Bike Iowa with Mike, Bob and Chris at RAGBRAI 2018

Post #1 -Introduction tro RAGBRAI 2015

I first found out about RAGBRAIin 2011 when I was cycling across America with a small group of 35 other cyclists with a cross country group call America By Bicycle (ABB) . During the course of this ride, a number of my fellow cyclists said, if you like cycling, you've got to do RAGBRAI ride in IOWA. First I'd ever hear of it. A year later, I met a retired Air Force Colonel named Al Mink. At the time, Al was a senior executive for the the SRA corporation and well known in our industry and cycling circles. When Al found out I was a cyclist and also a retired Air Force Officer, he suggested I apply for membership on the Air Force Cycling Team and join the team in their annual ride across Iowa in a popular cycling event known as RAGRBAI.

So what is RAGBRAI? Al said that RAGBRAI was one of the biggest bicycling events in America, drawing some 20,000 cyclists from Iowa and all over America every summer in the last week of July. It is a 7 day tour across Iowa beginning on a Sunday and ending on the following Saturday. The ride starts on the Missouri River and ends on the Mississippi, traversing the entire state of Iowa in seven days. Each year, the organizers change the start city, the end city and entire route, so that cyclists see a new part of Iowa every year.. The organizers announce the next year's route the end of January. Many people show up in Des Moines to join in the excitement of the route announcement and to begin to make their plans for the next summer's RAGBRAI.

Who Attends RAGBRAI. Al said this this coming RAGBRA year (2014) was the 42nd consecutive year. The ride now has more than 20,000 cyclists. Because it is such a large event involving people from all over the country, RAGBRAI has become a big recruiting event for the United States Air Force. They have formed the Air Force Cycling Team and committed team members to ride each year as goodwill ambassadors for the Air Force and to recruit young men and women to consider an Air Force Career. As a retired Air Force Officer, I like this idea and I asked Al to help me sign up for the coming year's ride. So I put in an application, because I was a retired office and a cyclist, I was accepted and began to make plans to ride as an official member of the Air Force Team.

So I then learned a little about RAGBRAI's history. RAGBRAI stands for "Registers Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa". The idea began as a challenge between the Des Moines Register feature writer/copy editor John Karras, an avid bicyclist, and Don Kaul, author of The Des Moines Register’s “Over The Coffee” column. Karras suggested to Kaul that he ride his bicycle across Iowa and write columns about what he saw from that perspective. Kaul, also an accomplished rider, liked the idea but issued the challenge that he would ride across Iowa if Karras rode with him. Karras agreed. Kaul and Karras then invited ‘a few friends’ (the public) to ride along. The route was laid out on maps and readers were told that the ride would start in Sioux City on August 26 and end on August 31 in Davenport. Overnight stops were scheduled in Storm Lake, Fort Dodge, Ames, Des Moines and Williamsburg. By actual count, 114 riders made the entire distance that first year. The next year, the Second Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa “SAGBRAI” was scheduled for August 4-10, 1974. Thereafter, the ride became immensely popular among Iowans and nationwide. Participation has now swelled to over 25,000 people who register for all or part of the seven day ride.

So this is how I found out about RAGBRAI. The following are some pix of my first ride with the Air Force Cycling Team.

Here I am as a new member of the Air Force Cycling Team beginning our first day's ride in the 2014 RAGBRAI event. The U- Haul trailers in the background (3 of them) are how the AF Team carries the baggage, tents, and supplies from town to town during the week long ride.

Here we are at the official start of RAGBRAI 2014, with the AFCT in formation

The Air Force Cycling Team leads the way with over 135 cyclists. As the oldest member of the team, I got the honor position at the head the AF Peloton. Yes, it was indeed an honor to help lead the AF Team at the start.

Here I am with John Karras, one of the RAGBRAI founders, now well into his 80's comes out to welcome cyclists who participate in the ride.

Air Force Cycling Team Tent City

The first step in RAGBRAI is learning how to camp, There are only a few hotels at RAGBRAI and a few more RV's, but camping is the way most people do RAGBRAI. This is the Air Force Cycling Team Campsite.

You also have to learn to deal with crowds. If the traffic gets really heavy, plan to walk your bike, especially in a pass thru town. Look how far back this traffic jam goes.

The young Air Force guys like to have fun. After a long day's ride, they trotted out the inner tubes for a float down the local creek. Fortunately all of them survived and none were declared AWOL.

Breakfast at HyVee's a favorite stop in RAGBRAI

The Air Force guys (and ladies) also enjoy their food. Here is a group of them at HyVee, which is a large chain of stores across Iowa and a favorite food stop for visiting RAGBRAI cyclists.

Al Mink fixing a flat at RAGBRAI

As goodwill ambassadors, the Air Force cyclists have a mission to help RAGBRAI cyclists with flat tires, bike repairs and cycling safety. During the week, the 135 Air Force cyclists fixed a lot of flats and received kudos from many appreciative cyclists.Here is retired Colonel Al Mink fixing a flat. The Air Force support mission is accomplished by all AF Team Cyclists, regardless of rank.