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Mike Conklin's Diaries - Part 7 - The Food

One truly, perplexing aspect of RAGBRAI is that, after riding a bicycle an average of 70-75 miles per day for seven consecutive days, you are likely to gain weight.

Part of this is from strengthening, and adding to, your muscle mass. Also, you eat like a pig. I once consumed a breakfast of four ears of corn slathered in butter and a root beer float at 8:30 in the morning. It was my second breakfast of the day.

For some, RAGBRAI is simply an excuse for guilt-free eating. You cannot go hungry on this ride. Bring cash ($10-15 during the day’s ride should be ample), but do NOT, under any circumstances, bring food unless you have special dietary concerns. Vegetarians may have to scrounge, but even non-meat eaters find plenty (ask Rickie Cowin about this).

For starters, the CUBS will have food—nothing hot, except the coffee—in the morning when you leave. Take them with you. There will be snacks at the finish, when, due to dehydration and loss of salt, you will find yourself heading straight for the nuts, chips, pretzels, and dip.

Each day’s route is a veritable food bazaar. In addition to families and special-interest groups setting up stands along the road and in towns (exceptions occur on routes in southern Iowa, where there are no people), regular concessionaires will be there every day.

The regulars include two, different pancake booths in the opening 10-15 miles, Pork Chop Man (be sure to check the fancy utensils), Pasta Boys, Tender Tom’s Turkey, The Dove Bar Barn, assorted smoothie stands, and a variety of cold beverage offerings. (Note: CUBS are partial to Tender Tom’s Turkey; his food’s good and he makes sizable donations to our fundraising cause.)

 In the evening, you will want to go into town for dinner and the CUBS, depending on how far the distance, will run a shuttle service. In addition to restaurants in the sleep-over towns, there will be meals offered by civic groups in halls, churches, synagogues, and schools. Expect to stand in lines. (Dana Nelson is particularly good at sniffing out the best places.)

Expect the unexpected: One year, some of us were eating dinner in a fire station, alarms went off, and everyone had to grab their plates and get out of the way. Another year, some of us were eating dinner in the basement of a Bible-thumping, fundamentalist church and a rider went to the piano, where he started banging out rock and roll tunes and turned the next half-four into a concert.

Also expect to pay $6-8 for dinner if you decide to eat with one of the nonprofit organizations at day’s end. Do not anticipate anything fancy in any of the communities (Note: Last year, rookie Harold Leifer actually wondered aloud whether he could order out for Thai in Maquoketa; duhhhh.)

I guarantee you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the food at some point on the ride. I also guarantee this: You’ll feel like you earned every ounce of it.