I would try to ride at least 25 miles a day, every day.  Forty or fifty would be even better.

And then, when I got on the ride, I would tone down my expectations and pace myself.  You may feel great the first day; perhaps even the second — but this is seven days of riding, not just a two-day weekend.  And remember — RAGBRAI is not a race; there are no winners and no awards for being the first one to the overnight town.  Your only goal should be to complete the ride, and if you have to spend eight hours or more on the road to make that day’s mileage, then so be it.

Next, break the day down into manageable chunks.  Sure, 80 miles a day sounds like a lot.  But break it down — find out where the in-between towns are and break it down into a series of shorter 20-miles rides from one town to the next; and if you have been riding at least 25 miles a day then you know that a 20-miler is a piece of cake.  So ride from water tower to water tower, and take a bit of a break after every 20 miles or so.  Rehydrate, regroup, and then take off on the next leg.

Lastly, try to find someone to ride near or with.  It doesn’t have to be the same person all week or even all day.  Maybe it’s the old “misery loves company” mindset, but the miles do seem to go easier when you’re not out there trying to make them all on your own.

Just go and enjoy — you’ll make it.

-“BB”-

I suppose you should start riding to the start now and hope you get there on time.

As far as overall fitness, you got what you got. From here on, it will help if you bike every day until RAGBRAI. Try to get 20-30 miles everyday. Mentally you have to learn to get back on that bike every day. For most of RAGBRAI you will be doing a series of rides all day long that will be 20 miles or less. Tell yourself “I can do this!” And don’t forget to keep hydrated.

Paul: hilarious…mostly because its so true.

Bicycle Bill: well written and true also.

Royboy: that’s what i was worried about. mostly i’m amazed how much my mental game has to do with how bad my butt hurts at the time. i wonder how they deal with that? Losing weight in a hurry would probably help. I tried Lanacane which is helpful for a while, but not long enough. I feel like I get advil poisoning on rabgrai sometimes. I hate cold soggy butt’rd bike shorts in the morning, and find that huge chamois stops me more than they help. I seem to do better with no chamois if i can find shorts that have no rib in the spandex. tri shorts maybe. I think I hate my seat, but don’t know how to find the right one without spending $175-$299 to find out its wrong also. My pedals are probably all wrong. Not sure if float is right. I seem to be taking out tib-fib on the right…ankle knee. Is there something you can put on your bottom that would protect the skin and keep wrinkles from happening there? Maybe we need to invent a bandage-like butt that keeps wrinkles from happening and maybe some slow release anesthetic…has to be pretty strong though (hello…3M?). I could ride forever if my bottom would straighten out and i don’t know how to fix it (besides losing weight, but that’s why we’re doing this). i know that shaving is definitely not the right answer. mostly for the out of shape…once you have a few thousand miles and drop the 70lbs…i don’t think its much of an issue anymore. I probably need stronger lanacaine. or if the butt’r people would meet the lanacane people…