A real RAGBRAI route preview

Posted Jun 9, 2008
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Want an up close and personal view of this year’s RAGBRAI route?

The host of RAGBRAI, Brian Duffy rode the entire route last week and has posted day by day, city by city comments, thoughts and tips... Brian, along with RAGBRAI veteran Dan McKay rode the route from start to finish; checking the road conditions, and meeting with the Ride Right committees and other members of the pass through and overnight communities. Duffy's quick re-cap of the week Sunday and Monday will be the toughest of the week, and coming back to back will test your conditioning. The Century loop is on Monday and the start of the loop is within just a few miles of Harlan. Even if your legs feel fresh at that point don’t be tempted to take it on unless you have already put in a few centuries this year. Be on the road as early as you can on Monday because it will be a long tough day. Tuesday will be a great recovery day. Wednesday will allow you to get a break until the second half of the day where the climbs begin again. Thursday has most of the tough terrain in the first half then levels out for most of the rest of the day. Friday is not too tough a day provided the weather gods decide not to get surly. Saturday is a short day but still has a few challenges in store. We can give you all of the statistics in the world, such as feet of miles, feet of climb, grade, miles, but we can’t quantify the variables such as heat, headwinds, rain and humidity that make the ride tougher. Even an easy flat day can turn epic under the right circumstances. What can you do to be ready? To quote Eddy Merckx “ride your bike”. Read it ALL at Duffy's blog: RAGBRAI and other two-wheeled ramblings