Time To Start Planning Again...

The last week in July kicks off a great annual tradition in Iowa -- Ragbrai. This is an acronym for Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. It goes from the Missouri River on the west, and arrives at the Mississippi River on the East seven days later. This year, I'M RIDING IT!

This is a monster undertaking for me, and I'm very excited about it. This year the route is 444 miles long, and will include ten thousand other riders. Fortunately I will have some company -- Wade has probably done this ride as many times as not in his lifetime, and Dave is an amazing cyclist too. The route this year passes within a few miles of Dad's house, and within a few miles of my aunt and uncle's house, which will make the week even more exciting.

Last spring I bought a great bike in anticipation of this event, and I kicked off my preparation in earnest two weeks ago. Fortunately we live only a mile from the city's best bike path, and in the next week or two I hope to start riding the distance between work and home (occasionally of course). According to the Ragbrai web site, I need to put in about 600 miles in preparation to be ready for the ride. Only 550 more to go! Dave thoughtfully got me a bike computer for our anniversary this week, so I'll be sure to come up with some charts and graphs on my progress. : )