Ragbrai - ho!

[Crankin]

Wow, I never would have thought of chicken poop. While I definitely know the connection between that and illness (that must have been awful, Emily), I am so not a germaphobe. I went through a phase where I tried to use hand sanitizer a lot (around the time of the bad flu, in 2009-10), I eventually stopped, after reading a lot of articles saying it does more harm than good, especially for kids.
I do ride in farm country, but I suspect not the large chicken farms you experienced in VA. So, I keep digging my hands in dirt and touching things, using soap and water when I can.

[ny biker]

I do ride through farm land a lot, without really being concerned. It's when it rains that I tend to worry. And the Covered Bridges ride is miles and miles of poop-dodging. (To be fair, I know a lot of people who really love that ride and do it every year. In fact some go up a day early so they can get in some extra miles. It just wasn't my thing. I went up a day early, too, but it was to visit the the railroad museum and take a behind-the-scenes tour at the Strasburg Railroad.)

Getting back to RAGBRAI -- is it a different route every year, like Bike Virginia?

[emily_in_nc]

Getting back to RAGBRAI -- is it a different route every year, like Bike Virginia?

Yes it is. Even though I've never done it, I have read that the route changes.

Crankin, we only use the hand sanitizer that is alcohol only -- not the anti-bacterial stuff. I know that is not good. We also don't use anti-bac soap, dishwashing liquid, etc. We use regular soap, but since we're always trying to conserve water in our RV, the sanitizer comes in handy (and when we can't wash hands, like on a bike ride etc.)

I've done plenty of rides in farm country but almost never ride when rain is in the forecast, so this has never been an issue before. It really was awful and something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. One of the guys in our bike club got even sicker than I and had to be hospitalized for awhile.

[judithlsm]

I do ride through farm land a lot, without really being concerned. It's when it rains that I tend to worry. And the Covered Bridges ride is miles and miles of poop-dodging. (To be fair, I know a lot of people who really love that ride and do it every year. In fact some go up a day early so they can get in some extra miles. It just wasn't my thing. I went up a day early, too, but it was to visit the the railroad museum and take a behind-the-scenes tour at the Strasburg Railroad.)

Getting back to RAGBRAI -- is it a different route every year, like Bike Virginia?

The RAGBRAI route is different every year. They have a huge announcement party in January. It may be a north route or thru the middle or southern as we did this year. There are repeats of start towns and end towns but there are not many towns on the rivers. They really to do vary the overnights also. Some towns are just too small to handle it. Repeats may happen about every 10 years or so but never has there been a complete repeat of the entire route.
BTW I am feeling better and have biked twice (short rides) since we got home.