RAGBRAI Part 1

A week ago I completed the most challenging physical endeavor I’ve ever undertaken. I rode a bicycle across Iowa as one of the 10,000+ riders on RAGBRAI. All in all the experience was amazing. Beyond experiencing new levels of physical exhaustion under the blistering hot Iowa sun I experienced the hospitality of rural Iowa and renewed my faith in the goodness of mankind.
The adventure really started last winter when friends, the founding members of Team Fist Pump, filled my head with stories of how awesome RAGBRAI 2010 was. Early Spring I decided to join, and then decided to buy a bike. When I got home with the bike a ride around my block was physically exhausting.  I was daunted by the possibility of biking 454 miles over 7 days across Iowa.

Slowly I worked my way up to longer rides. I remember being proud after my first 5 mile ride. I remember feeling sore after riding to Zoey’s Pizza and back, a whopping 5.5 miles.  Weeks later I rode from the north side of Cedar Rapids down to Quaker and back – 11 miles. I wore headphones to take my mind off the feeling of death in my legs and lungs.

Shortly after doing the 11 mile ride biking changed for me. Rides transitioned over an hour long. They became less physical and more therapeutic. I ditched the headphones to let myself think. The time to myself was amazing. I’ve known for quite some time that I don’t take enough me time to de-stress.

Rides lengthened. Thirty miles became doable. I’d explore surrounding towns like Robins and Alburnett. I could ride from my house to downtown CR or even south of CR to Ely. I’m about the least athletic person I know.  Fifty miles became doable. These rides left me pretty proud of myself.

Even with my training I was pretty freaked out when RAGBRAI week arrived. I knew going into it that my leisurely trail rides weren’t going to be adequate training. Somewhere in RAGBRAI paperwork it was suggested that riders get in 1,000 miles of training. I ended up with only 370. The first two days of RAGBRAI each had over 4,000 feet of climb. Eeek!