Mike Conklin's Diaries - Part 5 - First Day
OK, boys and girls, pull up chairs and let me tell you about Dick Brubaker. He was on his first RAGBRAI with us several years ago and by noon of Day 1 we left him behind in a western Iowa hospital, where he went by ambulance after a bad spill in which he broke his collarbone, cracked ribs, and suffered various other injuries. He remained hospitalized several days. Not to scare you more (yeah, right), but Dick is a tremendously fit, experienced senior biker and former world class athlete in two sports hall of fame’s that I know of. Through no fault of his, a group of bikers tried to squeeze by on his right and hooked his wheel. The lesson is this: Most rookies have never seen the congestion they’ll face in RAGBRAI. It is Bike The Boulevard at a faster speed and longer distances between stops. Like buffalo herds in the Old West, you can stand in one spot on RAGBRAI and the bikers never stop coming.
This will thin out as the week progresses and, to be sure, the open roads between towns do yield plenty of room. But Day 1 and Day 7 are always bad. These are the most popular days (Sunday and Saturday) with bikers who wish to sample a part of the ride. Unfortunately, they tend to be more inexperienced---especially kids, who dart in and out of traffic and change speeds on a dime. Therefore it is important to be extremely cautious the first day, riding to the right side, giving proper signals, barking out your intentions loudly, staying alert for cracks in the highway, and generally remaining in a defensive biking mode. (Personal to rookie Kate Coleman: Another important piece of equipment is a rear view mirror. I didn’t see if you had one last Sunday.) The most dangerous bikers—both to themselves and others—are those who get locked in conversation while riding two and three abreast. It is very easy to lose your concentration if you’re gabbing too much. Accidents happen in a heart beat. You should NEVER be more than two abreast and, even then, stay as far to the right as you can. It is perfectly acceptable, and not considered rude, to bike with friends in total silence and in single file. This leaves more to talk about when you stop. It takes a while to develop rhythms on RAGBRAI, knowing when to rest, drink water, eat, speed up, go slow, eat, and relieve yourself (cornfields, if it’s an emergency).
You’ll get the hang of it as the week progresses. Eventually you’ll develop strategies, but sometimes it takes days. It’s not a bad idea to get as organized as you can each night for the next day’s biking. Try to simplify your departure each morning with as few tasks as possible because of the unfamiliar surroundings and pace you’re now facing. One last tip for rookies: Don’t spend time looking at your odometer the first day or the mileage can seem overwhelming. ("Oh my God, I’ve only gone 17 miles, there’s 50 left, and I’m already exhausted.") The RAGBRAI route ultimately is measured in only two increments: Towns and days. A safe, cautious start will help you experience all of them.