GeoBike
Time to get rolling on down the road !!!
Time to get rolling on down the road !!!
Sorry about the delay this year. Once again, I was out of country and out of contact with the rest of the world. The picture kind of tells it all. Boy did that feel good! But, I'm back home now to time to roll out the goods.
Can you believe it - 39 years of rolling across Iowa! True to form, RAGBRAI XXXIX has some first time towns this year. This year we launch from Glenwood. Our overnight host towns are Atlantic, Carroll, Boone, Altoona, Grinnell, Coralville. We end the ride in Davenport. The ride comes out of south west Iowa and trends across the middle of the state. At 20371 feet of climb we will have a bit more climb than last year. The first two days will be the toughest and after that, things should settle down. If the weather is with us, it should allow for some nice cruising.
Day 1 is from Glenwood to Atlantic and will be the most difficult in terms of climb. The first 40 miles will be full of rollers after which things settle down a bit. We do almost 60 miles and have 4298 feet of climb.
Day 2 is from Atlantic to Carroll. This day is like Day 1, lots of rollers. We start out with them, end with them, and they stay with us all day long. To help ease the pain, we make a first visit to Templeton, home of the Templeton Rye distillery. We do almost 66 miles but only 4719 feet of climb.
Day 3 is from Carroll to Boone. This day will be flat compared to the first two days. We only do 70 miles and 1787 feet of climb. The Karras loop await those who wish to bag a century. The big feature of the day will be "Twister Hill" where they shot scenes from the movie "Twister." This is about 10 miles out of Boone when we traverse the Des Moines River valley. Enjoy the climb!
Day 4 is from Boone to Altoona. This day is like a carbon copy of day 3. We only do 55 miles and 1147 feet of climb. A couple of items of note. We pass through Slater which is on the new High Trestle Trail. The new high bridge over the Des Moines River valley is about 10 miles west of Slater on the bike trail. Also, we pass through White Oak - enjoy the winery!
Day 5 is from Altoona to Grinnell. At 55 miles, this will be another short day. Our climb picks up also with 3202 feet of climb. Enjoy the steep climb out of Colfax!
Day 6 is from Grinnell to Coralville. We throttle up the mileage to 75 miles (our longest day). The climb eases off a little at 2683 feet of climb. If they are true to form, Brooklyn will have flags every where. It's an impressive sight. We also pass through some of the Amana Colony villages. I'm thinking this might be pie and pastry nirvana!
Day 7 is from Coralville to Davenport. This is a short day at only 65 miles. The climb picks back up with 2363 feet of climb. Don't forget, the Mississippi runs East to West through town.
For those who want to try RAGBRAI, there are some nice short days. For those in the Des Moines area, the ride will pass close by. Give it a try!
Well, the trainer is beckoning to me. Got to keep racking up the miles. Hope you can too. I hope to see you all out on the road. Cheers everyone!
Ketch