my 14-month-old daughter rode shotgun behind me with Pooh Bear and her juice bottle attached by strings. Great fun, including the 114-mile day from Webster City to Waverly. We rode again in 1981 (ah, yes, through Soggy Monday). I still remember those days of Desiree kicking the backs of my legs urging, “Faster, Daddy, faster!”
I thought I’d be back on a regular basis, but it’s been 30 years since my last RAGBRAI. Well, it’s time to return and I’m very excited about riding RAGBRAI XXXIX. It’ll be interesting to see what’s changed in that time, particularly since the first three overnight towns for this year’s ride are the same as my first 1980 ride. Desiree won’t be with me this time, but my guess is that RAGBRAI hasn’t seen the last of her, either.
I’ll be hopping off an Amtrak train in Omaha on July 22nd and will dip my wheels in the Missouri en route to Glenwood on the 23rd. Looking forward to a wonderful week and the start of many new friendships in July!
15 Replies
Welcome aboard, Gypsy Rose!! I was on RAGBRAI back in 1980 — do you remember the little town of Cooper? — and 1981, although I bailed out of Soggy Monday at Schleswig. I tried to hole up and let it rain itself out (as you know, it didn’t) and wound up getting an offer I couldn’t refuse.
Don’t be a stranger on these boards; stop in and put in your two cents worth. And don’t worry if you’ve got nothing important to say; that never stops anybody else! By the time the end of July rolls around, you’ll have more new friends to watch out for than you could shake a stick at.
-“BB”-
Bill,
Yes, I do remember Cooper. There were large speakers at the edge of town booming with Woody Guthrie’s lyrics, “This land is your land . . .” I still have one of the buttons they were giving out, noting the population of Cooper (150, I think).
I remember spending the night in a gymnasium at the end of Soggy Monday. Thankfully, that day faded into sunny, warm weather for the rest of the week.
I wonder if I’ve still got the T-shirt I picked up at the ride way back then. On the front, the line read, “Bar to bar is plenty far.” On the back was the team logo for “Saloonatics Bicycle Club.”
As a very young dad back then, I didn’t see much of that side of the ride. Don’t know what I was missing, but I still have a copy of the controversial article in The Register that appeared that Friday morning in Waverly. The article began with the story of a note on the bulletin board (from a boy to a girl). “I’m sorry about the way I acted last night.”
~ Kevin
Cooper – Population 51. They made a big deal out of it the next year during their centennial, claiming that someone had either died or moved, so rather than repainting the sign they would adopt one person to be the 51st citizen. Three of the townspeople — the postmistress (Martha Beers?), Myrtle Whitcher and Gerald Lawton — appeared on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show” to promote this! There were hundreds, if not thousands, of people who sent in requests to be selected as the 51st citizen (including myself; one of the qualifications I gave was the fact that I had heard of Cooper and had actually been there); Carson was eventually selected although he was a no-show at the actual Centennial festivities. Chuck Offenberger (who replaced Donald Kaul as one of the co-hosts of the ride) ended up moving there after he left the Register and now calls Cooper home.
I spent the night of Soggy Monday in the basement of a resident of Lake City, along with six or eight other people. You gotta love the way the people of that town turned themselves inside out to make sure anyone who needed a place to stay could find one.
The Saloonatics were a sub-club or a club-within-a-club of the old Rainbow Cyclists out of Waterloo/Cedar Falls. Rainbow was also noted for having the famous (infamous?) “Chicken Bus”. I ended up joining Rainbow, even though I live in Wisconsin, and rode with them through most of the ’80s and ’90s. They have since been absorbed into the Cedar Rapids bike club.
Too bad it looks like I won’t be able to ride this year; as I’ve noted elsewhere on this board, I’ve just started a new job and don’t get any paid vacation until after I’ve been there for a year. You and I could have swapped a lot of old stories — and if nothing else, you would be able to provide further confirmation to certain doubters here about the KYBO company that used to provide the baby-blue porta-potties during those early years of RAGBRAI.
-“BB”-
Vermont
Atta boy!
I usually have the gin, but hadn’t thought about the cards :)
Beyond that, I’m still trying to sort out the logistical details. I’ll have my gear and plan to ride from Omaha to Glenwood, then use the RAGBRAI baggage service for the week before putting my “stuff” back on my bike again for the ride to the IL Amtrak station nearest the end of the ride. The problem I see right now is that the IL station is not a “check baggage” station, so I’m not sure how Amtrak will be able to accommodate me there. If they can, I’ll also need to be able to find boxes and break down and pack up the bike in a fairly limited time-frame before boarding the train.
Problem is I’m very much a DIY type. There’s very little that I’m willing to pay others to do for me. As for my bikes, call me anal, but the idea of turning over the responsibility of packing my ride to someone at a bike shop makes me shiver. (This coming from one who runs a shop, I mean no offense to anyone who works at one. I’m just a bit more particular than the typical customer.)
don’t know if they let you box it yourself, I would think so. A few on our team like to load and tie down their bikes themselves. Baggage check for Amtrak in Iowa is pretty bad, Omaha & Burlington I think are it.
Yep. I may have to turn south from Davenport and head for Burlington. I’ve got some months to sort out the details :)
While I won’t be able to get away from my busy summer schedule early enough to catch a ride west with you, if there’s room for the trip back east I’d be interested.
~ Kevin