"Get off your laptop!"

For as high-tech ads RAGBRAI has become — with cell phones, GPS devices, portable iPod stereos — most people still object to the sight of a laptop.

As I’m posting this, I’m leaning up against the shady side of a farm shed outside of Milo. My bag and notebook are on the grass next to me, a rustling cornfield begins 10 feet ahead and hundreds of bikers are whizzing right by.

I’ve overheard a few comments along the lines of “Young people these days and their gadgets,” but my favorite was the guy who openly heckled me: “Hey, get off your laptop!”

Nobody, I’m sure, likes to see a reminder of all the work that’s waiting for them when they return to their regular lives.

— Michael Morain

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