RAGBRAI

      If you live in Iowa or are a road cyclist who gets around the country, odds are you have heard this saying before.  For those of you who do not fit into the above criteria, prepare to learn.  RAGBRAI in not only a name, but an acronym.  It stands for the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.  It is exactly what the mane says it is.  It is an annual event in which cyclists begin on one side of Iowa, and they ride their bicycles across the entire state in 1 week.  However, this event is a little different.  Instead of the goal being to be the fastest rider across the state, the goal is to have the most fun while riding across the state.  There is also no set annual course across the state.  Every year, the route is changed drastically to variate the towns that host the riders passing through them.

      The purpose for this ride is to celebrate the sport of cycling and to give people to experience something totally unique to the state of Iowa.  Many people buy and retrofit old buses to carry their extra bikes and all the other necessary things to have a good time.  For everybody, that means lots of good food and for those of the age of 21 or older, it means lots of alcohol.  Of course those under 21 can enjoy a nice cold root beer as well alongside their older peers.  Duh.  I know many people who have ridden RAGBRAI and have actually gained weight from all of the food despite the fact that they pedaled their way across the whole state.  If you have ever seen Iowa on a map you know it isn't a small state.

     The entire state takes on a different mood when RAGBRAI week comes along, many people take off work to ride, and many others begin to work the hardest they have all year for this week.  People from all over the world come to experience it and I can assure you that there is nothing that compares to it anywhere.  For example, the Tour de' France is a large and globally known bike race, but the atmosphere for the riders is totally different.  There is no room for error, and lets face it, they are all in much better shape than to be drinking away the day's ride every day.  When you are at RAGBRAI and you aren't at least out partying (you don't have to drink necessarily) then you are not in the right mindset to experience RAGBRAI.