Iowa's Great Bike Ride

Last week was RAGBRAI week in the state of Iowa.

What's RAGBRAI you ask?

It is the....

Register's
Annual
Great
Bike
Ride
Across
Iowa

In 1973, two writer's for the Des Moines Register decided to bike ride across the state of Iowa and write about their experiences and invited the public to join them.  That summer, about 300 people rode from Sioux City to Davenport over 6 days.

Riders dip their back tires in the Missouri River
at the start of RAGBRAI.

There wasn't a lot of lead time for the first ride and a lot of readers wanted to do it but weren't able to. So, the Register planned a second ride for the following year and a tradition was born.

Each Spring the Register announces the route for the ride which takes place over a week late July. In addition to the starting and ending cities, 6 cities are selected as "overnight" stops, where riders camp for the night. It is a big deal for a town to be chosen as an overnight location.

Why you ask?

No, seriously, ask "why?"

An overnight stop for riders. 

RAGBRAI is the oldest and, by far, the LARGEST touring bike event in the world. A touring event is one in which the rider just ride, no racing involved.

So each year, upwards of 10,000 people hop on their bikes and eat, drink and ride across the state.

Yes, I said "eat and drink". RAGBRAI is a rolling party. Iowans along the route will set up stands to sell just about any type of food - especially drinks and pies. And let's just say that bars along the route do VERY well.

RAGBRAI riders come from all over the world, and many rider as part of clubs or teams.  Teams create a social and support system for the riders. Teams will have a support vehicle - school bus or RV - that will carry supplies for the team's riders.

Riders will either camp in the overnight town, or find "lodging" with locals.

It's a huge event in the state and there seems to be no slowing down for it.

What I love about it is that anyone can do it - from the young to the old.

And I kinda, really wanna do it.

So come November, I'm going to apply for the RAGBRAI lottery and hope to win a wristband for the 2015 ride.  I also might be able to hook up with a team (a MUCH better option) and score a slot that way.

I've lived in Iowa for 19 years. It's time to do RAGBRAI!

I've included a few more photos just for fun. :-)

Heading out in the morning.

Oh and the occasional hot guy in spandex. :-)

This is just a cool photo. 

Ending the ride by dipping front tires
in the Mississippi. 

4th of July in Vegas, Part 1

I've had a bit of writer's block over the past few weeks and I'm determined to break out of my slump.

Last weekend, Matt and I spent the 4th of July weekend in Las Vegas.

Enjoy!



Matt's birthday is July 5th. This year to celebrate we traveled to Las Vegas.

Under normal circumstances, Las Vegas in the summer and it's 100+ temps, would not be our first choice of vacation spots.

This was a special occasion, on the 5th we had the opportunity to see Olivia Newton-John in concert at the Flamingo Hotel.

Let me say for the record.....

THE SHOW WAS AMAZING!

Olivia is in residence at the "Donny & Marie Theater" at the Flamingo. It has a very Rat-Packy kinda vibe to it, and we loved it. It's a very intimate setting and for Olivia, it is a perfect concert venue.

The crowd skewed in one of two ways - older, or gay.  We kinda fell into both categories... lol.

There's something to be said for the stereotype that gays have a lot of disposable income, because the gays showed up in force and paid the big bucks for the "Meet and Greet" tickets ($249 each!).

We're frugal gays, the $99 seats were fine for us. :-)

The show felt like Olivia had invited 400 of her closest friends for an intimate concert. She looked and sounded amazing. Her voice is just as clear as it was when she began her career back in the early 70s.

We had smiles on our faces for the entire show. She sang selections from throughout her career. From "Have You Never Been Mellow" through her "Xanadu" days and then into the 80s. I was thrilled that she performed "Suddenly", a duet with Cliff Richards from "Xanadu".

I loved that she began performing a stripped down version of "Physical" and then stopped, "asked" the audience if they'd rather hear the original (DUH!) and then got down.

Another highlight was the "Grease" sing-a-long. The words to the songs were put up on video screens for the crowd to follow along with, but seriously, they weren't needed.

Before we knew it, Olivia was finishing up her show. :(

But overall we had a wonderful time and if you have the means and the opportunity, we HIGHLY recommend that you go!

My one tiny gripe was I had wished the gay in the front row wouldn't have kept yelling "WE LOVE YOU OLIVIA" after EVERY song.  Dude, we got it, you love her.

Following the show we had Matt's birthday dinner at Serendipity3 at Caesar's Palace. The food is delicious, but what you really go there for is the dessert.

Last November we fell in love with their Frrrozen Hot Chocolate. It's made from 23 different types of cocoa and is absolutely delicious.

From the first sip, it truly lives up to the hype.




Alright, it's time for me to get some sleep. I'll finish up my trip recap tomorrow.  But I'll leave you with a little Olivia.

Love you Awesome Nerds!

Happy 4th of July!!!!!!

Happy 238th Birthday to the United States!

My regularly scheduled blogging will resume on Monday. :-)

But until then, please enjoy a few patriotic hunks.

Love you Awesome Nerds!

Robert