We did it again. Our second RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) is complete, and like the first time, it was an incredible experience.

Yes, there were eight nights in a tent, long lines for the port-a-john, bug bites, occasional thunderstorms, and sore butts, but somehow those were minor annoyances compared to the joy of riding your bike across a beautiful landscape with 10,000+ other happy people from around the world.

This year we began our 400+ mile ride in Onawa, IA joined by Steve’s brother Gary and Gary’s buddies Alison and Blaine.

Over the week we biked 60 to 75 miles per day over rolling hills. Iowa is not flat! Stopping at small towns about every ten miles, we were fueled by pancakes, chocolate milk, corn-cob grilled pork chops, and homemade ice cream.

Every pass-through town welcomed us with music, food, and plenty of photo ops.

One highlight this year was the opportunity to ride inside Iowa State University’s Jack Trice Stadium. Football season will soon be upon us and the Cyclones are ready.

All of the crew (except Marnie, who took a day off the bike and opted for a massage instead) did the 100 mile option on the fifth day, successfully completing 110 miles for the day.

We visited towns like Coon Rapids, Ute, and State Center, each of which had its own character and characters.

Everyday we stopped at least once or twice at the Iowa Beer Tent. Ten stops during the week and you get a “free” t-shirt. Gary earned the shirt, but Steve and I opted for water.

We travel with Pork Belly Ventures, Ragbrai’s largest charter operator.

After each day of biking we were welcomed into camp with our tent assembled, bags inside. After a hot shower, we enjoyed live music, beer, and dinner. It’s camping elevated.

One day on the route was college jersey day, and we proudly wore our Sun Devil & Cornhusker colors. We also visited Riverside, IA, a town that claims to be the future birthplace of Captain Kirk. It’s kitsch at its finest.

As we rode into Davenport on the Mississippi River a week later, we were happy to be finished and sad it was over. Ragbrai is an annual tradition for many and will likely be for us too. Until next year…

This is our second trip across Iowa on a bike and we’re really looking forward to the party! Last year was our first experience with the legendary ride and we’ve been planning a repeat trip ever since. This year, however, we’ll be joined by Steve’s brother Gary, which should just add to the fun. But first we have to get there!

We left Tuesday morning and drove to Albuquerque. Like last year we got in a good ride on Albuquerque’s great bike trails. This year we did about 24 miles along the North Diversion Trail. Our destination was the International Balloon Museum, the site of the annual balloon festival. It was a beautiful morning for a ride with Albuquerque’s famous hot air balloons in the distance.

We then headed east towards Kansas. And, as usual, we looked for National Parks or Monuments along the way. These stops provide stamps for our National Park Passport book, clean restrooms, and education on our country’s history. Today’s stop was at Fort Union, the largest military installation west of the Mississippi in the mid-1800s.

The site was also a major supply depot along the Santa Fe Trail and the wagon ruts are still evident to this day.

We got our stamp, took a few pics, and were on our way. Good stop.

After a night in Dodge City we headed towards Kansas City. On the way we stopped to see the massive cow lots outside of Dodge Cityand to get another passport stamp at Fort Larned.

Fort Larned was another Santa Fe Trail military post and depot, active in the mid 1800s. They fought the Indian Wars and protected the wagon trains coming west. It was certainly a rough life.

As we travel along the Santa Fe Trail and learn about life in the mid-1800s, we are more and more grateful for our Ford F-150 and air conditioning!

By Thursday we arrived at Gary and Kristy’s house in Kansas City. It’s always fun to see the Brynn and Hudson and the dogs Ruby and Nellie. We enjoyed a great BBQ dinner and rolled ice cream–a real treat. Good thing the riding starts soon!We’ll soon be in Iowa and ready to ride. stay tuned!