Thanks for the heads up. Yeah, I'd heard that before about the lonely stretches. I've been talking to a woman who's done it for the last dozen years and she does tell of lonely times and sometimes lots of miles without services, but I'm OK with that. Big rides like RAGBRAI are scary to me because in large groups, people ride stupidly. It's why I refuse to do HHH- just too many people. I'm a triathlete by sport, so riding alone is sort of comforting to me. They have a baggage truck, but I think I'm going to do it self-contained. I'll lug all my gear around with me and enjoy the rest stops when they come every 20-30 miles or so. My Camelbak and panniers will hold all the snacks and water I'll need. I'll just think of the few rest stops as a welcome opportunity to see other humans. Otherwise, it'll be lots of alone time with my brain.

Again, thanks for info, tho, Karen. It's always nice to hear from people who've done it before. I appreciate you posting!