Dear Friends:
I am in training for a seven-day bicycle ride across Iowa.
It is 111 days to the ride, and it is always the last full week in July. I am looking for riders to train with me (Farragut, on the La Ballona Bicycle path, to the Playa del Rey Bridge and back, is 10 miles).
I have taken a step by purchasing a recumbent bike and getting a buzz cut so I will not have helmet hair 24/7.
Iowa is not flat.
I will ride the La Ballona bike path on Tuesdays at 7 a.m. daily — if anyone is interested.
I am not seeking sponsors for the ride. As far as I know, there is no fundraising for any charity.
Please email or telephone me (310.842.9367, home) if you would like to ride. I am very flexible with my time.
Thanks.
Note: I was born and raised in Iowa. The following snippets tell something of the ride, if you are interested.
Info comes from the RAGBRAI site, http://www.ragbrai.org/
RAGBRAI likely will be one of the most difficult things, physically, that you've ever attempted.
RAGBRAI®, The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, is an annual seven-day bicycle ride across the state.
Heading into its 37th year, RAGBRAI is the longest, largest and oldest touring bicycle ride in the world. RAGBRAI is sponsored by the Des Moines Register newspaper.
(I delivered both morning and evening newspapers for the Register and Tribune when I was a lad. One winter day, it was minus-20 degrees on a neighbor’s garage thermometer. Iowa summers are hot and humid).
The seven-day total mileage for RAGBRAI averages 472 miles while the daily mileage averages 68 miles.
RAGBRAI is limited to 8,500 week-long riders and 1,500 daily riders.
This year's route is southern Iowa ( close to site of Robert James Waller's novel, “The Bridges of Madison County”), west to east. It is one of the most scenic routes in years.
Mr. Maxwell may be contacted at roger__maxwell@hotmail.com (two underscores between names).
