This was typed a few days ago, but my internet has had some issues.
Yo.
Well, I survived the entire trip (even, Ragbrai).
The thing that lots of people don't know is that Ragbrai is a lot like a
traveling city, complete with shops, eateries, and a carnival. The whole
design is that riders pay so that they can travel from one side of the state to
the other via their bike, with nearly every possible accommodation provided to
them throughout the course of the day. What a lot of people may not know
is that Ragbrai is broken down into three (stereotypical and general)
categories, racers, pacers, and baggers.
Racers are the riders that tend to leave very early
in the morning, have high class gear (racing bikes and equipment), tend to blow
through towns, and try to arrive at the end town as quickly as possible. Racers
enjoy the first batch of all the food vendors, the cleanest facilities, the
first showers, and prime camping spots. They like to use Ragbrai as a
test of fitness, or a weeklong workout on cleared out roads.
Pacers are the riders that leave early to
mid-morning, have nice gear, are generally family based riders, stop
frequently, enjoy the second round of food, good facilities, showers, and
camping spots. Pacers are usually groups or teams that enjoy a little
more of the social side of the ride then pacers, but still enjoy riding more than
the other parts.
Finally, the baggers. These riders tend to
leave late morning to early afternoon, have a variety of bikes (from really
pricey to unique to junky), stop often (shade trees, free beer stands, water
slides, and anything free or interesting), get the last of the food, clean
facilities, showers, and camping spots. They are called baggers because
they usually carry their supplies and/or beers with them throughout the trip.
They can ride totally self-contained or partially. Partial baggers
not only carry gear and beer with them, they often belong to a team that has a
support vehicle that is there to find their campsites, and support them.
These teams enjoy long days of socializing, and are typically the last
ones into the end town.
There is no group better than another and it is up
to you to determine the group you fall into. All of these groups are
there for the same reason, the enjoyment of riding and sharing that enjoyment
with others. When Ragbrai week comes around people truly reveal a lot of
who they are without any shame or judgment. Crazy hair, facial hair,
jerseys, costumes, painted nails, wigs, and an assortment of accessories color
the landscape of the road, towns, and pubs. People wear anything from
kilts to jumpsuits to tutus to skirts and everything in between. Bodies and
bikes are covered with temporary tattoos, markered sayings, and whatever else
people would like to decorate themselves with. It really is fun and
interesting all at the same time. Ragbrai is people from all walks of
like, relaxing and enjoying themselves without the burden of the typical daily
grind.
Tomorrow I'll deliver a breakdown of the latter
part of the trip and some final insight from Ian before he shoves off to return
to TX tomorrow.
Until tomorrow,
KRS
