RAGBRAI elevation

[betagirl]

Ok, so this year's RAGBRAI is the 4th most climb and 6th most difficult ride overall in the past 34 years of its history. The first day is 10 miles of flat, then 35 miles of hills as we enter the Loess Hills of Iowa. That part of the ride, while painful, looks like it's going to be really pretty:

http://www.reflectiveimages.com/BrokenKettleGrasslands.htm

Total of 17,325 feet of climb for the week, with distance*climb at 7699230. I realize that for those who live in the mountains, this would be relatively easy. But my training ground is Chicago, where my biggest hills are overpasses :D
Who says Iowa is flat?

http://www.geobike.com/geobike/profile2.php?P=1977:2:2:2:2

Hopefully we're spared the headwinds and heat that usually go along with the ride. Though we've been relatively lucky with cooler weather most of the days the last 4 years. Wind? Not so much luck there.

Anyone else subjecting themselves to this fun!? :D

[KnottedYet]

My boss the bike goddess will be there. Her group always has plastic "Zippy the Pinhead" clowns on their handlebars.

Someday I'd like to do a bunch of the multi-day rides. I loooooved the one (and only) I've done so far.

[Nanci]

Have a great time! At least you won't be at work!!

[Pax]

We have a friend back in IL who's doing it for the third time, if we were still home we were going to help sag her group. As it is I'll have to check here for updates. :(

[annie]

Beta,

I'll be there eventually. Riding out from home (Dubuque), starting on July 21, with three other women. We'll be self-supported all the way. We won't actually hook up with RAGBRAI until Monday evening, or maybe sometime during the day on Tuesday, depending on our daily mileage on the way out. We are planning on 100+ mile days, Friday and Saturday, but one never knows. If the winds are really bad, that will slow us down. If storms come up, we'll probably try and wait them out. We're pretty flexible in scheduling, actually. And since we're hauling our own gear, which will weigh at least 50 lbs., we won't be moving any too fast. They will be long days in the saddle. But fun! We each ride our own pace and re-group often. We enjoy each other's company and riding out like that let's us have that time together before we hit the huge chaotic crowds of RAGBRAI. It is a very enjoyable time. This will be my third year doing it this way.

I know it's almost impossible to find someone you don't even know on RAGBRAI, but if you happen to see a small group of women, three with BOB's and one with panniers, it could be us! Come and say hi. We tend to ride later in the day, since we have no set time that we HAVE to have our stuff packed on a truck or bus. That way we avoid the huge crowds of cyclists on the road, too. Much more peaceful towards the back. If I see anyone on your team, I'll ask if you are around. Who knows.......... :D

annie

[Sparky]

My husband I are going. This will be my fifth year. The second year I did it is shown on the website as the 2nd hilliest ever. I learned alot that year. I am hoping to survive again. Husband's first year of riding a bike, he is worried about the hills. We have the same training problem here in our area of IN overpasses look out.

We have inspiration this year with Lance riding. Maybe he'll let us draft on the hills. ha ha ha

[betagirl]

Annie and Sparky, I ride with Team Megawatts. There are only 2 women on the ride this year for the first 4 days, then we pick up a 3rd on Thursday. I'm the tall one :) Hope to see you out there.

This about sums up my team:

http://homepage.mac.com/eskew1/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/2004-08-06%2015.24.33%20-0700/Image-BC0E2AD2E7F611D8.jpg

[annie]

This about sums up my team

:D :D :D Your team and how many others!! Is that you in the photo? Nice bright jerseys. Should be easy to spot. I'll keep my eyes open.

My "team" (all 4 of us) is Team Cheetoes. (Guess what our favorite snack/junk food is!) We have Chester Cheetoe t-shirts - I don't believe they make a jersey. :rolleyes: Which we probably won't wear, since they'll be too hot. We have bright orange/black striped skorts with matching headwraps and team cheetoe necklaces, with cheetos made out of sculpey clay. We're still working on getting bags of cheetos to hand out, but since we'd have to carry them with us, that might not work so well. Smashed cheetoes anyone? I'll try get a picture of us before we go. Give you an idea of who to look for. :)

I don't expect I'll see anything of Lance. He will probably be in the overnight town before I leave the previous one.

annie

[betagirl]

Oooooooooo CHEETOS! Those are my favorite snack of all time. If you have them to hand out, I'll be following you the whole ride! :D

That's me in the pic, yeah. We tend to hustle to the beer town and spend an inordinate amount of time there. With a mandatory stop at Tender Toms of course. Mmmmmm. I have yet to eat at Mr. Pork Chop. It's just not appetizing to me. But I do like his bus.

We change jerseys every day. This year's jersey is purple with yellow. But we'll be in the orange one day. I'm not sure what the "schedule" is yet.

Here are some more pics for you to try to scope us out. We're a pretty laid back group, and lots of fun to hang out with. So if you spot us stop on by.

We rode up to Minnesota last year for the heck of it when the route was so close to the border:

http://www.shuasha.com/albums/Ragbrai2005/normal_P1010145.JPG

I'd be the girl in this pic:
http://www.shuasha.com/albums/Ragbrai2005/normal_P1010052.JPG

[Nanci]

The guy on the right is much hotter than Peter Reid!!

Nanci

[jobob]

You and your friends are ever so stylin' in your assortment of team jerseys, betagirl !

but Coors Light ?!?!? oh the humanity :D

[betagirl]

but Coors Light ?!?!? oh the humanity

LOL!! Let's just say the selection was severely limited at that bar. :D It was like drinking water. I think on all of RAGBRAI you can get bud lite, miller lite, coors lite and mikes hard lemonade.

My Irish ancestors roll over in their graves every year.....

[Lise]

beta, help a friend out. Put a guy aside for me, OK? Thanks. :p

(Peter Reid is very, very hot. I will not stand down from this position. ;) )

[betagirl]

Alas Lise, they're all married. The 2 in the photo with me are from Atlanta to boot. There are a couple single guys, 2 on the east coast and 1 in St. Louis. But none are local.

I have to admit I had no idea who Peter Reid was. (Thanks google images) :D

[Lise]

Alas Lise, they're all married. The 2 in the photo with me are from Atlanta to boot. There are a couple single guys, 2 on the east coast and 1 in St. Louis. But none are local.

I have to admit I had no idea who Peter Reid was. (Thanks google images) :D
Alas, indeed. You can tell your friends that they are, at least, appreciated.

My friend, you must visit the Triathlon board occasionally. Thread Drift is particularly ...fun. Peter Reid has his own recent thread, initiated and largely sustained by me! :D

[Nanci]

I would like to see a picture of the Team in each day's new outfit!

[Nanci]

http://tinyurl.com/fnf4g

This must be why I think Guy On The Right is so hot- he looks like Chris Noth!

Nanci

[annie]

Help, please! I have never tried to post a photo and don't know how to go about it! :eek: Do I feel computer-challenged right now? Yes, but not too proud to ask for help. Thanks in advance! And once I know what to do, I'll post a couple pics of my team, too.

annie

[Nanci]

Click on Reply.
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Select the pic you want to attach, then click on Upload.
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[Samantha]

Yeah, I'm excited. I had to miss Ragbrai last year, so I'm really ready. Should be alot of fun. Not too worried about the elevation. This Saturday I do the Triple Bypass Ride here in Colorado! (can't figure out how link, sorry)[URL="http://www.teamevergreen.org/HTML_MAIN_PAGES/triplebypass.html"] Should I survive Ragbrai should not be a problem.

Hope to see you guys there! I ride with'Team Checker'.

[betagirl]

Hey Samantha

I always see Team Checker on the road. And certainly in the beer gardens ;) Good luck on the triple bypass. I agree, RAGBRAI should be cake after that.

Annie - did you figure out the image upload?

[annie]

Hey Samantha

I always see Team Checker on the road. And certainly in the beer gardens ;) Good luck on the triple bypass. I agree, RAGBRAI should be cake after that.

Annie - did you figure out the image upload?

Hey, Beta,

I've got the upload figured out. Now I just have to figure out my i-photo to get the images small enough to upload! Maybe this evening...... haven't had time in the last couple days. I WILL get those photos up before RAGBRAI, I promise. ;)

I also have seen Team Checker on RAGBRAI. For many years. Beware of the checker tattoos.......... :rolleyes: :eek:

Enjoy, as much as possible, the Triple Bypass! Think how strong your lungs will be!

annie

[annie]

Samantha,

I see there's also a Team Angry and Team BV in your photo. I know a fewof the BV's ....... do you live in the northwest part of Ia?

annie

[Samantha]

Hey-
Annie - Yeah, we hang with alot of BV's and Angry's. I used to live in Ames (how I got hooked up with Checkers is a long story) before I moved to Colorado. Checkers are mostly out of western Iowa though. I always try and make it back for those Windmill/Okoboji rides!

You can always fine us in the beer garden (hydration is important) or the first bar on the right! See you guys there!

Team Checker
“We’ve become the people our parents warned us about”

[annie]

Okay, I'm trying to load the photos. If successful, this is my team. One in team attire and one not. I am the short one in both photos. If not, I'll keep trying. I am such a dork sometimes!!

annie

[Lise]

Annie! Great pictures! Love the Chester t-shirts. Are those biking shorts in a fabulous cheetah print?!?

[annie]

Annie! Great pictures! Love the Chester t-shirts. Are those biking shorts in a fabulous cheetah print?!?

They're not biking shorts, but wrap skirts over biking shorts. I found the fabric and we had a friend sew the skirts. She did a nice job. They are actually reversible/other side is black. Since the photo was taken, I've made headwraps, same fabric, for all of us, and team cheetoe necklaces. Crazy... you'd think we were little kids dressing up for Halloween! :cool: But I love it. (Halloween was always my favorite holiday.) RAGBRAI, for those who have not been there, is quite an adventure. It is definitely not only about the ride. Acting like a goofy kid is perfectly suitable.

I leave two weeks from this morning! Out my front door, with BOB in tow, to ride to meet RAGBRAI. I am so ready. I promise to take photos this year -usually I am bad that way- with my handy little digital camera and let you all in on the fun so you'll want to come to Iowa some year and join the oldest, biggest across the state ride in the nation.

annie

[Lise]

Oh, I am SO looking forward to the pictures! :D L.

[e1b2]

I moved away from Iowa 4 yrs ago, and am homesick most for my friends, but RAGBRAI is a close second! Next year for sure. Keep an eye out for Lance....he's riding 2 days, correct?

[oph4887]

There are no hill/mountains here-flatter than a pancake. I've been reading up on the message boards regarding the climbs, a little tense at this point.
But I've done just about all the training I can up to this point. One more 60 mile ride Saturday and then I'm going into taper mode.
My group is the Memphis Wheels, leaving from Memphis, going to Peoria to pick up 2 more guys and then we head to Muscatine.

I've been watching the weather forecast-last year was my first time, did I bring anything warm-of course not, nearly froze after that cold front came through and then who can forget the storm with 70 mph winds!

This is my second time, hoping for as much fun as the first.

Remember-It's just another day in paradise!

Geana

[cycling@42]

I just received my Lance Armstrong Foundation Advocacy Letter and it states that Lance is planning on participating in RAGBRAI this year. He didn't commit to what part of the ride he would be doing, but said he would be there!

[annie]

cycling42, here's a story straight from the DM Register. Lance will be there somewhere amongst all the thousands and thousands of people.

Lance Armstrong's visit set for July 26-28
JOHN CARLSON
DES MOINES REGISTER
Copyright 2006, Des Moines Register and Tribune Company

July 10, 2006


Lance Armstrong will spend three days in Iowa later this month, at least one of them riding on the Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.

The Lance Armstrong Foundation in Austin, Tex., confirmed today that the seven-time Tour de France winner will ride all or part of the route from Newton to Marengo on July 27.

That means Armstrong, generally considered to be the world’s greatest athlete prior to his retirement from competitive cycling last year, will likely ride from Newton and through the towns of Reasnor, Sully, Lynnville, Searsboro, Montezuma, Brooklyn, Victor and Ladora before finishing the day in Marengo.

He also plans to make an appearance at what probably will be the week’s biggest event — a celebration in downtown Newton the evening of July 26. RAGBRAI director T.J. Juskiewicz said as many as 30,000 people could be expected to gather at Newton’s town square that night, where Armstrong will speak.

On July 28, the 34-year-old Armstrong, a cancer survivor, is scheduled to testify at a United States Senate field hearing in Iowa City on cancer research funding. The hearing will be conducted by Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin. Armstrong’s foundation is dedicated to making the fight against cancer a national priority and to encourage increased federal funding for cancer research.

Armstrong also is scheduled to appear at an afternoon RAGBRAI event in Coralville on July 28.

Read more about Armstrong's visit to Iowa in Tuesday's Des Moines Register and on DesMoinesRegister.com.

[annie]

For those of you riding RAGBRAI - Thursday, the day that Lance will be riding, The Des Moines Register is asking everyone to wear yellow. It will be a sea of yellow, riding from Newton to Marengo. An awesome and inspiring sight!

*******************************

I didn't have anything in yellow that I like to bike in......... so, I dyed a white top yellow...... :eek: It turned out orange. So now it's soaking in a water/bleach solution, in an attempt to lighten the color. With twists and rubber bands. If it turns out, it'll be a tie-dye orange/yellow. :::::shrug::::: If not, I'll wear it anyway. It's the yellowest biking top I have.

annie

[annie]

Just want to say "bye" to all. I'm heading out the door on my bike in about an hour, BOB fully loaded. RAGBRAI, here we come.
Take care, all. I can't imagine how many posts I'll have to catch up on when I get back.;) :rolleyes: Could be well nigh impossible!

annie

[Lise]

looking forward to the ride reports!

[betagirl]

I'm heading to Davenport this evening to rendezvous with my friend who lives down state, then off to Des Moines to meet the rest of the team Saturday. It should be a long bus ride to the start town. I don't get online during the week, but will keep a journal so I have good reports to post when I get back.

Have a good week everyone.