RAGBRAI LII, Day 1
Sun, July 20, 2025 (73.33 miles, 1185 feet of elevation gain)
Day 1 was tough — maybe my toughest day of RAGBRAI ever. It was only an average length, at 73 miles. But the wind was fairly strong and consistently out of the east as we headed east, which is very unusual for Iowa in July.
But more importantly, I am not yet recovered from my sickness Tuesday. I thought for sure that five days would be plenty of time, but I still had no appetite, and my stomach was still churning.
I had the confidence to start out riding because of the RAGBRAI sag wagon, and because my friends Lyle & Christie Stoll were following the route in their car to support their son Andy, and they said they could pick me up at any point along the route. So I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try.
I ended up doing the full 73 miles under my own power, but it took me almost TWELVE HOURS! I ended up lying flat on my back every 5-10 miles, whenever I could find a flat spot of grass and some shade.
I still enjoyed many aspects of RAGBRAI, despite the condition of my body. But when I finally made it to the Pork Belly campsite just in time for dinner and a shower after setting my tent, I was ready to collapse into my sleeping bag before dark. Hopefully I’ll feel a little better tomorrow, and it’s.a relief knowing that Day 2 will be much shorter.
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TRANSLATIONS/BACKGROUND: “RAGBRAI” = Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa, the world’s oldest, longest, and largest recreational bike ride. Started in 1973, it now averages about 20,000 riders per year who bike from the Missouri River on the west coast of Iowa to the Mississippi River on the east coast, usually 420-500 miles, over seven days.
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LINKS:
Old-fashioned BLOG if you have friends who don’t use Facebook:
“Old Scouter” Facebook page if you want to follow big adventures with more pictures and video clips (but not unrelated personal posts):
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066334039590
“Old Scouter” YouTube page (when I get time to edit after the trip):