Ragbrai XXXVIII

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A year ago I made a commitment to do Ragbrai in 2010. If you are not familiar with RAGBRAI it is easiest just to go to the website and read the history. http://ragbrai.com/ It is the world's largest bicycle ride, with the possible exception to rush hour in Peking. I won't bore you with the details of my training, but just a few comments. With the exception of the riding I did in New Zealand in early 2009 and the erratic rides on some bike/running trails I had done very little riding. I decided the first thing I needed to do was get a descent bike so in August I bought a TREK hybrid. It had street tires and a straight handle bar. I started riding the trails around Longview Lake and worked my way up to about 10 miles a ride. I quickly graduated to street rides joining the Saturday ride sponsored by Spin Pizza. By the first of October I was ready for the 30 mile MSNYC ride around Manhattan (not Kansas).
I was hooked. Shortly there after I grew tired of being the last one in and decided the only cure was a true rode bike. On advice from son Travis I looked at a Scott Speedster and bought it. Based on this alone my average one hour ride went from 11 to 13 miles! I continued to ride until it was absolutely too cold to ride then went indoors to train through the winter. Come March I was back outside and riding three to four days a week. I built speed and distance through the spring and summer until I was averaging 4 min mile, riding a minimum of fifteen miles at a time. By July I was riding nearly every day, a minimum of 20 miles per ride. I pushed my training, riding the biggest hills I could find and intentionally riding in hot and windy conditions. By now Carla was convinced I was becoming obsessed. As I was about to confirm, the obsession paid off. Now begins the seven day ride that was Ragbrai.

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Photos

MSNYC
30 miles around Manhattan