Camping

I just got back from another year of RAGBRAI. Wasn’t sure if it would actually happen because of the new wave of COVID-19 cases. It was cancelled last year. I only did three and a half days of riding from Parkersburg to Clinton. Originally, I was going to bike out to the route and back and meet up with my team, but when my friend Mike said he was going to come all the way over from Switzerland, I adjusted my plans so that I could help him get to the route/team and share any gear with him that he may have needed....

At the beginning of June this year, I went on a five-night canoe camping trip with family members in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA), specifically the Shell Lake area off entry point 14. This was my first canoe trip and my first time visiting the BWCA. Because of that, I had a lot of questions going into the trip. Normally, on canoe trips, folks have a tendency to pack more similar to a car camping trip because the hikes, or portages, are short and the canoes instead carry most of the weight....

Here is a follow-up to my previous post, 2017-ragbrai-packlist. Based on this year, I made some last minute decisions on what to pack. Here are some factors that changed what ended up on the ride: Supported by my team bus. Riding/camping with my wife. Riding my single speed. Only camping four nights (22nd-25th) and only riding three days (23rd-25th) In addition, the weather is looking pretty decent for July in Iowa....

I have been on RAGBRAI (Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) several times since 2005. Over the years, I’d like to think I have figured out a pretty good list of gear. In general, this list is usually what I start with when planning a bicycle touring trip, not just for RAGBRAI. An asterisk denotes a “luxury” item that I only take when riding supported (team bus). Otherwise, everything can pack on the bike (except the bike itself of course)....