Newbie

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Permalink Reply by Kathy Schubert 'n Suzy Schnauzer on October 4, 2010 at 4:18pm

I have used Out of Staters Bicycle Club many time with success. It's not a team. But they do carry your luggage, set up a beverage tent and chairs, often find a smaller campground. There's the camaraderie of finding the same folks at the end of the day in the beverage tent but during the day I ride alone, talking to anybody who is willing to slow down to admire my dog on the back of my bike. And I'd like to think if I never came in to claim my baggage at night, somebody would be concerned about me.
www.oosbicycleclub.com/rideinfo.htm is out of staters They don't have anything up about 2011 yet. Neither does ragbrai.com

Permalink Reply by Mark Newald on October 5, 2010 at 7:32am

Thank you very much. I know probaly shouldn't be so excited about this yet, but it really looks like fun. This is the kind of info I need. And hopefully I will see you Kathy, say hi, and admire your dog!

Permalink Reply by RyanG on October 14, 2010 at 9:37am

Teams are usually local bike clubs or just crazy groups of friends. I didn't belong to any clubs and don't have enough crazy friends so I did my first RAGBRAI last year with my GF. We used a charter to get to the start town, parking our car at the finish town for the week.

If you use the baggage service, the biggest and hardest lesson we learned was to always secure the location of the baggage trucks before setting up camp. The first day we walked over a half mile with two 40 lb bags. After that we were as close as possible.

The packing list/techniques on their site helped a lot.

Permalink Reply by Mark Newald on October 14, 2010 at 10:19am

Thanks Ryan. I have found a company called Pork Belly Ventures. They will transport you, provide tents with setup, meals, and other extra's. Of course this service is more costing. I will have to weigh if these extra's are worth the cost.
How did your GF do? Is she an experienced rider? I have talked my wife into going, and while she does ride some, she is going to have to pick up her training. Thanks for the info.

Permalink Reply by RyanG on October 16, 2010 at 10:18am

She was a daily commuter the year before (skipping winter) and got her first road bike in April this year. She followed a good training schedule and did well on the ride. Their website has the training schedule.

Something to look out for is separation. Unless you're on a tandem it's bound to happen. I lost her for a few hours one day, so this year I'm getting some FRMS radios.

Permalink Reply by Craig S. on October 16, 2010 at 11:19am

There are a ton of charter groups on the RAGBRAI website and there is a section in the forums for finding teams and such as well. The best way to find a team is to get on the thing and ride and meet people. http://ragbrai.com/index.php/about/charter-services/

I used to take Pork Belly from the end in Iowa back to Omaha where my parents live. It wasn't a good experience, however, I do know of other people who've had great experiences with Pork Belly so don't let my experience sway your opinion.

Obviously, dang near anyone can complete the week as all you have to do all day long is ride your bike, however, the more fit a person is, the more fun RAGBRAI is. Iowa is not flat, especially the northeast and the southern half of the state. Use our Chicago headwinds accordingly.

279 days until Bad Monkey rolls again.



Mark Newald said:

Thanks Ryan. I have found a company called Pork Belly Ventures. They will transport you, provide tents with setup, meals, and other extra's. Of course this service is more costing. I will have to weigh if these extra's are worth the cost.
How did your GF do? Is she an experienced rider? I have talked my wife into going, and while she does ride some, she is going to have to pick up her training. Thanks for the info.

Permalink Reply by Mark Newald on October 18, 2010 at 7:13am

Thanks guys. I plan on carrying our cell phone just in case of separation. One of the reasons I liked Pork Venture was that he told me if we did not get chosen to ride, he could help find us tickets. That and providing tents seemed nice.
My next questions is how early do you sign up? It seems it opens November 15. Is it best to get signed up right away, or wait until they accounce the route? It really doesn't matter to me too much on the route, I want to go anyway.

Permalink Reply by Mark Newald on October 18, 2010 at 9:06am

Thanks Cameron. I guess I will check on the FRMS radio's too.

Permalink Reply by Craig S. on October 18, 2010 at 9:41am

Every time I see and hear those radios, it makes me laugh. I've heard waaaay too many, "I'm over here, where are you?" conversations throughout the years. When those little Motorola Talk-Abouts were new and popular, they were like locusts, infesting the ride.

I like getting lost on Ragbrai and if I'm separated from the groups I typically ride with, I know I'll see them at the end of the day if I don't hook up at some point during the day. This was the first year I carried my cell and I don't think I'll do it again.

278 days.



Mark Newald said:

Thanks Cameron. I guess I will check on the FRMS radio's too.

Permalink Reply by Kelly on October 27, 2010 at 2:42pm

Hey Mark!

I have always been able to find fellow chainlinkers to form a team. Every year you do it, the more you learn and better prepare. We may have room on our team next year. Touch base early april and we can talk if you are interested.

-kelly

Permalink Reply by Mark Newald on October 27, 2010 at 3:18pm

Thank you Kelly! I am planning on going, so I will contact you. I hope to be back in Chicago at the latest May to do Bike The Drive. Thanks for the info.

Permalink Reply by Mark Newald on November 12, 2010 at 9:50am

Monday is the first day you can fill out RAGBRAI application. Does anyone jump right on it, or do you wait until after the route has been posted? I saw some blogs guessing 2011 was going to be a long ride.....

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