Boat Hippie

RAGBRAI®, The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, is an annual seven-day bicycle ride across the state. RAGBRAI is the longest, largest and oldest touring bicycle ride in the world. RAGBRAI is sponsored by The Des Moines Register.  Approximately 10000 riders peddle their way down farm roads between corn fields and soybeans, stopping at vendors, farm houses, and bars along the way to eat pork chop sandwiches, pie and drink beer and bloody marys.  About half that number of people are the support crew who drive RVs, trucks, trailers, and cars from town to town and set up camp sites each evening. 

Each overnight town has camping areas set aside for the registered riders.  They also organize a traveling festival complete with bike shops, beer, merchandise vendors, beer,  food vendors, beer, live music and beer.  They supply showers at local High Schools, car washes, and converted pig barns (we made our own shower).  Also local church groups and civic organizations have spaghetti and lasagna dinners or fish frys.  All of the above comes with a fee of course

This year, for RAGBRAI XXXV, we went with some new friends on our dock who have been doing RAGBRAI for 12 years.  Our team is Team Fiddle Fart, because they fiddle fart around all day at bars, on the side of the road, and in the meeting towns half way on the days route.  There were 6 of us on the team this year- 5 riders, John (our new neighbor), Dave (John's wonderful brother), Mel (until she had to leave because her dog was sick), Sandra (Princess Sasha), Doug (John's cousin's husband - who showed up mid-week and just happened to find us at the first campground he looked), Trey and me, the driver.   We were traveling in a crew -cab pick up with a small UHaul trailer containing all our camping gear.  In the bed of the truck we had two 40 gallon Rubbermaid containers I filled with water each day from whatever garden hose I could find.  John pulled the pressure water pump from his boat and attached a water hose with a garden sprayer for a shower.  We used the trailer door, the truck and a packing blanket to give us privacy while showering in the midst of scores of other riders at the campground.  The water was never warm, but it was free and at our campsite.  What a luxury!