Larry Klaaren
- Active 2 days, 6 hours ago
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic Charters back to the Starting Town?? in the forum RAGBRAI XLVIII – 2020 2 days, 6 hours ago
I see you want to go back to the starting town. It’s more common to leave your car at the end and take a charter to the start, then you don’t have to be in the end town in time for the bus to leave. You also don’t have long bus ride after a day of biking. However, there are plenty of charters that go back to the start.
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic Charters back to the Starting Town?? in the forum RAGBRAI XLVIII – 2020 2 days, 6 hours ago
Most of them will offer that service, unless they originate from some other town. I ride a bus from Chicago to the start, and then from the end to Chicago, for example. If you go to the various charters websites, they will have pricing next week, since the route will be announced tonight.
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic Final Route Predictions in the forum RAGBRAI XLVIII – 2020 3 days, 10 hours ago
There could be something to the thought about going through Des Moines and unveiling or dedicating that statue on the RAGBRAI route. If they do that, that might be a short mileage day. It would boost the finances of RAGBRAI also, as that could be a big numbers day. Someone pledged a big donation from them.
My thought is that with a new…[Read more]
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic Final Route Predictions in the forum RAGBRAI XLVIII – 2020 5 days, 7 hours ago
Well, since it came up . . .
From Wikipedia: Lytton is a city in Sac County and has grown into Calhoun County in the U.S. state of Iowa. … Lytton was named for the English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton.
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic E-Bikers, A Few Etiquette Improvements in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 1 week, 2 days ago
In my world, there is nothing I do without a naysayer. If you can get out to enjoy the ride, let go of all that and do it, peoples.
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic Final Route Predictions in the forum RAGBRAI XLVIII – 2020 1 week, 3 days ago
Am I the only one who saw the Facebook hint from Ragbrai about the route? This was photographs supposedly taken by Dieter on his route selection trip. It showed the State Capitol building and a cornfield. I suppose that could be taken to mean the ride will be in Iowa!
I would think that Dubuque and Rock Rapids are off the table, but I can’t…[Read more]
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic Brancel Charter in the forum Miscellaneous 1 month ago
I thought they were great. The staff is very friendly, they had great showers and towel service, and some food in the camp. They are as advertised and a little more. They also have a great bicycle mechanic, who does some maintenance if needed on a tip basis.
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic Where to next year? in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 1 month, 2 weeks ago
My understanding is that vendors and charters search their own sites. At least that is what a charter owner told me.
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic Where to next year? in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 1 month, 2 weeks ago
What could be cool is if there was a gravel route from the host town to the meeting town, or from the meeting town to the next host town. Or both.
Another cool thing would be if there was more than one day to ride gravel, which would be a good thing if the weather was not so good.
Not sure what it takes to set up the gravel route, once you…[Read more]
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic Traveling to RAGBRAI via Airplane in the forum RAGBRAI XLVIII – 2020 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Slightly off-topic, but on last years southern route, we were very near I-80 the whole first day, then dipped a little south, then north of I-80, then to within four miles of the Missouri border, back north to Fairfield, then down to the very southern point of the state, about a mile from Missouri. Since I-80 is sort of the line between northern…[Read more]
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic RAGBRAI beer in the forum RAGBRAI XLVIII – 2020 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Since we do not like all teams that wear red, starting with Nebraska and Alabama, (except for Indiana) we revert to rule two. We pull for the team closer to Ames. Go Badgers. Slightly off-topic, but it had to be said.
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic Traveling to RAGBRAI via Airplane in the forum RAGBRAI XLVIII – 2020 1 month, 3 weeks ago
If he wants to purchase before the route announcement I would agree to flying to Des Moines. Otherwise it is easy to check prices once the end cities are known. I am thinking nine of the likely end cities are close to a suitable airport, so may need to look into what the shuttle costs would be.
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic Traveling to RAGBRAI via Airplane in the forum RAGBRAI XLVIII – 2020 1 month, 3 weeks ago
As implied above, you may find it much more convenient to use the Sioux City or Omaha airports depending on the start town.
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic Iowa’s Ride FAQ Section in the forum Miscellaneous 1 month, 3 weeks ago
I see the concept of a smaller ride and smaller towns, and it could be good. The two questions that come to my mind are 1) given the costs to the host town, can they recoup them from a smaller ride? and 2) Given a smaller number of riders, and a smaller host population, what’s the entertainment going to be and will that even matter? I rarely go…[Read more]
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic Welcome Dieter Drake! in the forum Miscellaneous 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Sounds like a great choice! Welcome to Iowa’s Favorite Ride.
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic Some of us would like to do both rides in the forum Miscellaneous 1 month, 4 weeks ago
This forum is not RAGBRAI. A relatively very small number of people have made the comments for or against both RAGBRAI and IR. The total participants would represent much less than half a percent of the riders on either ride. I am sure you would have the same positive experience on either ride from the vast majority of the riders.
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic RAGBRAI/Iowa’s Ride Info Session , December 1, 2019 in the forum Gatherings & Meetings 1 month, 4 weeks ago
I think this is good for TJ at this point. He needs to push his product and rebuild PR with some people.
On the other hand, I don’t know what the Register can say that would be informative. They aren’t going to give out any information about host cities. Without that not much new can come out, other than how many have registered to date, which…[Read more]
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic Show me the Money! in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 2 months ago
They do get a chance on the Saturday before the ride from people who ride the bus from the end town to the start, but I usually just buy from the vendors sitting right there, which doesn’t help the town that much.
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic Show me the Money! in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 2 months ago
I’m thinking the end town gets nothing from most people, and more bucks than an overnight from a few. I usually ride right to my car and leave.
Larry Klaaren replied to the topic Show me the Money! in the forum RAGBRAI XLVII – 2019 2 months, 1 week ago
I have heard similar stories from friends who live in a couple of other overnight towns, although these were smaller towns and less money was involved. The question is: the towns do lose (or spend) money, how much do the churches, legions, etc., local businesses and entrepreneurs make? And then, what is the cost of lost business by the…[Read more]