our 500 mile bike ride : part 2

happy sunday!

yesterday, i shared a bunch of photos & a few questions from our bike ride & today, im going to do it again ;)

1) how long did you train?

blake & i have been biking [mostly short-ish distances ; less than 30 miles] almost every day for a couple of years now. we started 'official' RAGBRAI training in april-ish. the emails went out the 1st of may from RAGBRAI telling us we were accepted, so i created a training plan once we got the email.

2) anything you wish you WOULD HAVE brought along? left at home?

i brought along my 'super-fancy' camera lens & never used it. it was big & bulky and did add some weight. i also brought along a book that i never read because i was exhausted by 8pm each night. at the last minute, we brought ear plugs & a small fan ; both of which were amazing!! 

i think we packed pretty well ; we had enough socks, underwear & toiletries. we washed our bike shorts in the [$5] showers & hung them to dry on a makeshift clothesline we created using a bungee cord & our bikes.

because of the heat & sun, we could have used moisture-wicking arm sleeves & another bottle of sunscreen [we went through THREE bottles!!]

3) what happens if your brain or bike breakdown?

if you breakdown mentally or physically, there are SAG wagons [which is a huge van + a trailer] that patrol the route & pick up bikers. because it was SO hot this year, tons and tons of folks used the wagons. if you needed the wagon, you flipped your bike upside down on the side of the road & waited for them to drive by.

4) how hard was it to eat vegan? did you do it?

oh man, it was hard. we brought about 15+ pounds of food [protein powder, nuts, fruit leather, ect], but didnt have much left after 4 days. we had cinnamon rolls in the mornings, noodle bowls & smoothies from local vendors, corn & lots of fruit [one day, we bought a whole watermelon for $3 & ate the whole thing!!] because you are in small town iowa, there are endless amounts of turkey legs and pork chops on a stick.

one day, we had to ride 17 miles between towns, and then another 17 miles between towns after that. it was 104* & i was just so hungry. in the first tiny town, there wasnt ONE vegan option. i mean it. we walked the town twice. no gas station. no grocery store. nothing. my options were 1) a turkey leg 2) pulled pork 3) pork on a stick 4) pass out on my bike or 5) a hamburger.

so, i ate a hamburger [and i cried the whole time!] seriously, bawling while eating. i felt terrible, but also knew that if i didnt take care of my body, i could have gotten seriously ill & i did NOT want a ride in the ambulance. 

so, i would say that we were 95% vegetarian and 75% vegan for the week. not great, but we did the best we could. and that was my ultimate goal.

5) how many people did the ride?

this is tricky. RAGBRAI officially accepts 10,000 people to ride for the week. but, you can also purchase a 'day rider' pass [i think they do a few thousand of those, as well]. or, you can just ride your bike & not be registered [but then you cant sleep at our campground or use the SAG wagon]. reports say that at any given time during RAGBRAI, there are 10,000-20,000 people biking!

[seriously, you could sit in one spot for 10 hours and ALWAYS see a bike on the road ; it was unbelievable.]

anything else you want to know? 

i have one last batch of questions & photos coming soon!

come back tomorrow ; i have a super delish recipe to share ;)

this is what a 500 mile bike ride looks like : part 1

hey everybody!

since i took about 150 pictures from our bike ride, i thought i would share them over the next couple of weeks.

i have gotten a bunch of questions about RAGBRAI, so, lets answer them!!

[have something you want to know about training // biking // the actual ride // distance? leave it in the comments & ill answer it in a few days!]

1) what IS RAGBRAI? what does it stand for?

RAGBRAI is an annual bike ride across iowa. this year was its 40th year. each year, it starts on the western part of the state & ends on the eastern side ; it is always roughly 450-500 miles.

RAGBRAI stands for the Resgister's [thats the name of the Des Moines newspaper] Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa

2) how far was the ride? how many days? how long were you actually riding? and did you actually do the entire thing?

the full distance of the ride was 471 miles. we camped in the first overnight town on saturday the 21st & started the ride on sunday. the ride was sunday, monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday & saturday.

the lightest day was friday & it was 42 miles. the three middle days [tuesday, wednesday & thursday] were 83, 77 & 85 miles. all the other days were in between [65-75 miles].

we left the campground each morning between 615am & 7am and got to our end towns around 4pm. each day, there were 6-9 'pass-through' towns ; which were tiny iowa towns that pulled out all the stops. they had food, music, shady trees & entertainment. we took full advantage of the towns & rode  s-l-o-w!

blake and i did the first SIX days. the last day was 70 miles & due to time constraints, we didnt ride. we rode back with a large group of bikers & they threatened to leave folks behind if they didnt finish on time ; we were both feel super drained [emotionally & physically], so we did not get on the bike on the last day. BUT we rode 400+ miles & i dont feel bad at all!!

3) what was the weather like? the wind? storms?

the weather was ridiculous. the first FIVE days, it was 102-104* every day! [the temp of the pavement was 115-125*] and it was SUPER hilly & we had 10-20mph headwinds 85% of the entire ride. you are biking through rural iowa. it is all hills & open [corn & bean] fields ; nothing to shield the wind.

on the 3rd night, there was a pretty scary storm that filled up hundreds of tents with water & dropped hail on some folks. we were safe in the tent & other than a little minor leaking, our tent did just fine.

4) what did you do all day? night? 

these small 'pass-through' towns go through TONS of trouble to make their town a great experience. at any given time, there are 10,000-20,000 riders on the road, so these towns rely heavily on riders to bring their town money [most towns want money for city repairs, a new pool, restoration, ect]. there are tons of food options, music, local historical sites & more to do during the day while you are riding.

and once you get to the overnight town, there is always a shuttle bus to take you downtown. there are pools, events & lots of live music. this year, the counting crows played a free show for all riders & three dog night played a different night.

blake & i were both so stinkin' pooped each night, that we were both in bed before 10pm!

5) be honest, how hard was it?

oh man, it was hard. i had a small breakdown [with tears!] at least once a day for the first 5 days. i have never done anything so mentally challenging before in all my life. my body felt great until the fifth day, but the wind & hills really messed with my brain. i questioned my ability & character quite a bit. without a doubt, it was the hardest thing i have ever done as an adult. i am the type of person that can so easily get lost inside my own head & really break myself down. if i ever did anything like this again, i would definitely bring along music.

what else do you want to know?

see you on sunday!

your bike needs love, too! : an orontas review

hey, everybody!

you know i love biking, right?

i have shared stories on a few of my favorite bikers, given you a 'how-to' for a bike first-aid kit, and shared my top 5 'biking 101' tips.

one thing i havent talked about yet is WHAT you need to take care of your bike.

simple bike maintenance is super important for the life & 'wellness' of your bike. a low tire, an un-greased chain or a low brake pad can really run down your bike [and can also be potentially dangerous]

along with loving bikes, you know i love the planet. blake & i try our very best to ONLY support local, smart, and/or responsible companies. 

a while back, i saw a 'blip' in whole living magazine [which i LOVE] about orontas bike products. 

each & every one of their bike products [cleaner, chain oil, waterproof grease] is non-toxic, biodegradable & made from sustainable materials [plant-based!!] 

love it. i always think of biking as such a 'smart' thing to do & then so many companies have products that are not great for the planet.

for us, using a product that takes care of the planet is a no-brainer.

so, i reached out to george at orontas. i told him we were so impressed with his products & would love to try them out.

he was *SO* kind & sent me full-size bottles of everything in their product line. the package came two days before we left for RAGBRAI, so it was perfect timing.

along with the full-size products, he also sent these mini-packets of grease, which we kept in our bike packs to apply during the ride. no doubt that their products got us through the rain, wind & nasty hills on our bike ride!!

orontas offers TWO types of chain grease ; one is ideal for summer [dry] conditions & the other is meant for winter [wet] conditions.

blake & i will both bike commute in the winter, so a strong chain lube that 'wicks' away the ice & snow is perfect.

if you bike often or just every once in a while, i really do think its SO important that you take care of your bike. grease your chain. check your tire pressure. also, learning to do these things yourself will save you a bunch of money.

and if their manifesto doesnt convince you to support them ...

it says : 

orontas is not a brand. 

orontas is a reckless commitment to do better.

orontas isnt green.

orontas isnt even 'going green'

we have standards.

standards that mean using sustainable & 

biodegradable materials that dont come

with skulls and crossbones.

we believe having values is better than 

marketing them and the last time we checked

green was just a perfectly nice color.

connect with orontas : 

facebook // twitter // website // store locator // blog 

disclaimer : i was given all of these products free of charge, but everything i said is my own personal [and super positive!] opinion!

my honest thoughts on biking 500 miles

okay. okay.
we leave TOMORROW for our bike ride.
on saturday, we will head to the 'start town' & enjoy the events // music // food // people.
super early sunday morning [6am? 7am?], blake & i, along with 19,998 of our closest friends [hello, thats 40,000 bike tires!] will leave sioux center, iowa on our 471 mile bike ride.

you can read more about the ride here. and you can see the interactive map here, with all of our stops & daily distances.
the bike ride is 7 days long. 471 miles. across the state of iowa. we start in the northwest corner & ride to the southeastern part of the state.
each day, we will ride through 5-10 towns ; all of which will have food, entertainment & fun events happening. [i read somewhere that RAGBRAI brings the state of iowa $50+ million a year!]
each night, we will all stay in the 'overnight town.'
people with good manners will let you sleep in their backyards. or barns. or parks. local campgrounds. maybe a college.
almost all of these towns we are riding through have LESS THAN 3,000 residents, so this is a huge deal.
there will be pancakes. cinnamon rolls. pork chops [on a stick]. pie. beer. sweet corn [locally grown, of course]. and rich, creamy milkshakes.

for the past few weeks, every day, we are getting asked :
are you ready for your ride?
so, let me tell you!

i am nervous. like, pretty nervous.
i am a planner. i enjoy knowing what is going to happen. i like setting goals & then achieving them.
i [we!] followed the training plan [we have done almost 1,000 miles in the past few months]. i have tuned up my bike [new chain, new tires]. i have gotten new bike gear [bought 1 pair of bike shorts, two liners, two workout shirts & made one of my own].

there are going to be SO many foods that we are not going to be able to eat [and yes, we. blake officially went vegan a few weeks ago!! hoooray!]. we have a bunch of food packed [most, i baked myself] and i have a list of places that WILL be serving veg-friendly food. i will be bringing lactaid pills along [of course, i will try to be as vegan as possible ; but its small town iowa + 500 miles ; it may be a struggle].
we have the tent packed. we still need a small fan + ear plugs. we have lots of sunscreen. butt butter. a first aid kit. and more.

i sound super prepared, right?
well, i feel prepared EXCEPT for the fact that i have NO IDEA how to plan for 20,000 bikers sharing the road.
just think, we are all starting & ending at the same space. each day, we ride between 42-85 miles ; so no matter WHAT time you start riding [it is suppose to by mid-90*s all week, so i am guessing most folks will leave super early!], the roads will be full.

so, i feel good. i dont feel SUPER prepared physically.
*i am a little nervous about sleeping on the hard ground of a campground after riding for 6-9 hours a day.
*i wont have tons & tons of food options ; but there will be grocery stores in most overnight towns.
*i have no concept of how sore my legs, girl parts & butt will be after riding hours, sleeping & getting up to ride again.
*and i hope to goodness that everybody on the ride uses good manners & sound judgement so there are no crashes, accidents & injuries.

i think the bottom line is this ; 
i am healthy. and happy. and my body is able to ride my bike.
i dont ever want to sound ungrateful for the things i am unprepared for.
my legs work. and the people of iowa have been planning this ride for 7 months. i will meet so many people. be a part of places i have never been. [i grew up in nw iowa, but dont know much about the southern part of the state]. so, i am excited. blake will push me. ill have my camera. and this will be a great end to july!

over the next 10 days, i have a bunch of really great posts coming ; so be sure you stick around!
and once i get back, i will do a full recap + a really fun 'life' announcement i have been sitting on for a while ;)

: WANTED : bikers! :

this is true.
for the past couple weeks now, i have been throwing around the idea of a new blog feature.

what : Cycle Stories!
*a regular blog feature interviewing bikers, checking out their cool rides and hearing fun stories*

why: because i cant possibly be the only one that totally loves bikes ;)

who : YOU! really. i want to hear from EVERYBODY that has a bike. friends. family. blog lurkers. followers. commuters. casual riders. all shapes. all sizes. all speeds. all abilities. all bikes. all cities. [see? everybody!]

when : now! i have big plans for this blog, and i would love to start putting together fun features as soon as you contact me!

where : the stories will all be here. hopefully weekly, or bi-weekly. there are so many places that i havent biked, i want to hear about all the rad places to ride!

how : [easy] send me an email! take.a.picture[at]live[dot]com. or leave me a comment.
just say : diana, i think you are really cool. i have a bike. i want to tell you about it..

dont bike, but have a friend that does? pass this along.
also, i know that biking might not be your thing, but its a huge part of my life, and i really want to show readers that biking really is for every body.

cheers!

: my very first ETSY TREASURY! :

oh, how fun.
have you ever made one before?

mine is called : bikes, camera, ACTION!
[are you surprised?]
check it out here!

cheers!