"Bicycle Bill"
- Active 1 day, 22 hours ago
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic RAGBRAI beer in the forum RAGBRAI XLVIII – 2020 5 days, 10 hours ago
RAGBRAI may not have ‘provided’ the beer, but as far back as the 1990s RAGBRAI did have agreements with Miller Lite, Chevrolet trucks, Kum ‘n Go, and several other corporate partners (or “Friends of RAGBRAI”, as I believe they were called during that time). I’m sure a fair amount of money, compensation in kind (like Chevy providing the vehicles f…[Read more]
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic Iowa’s Ride FAQ Section in the forum Miscellaneous 1 week, 2 days ago
What I find the most telling about the Iowa Ride is that there is no comment section like we have here at ragbrai.com. I can only assume from this that TJ intends to take a page from Trump’s playbook and run the ride the way HE decides to run it (Make RAGBRAI Great Again?), and will accept no suggestions, discussion of motives, or tolerate any d…[Read more]
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic Iowa’s Ride new dates in the forum Miscellaneous 4 weeks ago
Why would RAGBRAI create a patch acknowledging/promoting another ride? And for that matter, you can ask the same question of TJ and the Iowa Ride bunch.
They may be forced to tolerate each other, and maybe even work with each other in the same way that two equally-powerful countries have to work together to avoid mutual destruction, but a…[Read more]
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic Iowa’s Ride new dates in the forum Miscellaneous 4 weeks ago
Just curious — has the original founder of RAGBRAI, John “Grandpa RAGBRAI” Karras, provided any input on this whole wrangaboo? Or is he taking the high road, staying mum, and steering clear of all of it?
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic The themes and mood every children’s book should incorporate in the forum Miscellaneous 1 month, 1 week ago
Since the Great Schism there’s no one around to shoo the spammers away.
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic RAGBRAI, its just a name Gannett owns in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Well, if I was selling, it’s now worth $5 million since that’s the number you just threw out there….
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic Amiable Split Option? in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Just want to mention that Carter LeBeau and the Quad Cities Bike Club tried something like this — a loop ride that lasted six or seven days — back in the 1980s or 1990s called “TOGIR” (The Other Great Iowa Ride).
TOGIR (rhymes with ogre) is the The Other Great Iowa Ride, a week long tour of eastern Iowa that goes from college to college where the…
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic Sides are being taken in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 1 month, 3 weeks ago
I remember when we overnighted in Fayette in 1996. The normal population of the town (until we got there!) was probably less than the number of pampered pedallers on Bubba’s charter.
I also remember itty-bitty Cooper (population 51!) in 1980, the best little pass-through town ever!
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic Which Ride Will "Win"? in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Do you really think the DMR was going to fire TJ if he clarified this issue?
Has anybody from the Register ever clarified why Chuck Offenburger (who was one of the ride hosts back in the 1990s) was stripped of his “Iowa Boy” column and dismissed from his position with the Register? And how about the kerfluffle that resulted when a…[Read more]
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic Which Ride Will "Win"? in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Sandaltan, check out this website — https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?page_id=26906
It does a pretty good job of telling the story too.
I forgot about the connection between the League of Wisconsin Wheelmen and the Sentinel on the first ride…. I shouldn’t have, considering I was a member of the League of American Wheelmen and later be…[Read more]
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic Which Ride Will "Win"? in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 1 month, 3 weeks ago
The ride that will win will be the one that best captures the flavor of the original RAGBRAI as John Karras and Donald Kaul first approached it — “We’re going to ride our bikes across Iowa and write stories for the newspaper about it. If you want to tag along, fine; but the Register is doing this for US; you’re on your own.”
As RAGBRAI sta…[Read more]
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic My Proposal of Reconciliation in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 1 month, 3 weeks ago
While Chris Cakes has been on RAGBRAI just about forever (I ran across them in Storm Lake on my first RAGBRAI in 1978, when Loren Christiansen was still the man with the magical pancake-flipping spatula) I thought they were pretty much an independent and private contractor, much like one of the bands hired to provide entertainment in a bar, hired…[Read more]
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic TIme to Make Peace and Come Back Together as 1 Ride in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Quoting KenH above:
I have already written to both parties to urge them to reconcile in some fashion that results in a single ride. I urge the rest of you to do the same, but be polite and even handed.
I wrote to:
Hunter, Carol chunter@registermedia.com
TJ? fun@iowasride.com
Another person you may want to send your “why can’t we all just get…[Read more]
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic Which Ride Will "Win"? in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 1 month, 3 weeks ago
To answer Sandaltan re: the Wisconsin newspaper ride.
It was the Milwaukee Sentinel (back in the day when Milwaukee had TWO daily papers; the morning Milwaukee Sentinel and the afternoon Milwaukee Journal). At the time — 1975, if I remember correctly — they had a section of the paper called “Active Americans” which highlighted recreational activ…[Read more]
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic Which Ride Will "Win"? in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 1 month, 4 weeks ago
correction — BRIAN Duffy
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic Which Ride Will "Win"? in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 1 month, 4 weeks ago
OK, after reading a couple of other articles (including a great one posted by the Cedar Rapids Gazette) I see this was not the Register’s call on this one…. but they *HAD* pretty much started it with the whole Carson King coverage; and when TJ showed signs of pushing back they effectively backed him and his crew into a corner, pretty much ‘ga…[Read more]
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic Which Ride Will "Win"? in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 1 month, 4 weeks ago
I don’t do Twitter or Facebook.
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic What prevents you from riding RAGBRAI every year? in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 1 month, 4 weeks ago
Another link that seems to be working to get to the original forum (so far) is https://ragbrai.com/temp-forum
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic Which Ride Will "Win"? in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 1 month, 4 weeks ago
I’m suspecting that the Register has been looking for ways to get out of this, and seized upon this as a way to do so. I base this on the fact that while they still hold all the rights, assets, and intellectual property that is RAGBRAI (including the forum, etc), they have posted nothing to attempt to explain their actions and even gone so far a…[Read more]
"Bicycle Bill" replied to the topic Vendors with Women's Shirts in the forum RAGBRAI XLIII – 2015 2 months ago
Can someone clear out the spam?