Hello, hello, and welcome to today's podcast. Today we're going to be talking about a recent experience we had on RAGBRAI. We usually talk about things people obviously think of as health-related — metabolic markers and the like — but today we want to bring to the forefront something frequently overlooked: the social interaction and connection associated with health and wellness, and movement as medicine, which we've also been talking about a lot lately.
What Is RAGBRAI?
RAGBRAI is the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. This was the 52nd year they've done this ride — you ride bicycles from the west side of Iowa to the east. It started back in 1973 by a couple of guys, John Karras and Don Kaul, who worked for the Des Moines Register — hence the name. Back in '73 it was, "What do you want to do? Let's go for a bike ride for the week." It's grown into the largest annual bike tour event in the world, which is incredible.
There are roughly 20,000 riders — and it's a bicycle event, human-powered (sometimes electric-assisted), not motorcycles. Those 20,000 riders travel from western Iowa to eastern Iowa with stops every night, sleeping in tents. Some people have campers, but there really aren't hotels involved, because the overnight towns are relatively small — some had only a few hundred people in the whole town, and then you have all these riders, support staff, and followers show up each night before moving to the next town.
This was our first time. We got asked to do it by someone who'd done it in years past, and we were looking for something fun and challenging, and we like bike riding. We did it with assistance — a tour group called Pork Belly Ventures — who moved our things from one spot to the next, which is nice, because the purists carry their tent and all their belongings on the ride, which is amazing to do.
The Route
This ride is seven days, and this year's was 462 miles. The route changes every year — this was the second-shortest in distance and supposed to be one of the least hilly, though nobody knew eastern Iowa had that many hills. When you get close to that river, you'd think it would flatten out, but it didn't.
You get to Iowa surrounded by like-minded people all excited for this ride. There were riders from all 50 states and 20 countries. We met people from all different walks of life — all ages and abilities. There were kids in their early teens, even 10- and 12-year-olds, and one of the oldest riders was around 93. You don't have to ride the whole thing — you can ride one day or several, so there's flexibility. If you get a little injury, you can sit out a day and take the shuttle to the next town, or shorten your day. Several days were 70 miles — our longest was 76, and the last day was 62 but super hilly — and they had early-out shuttles for folks who couldn't make the whole trek.
There were lots of bicycles, but also people on unicycles, one on a penny-farthing, someone riding backwards, someone "surfing" on their bike — quite a sight. You can ride individually or, like we did, on a tandem bike (more on that later).
The Community
One of the most amazing things about this event was the community — it was so welcoming. It's so pleasant to be in an honest, loving, supportive environment where you could park your bike anywhere, walk around town, and know it'd be there. At the tents, you could leave your belongings anywhere and nobody messed with anything. People were always helpful with directions.
What really stuck out was the support from the volunteers and the people along the route in Iowa — so gracious and welcoming. Older folks in the middle of nowhere would sit in a lawn chair next to the highway just waving people on. It was so much fun, and entertaining for us sitting on a bike for hours a day, to see people you could say hi to.
The food was amazing too. You know where you're starting and ending, and along the route other little towns host food vendors and massage every 6 to 18 miles. Aside from that, people who live on the route open up little stores or support stations at the end of their driveway offering pickle juice, Gatorade, or water. Keep in mind this is July in corn country, so it's hot and humid — some days you ride from shade to shade — but it's just so welcoming to see everyone and take in all the sights.
Richard's Story
The stories you hear along the way are incredible. We met a man named Richard in one of the towns who has done RAGBRAI about 13 times. He started riding at a time when he'd had a wake-up call about his health. He was around 40, overweight, and his doctor point-blank asked, "How many old fat people do you see?" He couldn't think of any. That was his wake-up call: "If I plan on living long enough to play with my grandkids or be self-sufficient, I need to make major changes." We don't look at the number on the scale, but he offered that he was over 400 pounds at 40 — he's 60 now and doing RAGBRAI multiple times. His bicycle was the wake-up that got him moving, which is such an empowering story.
There are all kinds of abilities and health levels on this trip. It's challenging, but the majority of people may or may not have been in great shape — the point is you're out moving your body, having fun, and making social connections, which is a huge component of health. There's a statistic from an LA Times article that individuals with social connection and interaction can add 3.7 years to their life. We know from the Blue Zones studies that social connection is part of longevity — it gives people connection and purpose. Any type of connection — a pet, a spouse, or friends — makes a difference.
Truly Unplugged
Another fun thing was being truly unplugged. We had spotty cell service and no computers. There's an unplugged feeling that keeps you in the present moment — refreshing not to worry about a list of emails or business connections. We could hardly connect with our family, so you get hyper-focused on just enjoying it.
And you do have to focus, because it's hard to explain how many riders there are — sometimes taking up two lanes of traffic for miles at a time. When you have that many people on bikes, you have to pay attention. The roads weren't closed, so there was periodic traffic, which meant lots of communication between riders about where cars were coming. With different ability levels — some going fast, some slow — everybody learned cycling etiquette out there. It was almost like learning a language. We've ridden bikes a lot — we rode across Missouri — but that was on a rail trail, a totally different experience than the road, so this was our first big road ride.
And going west to east means sunrises — we got some of the most incredible sunrises, which we posted on our Instagram. We'd get up at 4:00 in the morning, pack up our tent and clothes, put them on the bus, and start riding, seeing amazing sunrises.
Adversity and Patience
A big part of this was the adversity and patience it built, and I was proud of how we handled what came our way. In true Heckler fashion, we were packing the night before, and there are always last-minute things. We blew up our camping mattress at home to make sure it held air, and it did great for hours. But the first night at camp, it wouldn't hold air — down it went — so we spent the first night on flat ground, which was very uncomfortable for both of us.
The next night we tried to get to a Walmart about a 25-minute drive away — after a 70-mile ride day in the heat — but with no service, no Uber, nothing, we determined we'd sleep on the ground again. Mark slept on his clothes packed into his sleeping bag for a little cushion, and it worked out okay; he slept a little better the second night. The next day, a shorter riding day, we checked several stores — a hardware store, Family Dollar — and finally found a blow-up mattress at True Value, tied it to the bike, and got it back to camp thinking we'd have a good night's sleep.
We didn't check the radar well, and a significant thunderstorm came through. Remember, there are thousands of people in tents — a literal tent city. You have to make sure your tent isn't in a low area or water runs into it, which it did on us. As scary as the thunderstorm was, it also connected us to nature — lightning striking so close I felt it reverberate through my body. The storm stuck around for about five hours, a multi-inch rainstorm. Our tent started leaking on us and the ground, so we piled our sleeping bags on top of us to shed water, and we got through it. Thank goodness the rain stopped just in time for our 4:00 a.m. wake-up, but now everything was soaking wet and dripping, so we had to roll it all up. It was a lot — but it was fun, good stories and memories, and everybody handled it well, laughing at the situation. These are things you can't control, which is Pork Belly Ventures' motto — "just roll with it," which is even on the side of one of their semis. No pun intended.
The Tandem Bike
Let's talk about doing this on a tandem bike. About two weeks before we left, we'd been riding our individual bikes, preparing our legs and rear ends for the trek. The idea of riding a tandem — front and back — came up, because on individual bikes it's hard to converse, and this way we could talk and keep each other company across Iowa. So a couple of weeks before, we bought the bike, decided it needed different tires, and sent it to the shop for tuning. We got it back a week before departure, so we had that whole week to learn how to ride a tandem.
Riding a tandem isn't just get on and pedal — it takes a lot of coordination and constant communication. We practiced on a rail trail and had maybe 30 miles on it before we left. There's a balance issue, and every time you start, stop, shift, slow down, or turn, you have to communicate. There was a lot of talking, primarily up to me, because as the person in the back — the stoker — I couldn't see much since he's taller, and I couldn't change gears or brake. The captain is in front, the stoker in back, and our bike only had brakes in front. So as the stoker, I had to totally give up control — hold on and pedal — which was tough, and there was some communication that needed to start and continue.
Some things you take for granted, like reminding him that he's my eyes — I don't know why we're slowing down, I just know we suddenly are. And with thousands of bikes, some cutting in front, you have to instantly stop or change position, and she can't see that. All you can do is your best, and it worked out. The guy we got it from said that with married couples, a tandem either boosts your connection or challenges it — I think we came out on the plus end.
There were a lot of tandems on RAGBRAI — about 300, I heard — and it's like a community within the community. Every time someone passed us they'd say, "Good job, tandem!" And we got lots of comments about my name being Tandy and us being on a tandem, because RAGBRAI provides a little license plate with your names, where you're from, and how many years you've done it — a great conversation starter. We passed the tandem test, and we haven't sold the bike, so we'll probably try it again — maybe not RAGBRAI next time, or maybe on individual bikes, but we'll do it again. It's too much fun.
The Revelation Move Crew
Riding across Iowa, there's a lot of time to be with your thoughts and the person right behind you, so we started talking about what something like this would look like on a smaller scale all the time. We're thinking about starting a smaller community — the Revelation Move Crew — where people can get together, move, and support each other. Watch for that on social and through our newsletters. Not just biking, but running, hiking, or walking — because the key is just to get moving. If you're interested, reach out on social media and let us know you want to be in the know about the Revelation Move Crew.
I'd encourage anyone — there were people on this ride who hardly ever ride a bike and did very well. Different ages, different abilities. It builds social connection; you can go as an individual and leave with friends. When you do these events, you learn about other events too — we had a great conversation with another tandem couple who live right here in the Kansas City area.
I hope this sheds a little light on what we're up to outside of what you normally see, and sparks some curiosity. Follow along with our new endeavor, and have a healthy week.