|
|
Post by gpickle on Aug 15, 2006 8:37:46 GMT -5
Hello again, friends. I am sure most of you reading this are familiar with a small ride that is held semi-annually here in Iowa known simply as RAGBRAI but for those of you who are not I will expound. RAGBRAI was born out of a NE Iowa farmer's desire to get to SW Iowa to check out what sort of lawn tractors were in common use in that region. Why he wanted this information remains a mystery to this day but some speculate that he was motivated by the David Lynch movie that depicted (in graphic detail) a grown man riding a lawn tractor to look at a bike that had been offered for sale in a neigboring state by his brother. Confused? Good. The point of all of this is that after this year's RAGBRAI I met a man here in Iowa City who is on a round the country bike tour. He left Laguna Beach, CA some time ago and rode up the coast and across the northern states, then rode down to experience RAGBRAI. He spent a couple of weeks here in Iowa City and I had the pleasure of drinking beer that he gave me. If you have the time and want to learn more about his trip he is documenting it at: www.pseudomonk.comgpickle |
|
|
|
Post by grittystash on Aug 18, 2006 14:42:15 GMT -5
Thanks Gpickle for the confusion and providing me with some good blog reading.
Mr. pseudomonk nails ragbrai with this:
"By the end of the day I’d concluded that riding RAGBRAI isn’t bike touring Iowa; it’s riding RAGBRAI. You don’t see Iowa nearly so much as you see RAGBRAI: a world and happening unto itself; a sea of bright lycra and capable and inept pace-lines (more the latter than the former in my judgmental opinion), and celebratory gatherings and vacation group infighting and on and on and on on and on. The sleepy small towns become insomniac and greet you with fervid welcome, handing out freebies and religious pamphlets and directing you to their various offerings and happenings.
While this is not the pure praise given to RAGBRAI by some, I won’t much fault the event. It is what it is. And you’ve got to figure one person sees only a very small portion of it. I mean, it’s 10 or 20 thousand participant event and our perceptions, confined as they are to our itty-bitty brains, can only handle so much. And what we do take in is bullied about by our biases- unless, of course, you’re objective like God. Yes, RAGBRAI’s hardly a contemplative occurrence but riders drivers and townsfolk are most often quite happy and very friendly and there’s something in the way of community about it. "
I'd drink his beer.
|
|
|
|
Post by the weiner posse on Aug 19, 2006 9:23:52 GMT -5
yep...that monk has a good angle on the ®agby...
that's why it's nice to go off route every once in a while and appreciate iowa for being iowa...
|
|
|
|
Post by david on Aug 19, 2006 23:52:53 GMT -5
Funny. great post and all I can remark is this:
Radiohead is awesome.
Went over a curb evading a crazy driver who pulled out in front of me at night. Yes, headlight and proper roadway position. Teaches me to expect such things more. Drivers just aren't always used to looking for bicyclists (in general, let alone at night) -- narrow, lacking broad reflective surfaces, but still fast. I stayed upright during the maneuver but put a flat spot in my rear rim. No pinch flat, amazingly enough. Thanks to 120 psi for that. I'll have to devise a rim jack with a cee-clamp and wood blocking and round it back out if possible.
|
|
|
|
Post by grittystash on Aug 25, 2006 9:01:10 GMT -5
Bikes- the conversation starter. It was pretty cool to hang out with the boys riding cross country on fixed gear Surlys at the end of Ragbrai. I hooked them up with housing for a couple days and very glad to have helped them and their cause out- adventuresforthecure.com/index.htm Last night while climbing off the Cross-Check in N. Liberty, I was approached by a guy who used the easy conversation starter of bikes. He and his wife are traveling cross- country on Long Haul Truckers. Nice guy who had some not-so-kind words to say about the hills in Iowa  |
|
|
|
Post by gpickle on Dec 9, 2006 18:29:26 GMT -5
Don't forget to keep up with the always exciting adventures of www.pseudomonk.com who is STILL not done with his tour that began long before, and included, RAGBRAI! He keeps on rolling and has had to deal with all manner of great and not so great situations. Memorable reading, always. What will he do when he is done? Maybe something like this? www.alastairhumphreys.com/I would like to go for a tour soon.... gpickle |
|
|
|
Post by grittystash on Dec 12, 2006 15:16:32 GMT -5
I would like to go for a tour soon.... gpickle You can say that again. Speaking of tours. I was reading about a guy (Metal Cowboy?) who rode across this great country of ours pulling his two boys. One on a tag-a-long and the other lounging in a trailer. Total weight- 250lbs. Can't decide which is crazier, pulling that much weight or riding with two kids under the age of 10 for 6-10 hours a day? Did get the old brain thinking about a trip... Maybe I'll drag all three bambitos for a trip somewhere this summe and see for myself??? |
|
