“Day 0” of RAGBRAI is the day when 30,000 people show up in some small town in western Iowa near the Missouri River. This year, the lucky town is Onawa, population 3000.
This is the 53rd iteration of RAGBRAI — Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa — and it is still the largest recreational bike ride in the world. I rode down yesterday from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, in John Panzer’s truck. We learned last year that it’s much nicer to get here a day early, so that Day 0 is not so hectic.
We were able to take our time driving. We stopped for a great lunch in Fairmont, Minnesota, with Tom Hawkins, a barbershop quartet singer I’ve known for years (after a quick tour of Hawkins Chevrolet).
We also had time for a long stop at Blue Bunny Ice Cream headquarters and visitor center in Le Mars, Iowa. Do not miss this one if you are ever in the area.
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Before John went to the main campground, he dropped me off at the Onawa Country Club, where the Pork Belly Ventures (PBV) charter has set up. PBV is an amazing operation — they build a small moving city of infrastructure every day on RAGBRAI, hosting over 1000 bikers and many staff members.
I’ve always brought my own tent on RAGBRAI, but this year I get a special treat due to a last-minute cancellation — a bunk in the PHAT trailer! PHAT stands for “Pretty Hot And Tempting,” and features small air-conditioned rooms, which is quite a treat when the heat index is over 100°F as it will be Sunday and Monday.
A PHAT room is nothing like a hotel room, but it sure beats a tent. The bunks are not big, but each one has its own little fan and electrical outlet. So no more charging USB bricks in the charging trailer, and then charging my electronics with the brick in my tent at night.
I think my favorite part of the PHAT rooms is that I no longer have to lug my 50-pound duffel bag to find an open spot of grass for a campsite. Even better, in the morning I can just wake up and start biking. All my gear stays in the room! Emptying out and packing up a wet tent and then carrying everything to the semi truck at 5:00 am takes a lot of time and energy.
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Saturday morning is the big Bike Expo downtown Onawa. Several city blocks are dedicated to a dozen bike shops, food vendors, and various other booths related to biking. I got to talk to the women from the “Just Go Bike” podcast, and told them I stilll have never missed a single episode. (One of them inspired me to ride the Southern Tier Bicycle Route by talking about it on their podcast a few years ago.)
I was quite surprised when RAGBRAI Ride Director Matt Phippen walked up to me and called me by name! I had only met him once before, at the end-town tire dip two years ago. He said he’s good with faces and names. Amazing. I deeply admire his work to make RAGBRAI what it is today.
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One of my favorite parts of RAGBRAI is getting to know new people more than just a surface “hello.” I spent some quality time today with THREE different guys.
While eating my Jamaican Jerk pork from a Caribbean food truck, I met Doug from Edina, Minnesota. He had a dad who worked closely with Seymour Cray! He brought that up when I said I was from Chippewa Falls. (For those who don’t know, Chippewa Falls is the hometown of Seymour Cray, who is known as the Father of Supercomputers. In fact, even today in 2026, 6 of the Top 10 fastest computers in the world were built in tiny Chippewa Falls.)
After hearing some great stories about Doug’s dad and Seymour, I let him know that I spent most of my career as an engineer at Cray. Then I pulled out the latest coin from the US Mint with a Cray-1 on the obverse side, and gave it to him! I always carry one with me in case I meet someone who I thought would really appreciate it.
We were joined after a while by Doug’s friend Mark. Mark lives where I used to work, in Rochester, Minnesota! Sadly, Mark’s wife died of lung cancer a year and a half ago. Doug persuaded him to come to RAGBRAI this year by eliminating all his excuses. I think it’ll be therapeutic for him.
The last guy I met today was Roger from “Team Tiny” (a one-man team). He is hauling all his gear on his bike, and he is EIGHTY YEARS OLD!! I think I have met my new hero. Carrying 100 pounds up the hills of RAGBRAI is a huge feat, especially this year, as the route is the tenth-hilliest ever.
Roger has had several years of 20,000 miles of biking! That’s more than I’ve put on my CAR. He has crossed the USA on coast-to-coast rides NINE TIMES. I have only two of those, or maybe three of you calling a vertical crossing on the Pacific Coast. But I guess I do have 14 more years until I’m 80.
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I haven’t gotten enough sleep for several nights in a row, so I’m going to bed early tonight. But I do have two advantages this time. First, I don’t have to wait until the sun goes down and the tent dips below 90°F. Second, if I want to be biking at 5:15 to beat the hills and heat and headwinds tomorrow, and can sleep in until 4:45 instead of 4:00 am! I think I’m going to like this PHAT trailer.
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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 420-520 miles, over seven days in late July.
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LINKS:
Old-fashioned BLOG if you have friends who don’t use Facebook:
https://oldscouter.com/
“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):