# RAGBRAI recon



## cydswipe (Mar 7, 2002)

I took a few shots with my phone on my training route this morning. Just a little taste of later this month for RAGBRAI participants.


----------



## Jeff in Texas (Mar 17, 2006)

What?! Hills in Iowa? No way!


----------



## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Looks corny!


----------



## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

Hell yah. Rural Iowa is the best riding. 

Are those of the actual route?


----------



## Cyclist69 (Apr 15, 2011)

Some long and lonely miles.


----------



## cydswipe (Mar 7, 2002)

No. I mean yes. I mean how could you tell the difference?


----------



## Hollywood (Jan 16, 2003)

cydswipe said:


> I took a few shots with my phone on my training route this morning. Just a little taste of later this month for RAGBRAI participants.


Rollers!


----------



## Henry Porter (Jul 25, 2006)

I miss Iowa.


----------



## Cyclist69 (Apr 15, 2011)

Been there, done that. Not per say Iowa, as Illinois has plenty of roads like those and sometimes i love being alone. You know that feeling deep down inside when you realize...there's not a single soul for miles. 

Sometimes, i love that. Not always, just sometimes.


----------



## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

Thanks for the preview. After six weeks off of the bike,I began my RAGBRAI training this weekend. Today I did a 60 mile ride. Although it is hard to find straight, relatively flat roads around where I live, I think that I approximated roads like the ones in your pictures. My still-healing cracked ribs do not like steep climbs yet, but rollers will be OK. I also got in some heat training today -- it was 93F by the end of my ride. Based of the elevation gains posted on the RAGBRAI site, it looks like most of the climbing will be on the first two days. Which day's route is covered by your pics?


----------



## cydswipe (Mar 7, 2002)

These are pics from my training. I am in eastern Iowa. The hills in the western Loess region of the state are like these, just one after another. The complete printable route maps should be out on Wed. on the Ragbrai site.


----------



## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

cydswipe said:


> These are pics from my training. I am in eastern Iowa. The hills in the western Loess region of the state are like these, just one after another. The complete printable route maps should be out on Wed. on the Ragbrai site.


Thanks. I will check out the website on Wednesday.


----------



## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

Jeff in Texas said:


> What?! Hills in Iowa? No way!



I don't see any hills in those pictures..........


----------



## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

Touch0Gray said:


> I don't see any hills in those pictures..........


I had the same reaction. Although there does appear to be a small rise in elevation in the last photo. I guess is all is relative. I still chuckle over the organized century I did in Florida years ago where they had a professional photographer at the top of "Sugarloaf *Mountain*" to take pics of riders bravely approaching the summit. Sugarloaf Mountain, the highest peak in the Florida Alps, is 312 feet above sea level.


----------



## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

you see stage 3 of the TDF?......heheheheh a cat 4 climb was the BRIDGE! windy as hell....but .......


----------



## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

being FROM Pa.....I know the hills of Md......the mountains are worn DOWN, not worn OUT


----------



## saf-t (Sep 24, 2008)

Ah, I really wish I could be there. 

Maybe next year.....


----------



## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

yeah...you got some other stuff going on pretty soon here!


----------



## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

MarkS said:


> Thanks. I will check out the website on Wednesday.


I just checked out the route maps and elevation profiles on the RAGBRAI website. It definitely looks like there are lots of rolling hills during the first two days, but no hill looks like it has more than 200 feet of elevation gain. The thing that struck me most about the route is all of the straight lines on it. Where I live, no road is straight. I understand the historical reason for the difference (i.e., the territories that were created by Congress from Ohio to the west were plotted with a grid and roads typically run on the grid lines). But, it still seems strange to see so many straight lines.


----------



## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

MarkS said:


> I just checked out the route maps and elevation profiles on the RAGBRAI website. It definitely looks like there are lots of rolling hills during the first two days, but no hill looks like it has more than 200 feet of elevation gain. The thing that struck me most about the route is all of the straight lines on it. Where I live, no road is straight. I understand the historical reason for the difference (i.e., the territories that were created by Congress from Ohio to the west were plotted with a grid and roads typically run on the grid lines). But, it still seems strange to see so many straight lines.


Yah, People go like hell on the first day and are dead on the second. By tuesday the grouds are thinner. All the bandits are gone and the people who burnt out are in the car to show back up wednesday or thursday.

Everyone,
dont gorget your rain gear. At least a jacket and wool socks. You never know.


----------



## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

tihsepa said:


> Yah, People go like hell on the first day and are dead on the second. By tuesday the grouds are thinner. All the bandits are gone and the people who burnt out are in the car to show back up wednesday or thursday.
> 
> Everyone,
> dont gorget your rain gear. At least a jacket and wool socks. You never know.


one thing most of us older [email protected] learned many moons ago, was to pace ourselves! If I'm riding 20 I ride like I only have 20.....a century...the same......500......same theory!

"Ride like there IS a tomorrow....LOL


----------



## Gcrosshairs (May 3, 2011)

Hopefully the heat won't be bad. No hiding in them thar (rolling) hills.


----------



## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

Touch0Gray said:


> one thing most of us older [email protected] learned many moons ago, was to pace ourselves! If I'm riding 20 I ride like I only have 20.....a century...the same......500......same theory!
> 
> "Ride like there IS a tomorrow....LOL


Yah, you are right. Its really funny seeing the guys on TT bikes blowing past every little town on the route. I dont get it. There is so much cool stuff to see. 

We stoped one year to buy lemonade from two little girls sitting under a tree. Turned out their father collected Studebakers. Not one but acres of them parked all over the back yard. You couldent even tell from the road. We got to see them all. 

The tractors on display are great also. Its a blast, dont pass anything.


----------



## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

Gcrosshairs said:


> Hopefully the heat won't be bad. No hiding in them thar (rolling) hills.


The 4 H's of RAGBRAI.

Heat
Headwinds
Hills
Humidity

I can take any of them just not several all at once.


----------



## cydswipe (Mar 7, 2002)

The thing isn't the length or steepness of the hills, it's the ammount of people on them. RAGBRAI gets every type of cyclist at every level of experience. it's what makes the ride so awesome, and what makes those rollers tough to navigate. It's alittle early to start looking for weather for the week. I did start my packing list. I am really started to get ramped up!!


----------



## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

i still hope to ride the last day with yall.


----------



## killarbb (Apr 10, 2011)

what i rode of it was great. day 2 and 3 and a little of day 4. i am already to start training and get ready for next year.


----------

