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Old 08-04-21, 08:26 AM
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Bulette
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Four Ways to Ride RAGBRAI
There are plenty of accounts describing what RAGBRAI is, (the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) and what you might expect in the sojourn across Iowa. I want to skip ahead, and describe the various ways that people participate in the ride. There are four ways for cyclists to participate, by my count: the Register, the Charter, the Team, and the Bandit.

The Register

The Des Moines Register (as the leading sponsor of the event) offers the most basic services, but plenty enough to get you by. A “full-week” rider pass includes use of the baggage truck: drop your bags at the designated area each morning before eight (no sleeping in too late) and your duffel will show up at the next night’s camp around five or six in the evening. Your official registration also includes privileged access to the sag wagon, and will occasionally get you discounts with sponsored food and merchandise vendors along the route. Official registrations are limited, however, so register early. Applications open in mid-November for the lottery, though the results are not released until April. Even if you miss the lottery however, rider-registrations are transferable and often appear for private sale from May right on through July (sometimes even at discount rates).

The Charter
The Charter is a more recent strategy, though it has become incredibly popular. Outfitter organizations, such as the renowned Pork Belly Ventures sell a litany of services to rider-participants; the services come in at various price points and offer a range of amenities. The charter organizations are vetted by the Des Moines Register, and will only accept riders who provide an official rider registration (though some charters still encourage application and payment for their services beforehand). Once you have your official rider-registration, the charters can handle shuttle services from one side of the state to the other, for you and your bike. Beyond the shuttle, charters may offer tent rentals (and even tent-setup for you each night), nightly shower tents and towel services, water and gatorade on-camp-site, and sometimes even a dinner meal or two or seven throughout the week. There is even a ‘mobile bunkhouse’ service, too. Rates, of course, are commensurate with services.

The Team
A more traditional approach is the Team. This includes anything from hundred-member cycling clubs to families of four. Each team provides their own varying levels of service, though generally a team includes a support vehicle -- anything from a small RV with a bike rack on up to a full-length retrofitted school bus. Teams are allotted their own registrations aside from the lottery, so registering with a team takes some of the headwork out of the official lottery. Though some teams come prepared with their own week-long support staff (volunteers and family members to drive the vehicle and set camp), smaller teams may have you taking a turn driving the baggage-wagon. The team approach might afford some unique experiences as well -- many teams have close friends along the route, offering a more private backyard camp away from the main-camps (with an indoor, hot shower if you’re lucky).

The Bandit
There is always a contingent of so-called bandits (the word is used derogatorily by some, but embraced by others). Foregoing the baggage trucks, the sag-wagons, and often-times the official registration itself, a bandit truly “rides their own ride”. If you can carry your own gear (a la touring bike style) you can follow along with the crowd almost anywhere -- after all, the roads are always open to the public during RAGBRAI. There is no sag wagon, and no charter service will sell you a shuttle pass for before or after the weeklong ride. That does not mean you’re alone, though; you’re never alone on RAGBRAI. Besides, compared to actual ‘cross-country touring’, riding across Iowa in the last week of July means there will be a pop-up bike shop at every morning and night stop (and some en-route too) and the same number of small towns and smiling faces. Perhaps the best part of being self-contained is the flexibility. You can camp all alone in the far corners of the park, or you might just get an invite from a small team to join them for the night. In any case -- while some might disparage the bandits as ‘freeloaders’, -- the self-supported rider hearkens back to the first days of RAGBRAI, before there were shower-trucks and bunkhouses.

Conclusion

There is no wrong way to ride RAGBRAI. Without the variety of riders and rider-styles, the event would not be the spectacle that it is. From the hardened cross-country tourist, to the pro-team riders on a ‘rest week’, to the newer, older, and youngling riders who need a hand pitching their tent, RAGBRAI is for everyone.
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