RAGBRAI LII, Day 7
Sat, July 26, 2025, Olwein to Guttenburg, Iowa (64 miles, 2028 ft. climb)
Today is our LAST DAY of RAGBRAI LII. This would be a relatively challenging day — usually the last day is shorter than 63 miles, because everyone has to get to the end town, dip their tires in the Mississippi, then find their gear before packing up and driving home. To top it off, this was by far the hilliest day of this year’s RAGBRAI.
To get a head start on the hills, I was biking out of Oelwein by 4:55 am — a new record! I was surprised how many bikers were already on the road at that hour. I was even MORE shocked at how many people are on their bikes in pitch black with no headlight and no tail light! I was glad for my super bright headlight that lit the way for all those around me. There was supposed to be slight headwinds for the first half of the day, but we were slicing through thick fog with almost no wind.
The first four towns today were only 6-7 miles apart. I was disappointed to see my beloved HOQ breakfast wraps in the very first town, Stanley. The town was plenty busy even at 5:30 a.m., but I wanted to get more miles before taking a long break.
The second town, Aurora, was another 6 miles, but had no food that interested me. I thought maybe I’d use the bathroom there, but I was surprised that the second town had bathroom lines at 6:00 a.m.! Only on Day 7 would you see this. So I went on to the third town, Lamont. I used the outhouse there and decided that was enough of a break, so I rode on another 6 miles to Dundee.
Dundee had a local group offering Chipotle-style burritos, so I bought one of those and high-tailed it to a park pavilion to eat, since it started drizzling. I was going to wait for it to stop, but it looked like it might be a while, so after eating I resumed biking in the light rain.
By 8:15 am, at Mile 31, I was half done with the day! That’s a good sign that I’d make it to the tire dip and shower in plenty of time. But it started raining harder. Ironically, I had been carrying a little packable jacket in my handlebar bag all week, but took it out last night because there wasn’t much chance of rain.
But the rain kept increasing in intensity, until I was completely soaking wet. It’s not as bad to be wet when it’s in the high 60s as it is in the 40s or 50s, but it can still cool you down quite a bit.
When I got to Edgewood, the official meeting town at mile 38, I was tempted to buy a strawberry rhubarb pie and sit at the nice picnic tables they had set up on main street. But being wet and cold, I didn’t think it would be a good idea to sit for too long. I had to keep moving to stay warm.
I had 24 miles to go to the end town, with the hardest climbs of the week ahead of me. I planned to take a nice break in the last pass-through town of the day, Garber. The only problem is, I never found Garber! In retrospect, I think it was a dip in the road with a slushie stand. But when I started climbing the last monster hill, I realized that I had already passed it.
Fortunately, there were people passing out free Gospel magnets at the top of a hill, and offering free water and bathroom. So that was the break I needed, and an excuse to get some great drone shots of beautiful Amish countryside.
Several farms and churches along the way were lined with Amish or Mennonite folks of all ages, watching the most exciting parade ever. I stopped at one of their farmside bake sales and had I think the best homemade donut I’ve ever eaten. One more stop for a root beer float at “My Grandkids Ice Cream,” and I was ready for the biggest downhill ride of the week.
The last big hill into Guttenburg was steep and scary. I had to brake a bit to slow down for some people ahead of me, but I still hit 35 mph. I heard others say they hit 60! The downhill rush was abruptly checked by rumble strips and a dead stop at a highway at the bottom of the hill. From there, we weaved through streets with people cheering us for finishing RAGBRAI.
We timed it just right — as we were waiting in line for the tire dip, the entire Air Force Cycling Team rode by slowly, two by two, as the song “Proud to Be an American” blasted from the concert stage. It was a cool moment with everyone cheering. The AFCT are heroes because they are constantly helping people with mechanical troubles, and they also help with traffic control at accident sites.
Fortunately, the line for the tire dip was not too long at 11:30 a.m. Christopher Thielen borrowed my phone to get his shot of the tire dip, since his was out of energy and wouldn’t charge due to the moisture. After the dip, we had one last half-cup of Beekman’s ice cream, then I had a delicious pulled pork and beans and cornbread meal from a food truck.
Since we still had plenty of time, I launched my drone and got some video of the tire dip area. I was amazed at how long the line had gotten for the tire dip — it snaked up the road, and all the way back onto the highway! Those poor people arriving now must have at least an hour of wait time.
But I was able to bike my last couple miles north along the Mississippi and join the other guys from Chippewa Falls. We took showers at the Pork Belly trucks, found our gear, and then loaded our bikes onto the back of Chris’s truck.
We drove along scenic highways from Guttenberg all the way back to Chippewa Falls, talking the whole way about our day’s adventures. Fog, rain, hills, and the sensational ending — another fantastic week of biking across Iowa was now complete. We can’t wait until next year!
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TRANSLATIONS/BACKGROUND: “RAGBRAI” = Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa, the world’s oldest, longest, and largest recreational bicycle ride. Started in 1973, it now averages about 20,000 riders per year from all 50 states and 20 countries who ride 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):