My friend and I just decided to do RAGBRAI a few days ago. (my second, her first) I just saw weeklong registration is closed. Last year I did Pork Bellies and rarely made it in each day for showers and food, so this year I want to do self-contained. My question is, if I’m not using the luggage truck, is there anything else I WON’T be able to do without a wristband? Beer tents, music, expo? Anything I must have a wristband for?
p.s. I do appreciate supporting the ride (and kybos!) with the registration and would if I could – so please, no lectures. I will seek out a wristband if I get answers of things I cannot do without one. Thanks in advance!
July 20 - 27, 2024
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What will I miss without a wristband?
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And it won’t be very long before the Great Bandit Debate begins again.
I will absolutely get a wristband. I didn’t know there were more sellers than buyers. Just curious, how low did the prices go last year?
Well, if this year is like any other year by June there be a brisk market on this board of buying and selling wristbands. If you really want one you won’t have much trouble getting.
Some of these responses imply that being wrist wearing rider on RAGBRAI you have some sort of health insurance??? We had a fellow rider get caught up in a wreck, needed an ambulance, an ER visit and done riding on day two. Nothing was paid for or waived by RAGBRAI. However, it was paid for by her health insurance.
The disclaimer below should read; along with everyone, you have access to the following.
The fee provides daily baggage transportation (Included)
SAG wagon service (Included)
emergency medical service (Included for anyone, Not Free)
camping areas (most of the time included)
route markings (Included)
daily maps (Included)
wristband discounts (Vary from $0 – $2 at showers and vendors)
camping facilities (Showers not free, kybos free)
free edition of The Des Moines Register in each of the host communities, ten bicycle shops on the route (Not Free)
and in the campgrounds to service your bike, (Not Free)
access to long-term parking (Not Free)
bicycle shipping stations (Not Free),
free lost and found mailing service and great Iowa hospitality.
It’s still good to have the wrist band, but consider it a donation if you’re not having them haul your bags and if you have someone that could pick you up if you had problems.
I’ll say it once and then I’ll let it ride … but if you are not paying the registration fee and getting a wristband but are hiding instead behind that old “the roads are public so they can’t kick me off” shtick you are nothing more than a freeloading lowlife piece of dung arschloch who would crash someone’s family reunion picnic and help themselves to their food just because it’s in a public park.
-“BB”-
Beebs, you really need to stop holding back! If you continue to keep all that frustration inside your head, eventually your brain cage is gonna explode! I’m not helping with that clean up, LOL!!!! Love ya Beebs!!!
One person here seems to be saying that your insurance is more likely to pay your medical fees if you are an official rider as opposed to a bandit. I can’t see any reason to believe that this is true. Or maybe that is not what he is trying to say but he implies that somehow your wallet will feel less pain from a RAGBRAI injury if you are registered. Again, I don’t see how. The experience you describe with your teammate is exactly what I would expect.
However, the Register does list emergency medical service as a benefit of registration as you can see in the FAQ quotes above, one being yours. They do not define what that is but the implication is that you are better off somehow to register if you have an injury. If they don’t define how so, then I certainly can’t! I am relatively sure that part of your RAGBRAI fee does go to paying to have the ambulances stationed along the route where they can provide much quicker response times to serious injuries. We all ought to be willing to pay our fair share towards that!
I would imagine that some on route medical treatment is in fact free. If your problem can be cured with an antiseptic wipe and a Band-Aid or a couple of aspirin and you have a wristband then maybe the official RAGBRAI medical staff would provide those free but would charge you if you are a bandit? I don’t know, maybe someone has an experience with that that they can share.
https://ragbrai.com/about/faqs/
4. If my entry is drawn, what kind of services can I expect for my fee?
The fee provides daily baggage transportation, SAG wagon service, emergency medical service, camping areas, route markings, daily maps, wristband discounts, camping facilities, a free edition of The Des Moines Register in each of the host communities, ten bicycle shops on the route and in the campgrounds to service your bike, access to long-term parking, bicycle shipping stations, free lost and found mailing service and great Iowa hospitality.
I never knew that I could get a free paper in each of the host towns with my wristband. Has anyone every got one before? Where do you get them?
Prices always very and go down as it gets closer to the ride. Remember you have to have time to pick it up or get it mailed to you.
The benefits are dependent on how you ride. If you ride with a self supporting team, then your perks for buying a band are minimal. I’ve ridden both ways and I prefer to ride with my team. I don’t “specifically” use any Ragbrai services and if I crash and burn, I’m not only covered by my insurance but we have a couple of doctors that ride with us and I can always relieve myself in a cornfield.I ….but …..That being said, I still buy a band just because its the right thing to do and even though Im an Iowa resident and pay taxes, I do feel that preparation for Ragbrai goes above and beyond general county maintenance.Besides….I kid of like having a big collection of bands hanging on my bike.
Also….you will go to hell if you ride bandit and I dont want to go to hell