Almost two decades ago, my girlfriend said something like this to me:
There is a bicycle ride across Iowa called RAGBRAI! Let’s do it!
At this point, I thought that my future wife was insane. Riding past cornfields and hog farms for 500 miles in the heat of July? No thanks.
However, I went along for the trip anyway and it turns out that biking across Iowa is a lot of fun. We just got back from our 8th RAGBRAI.
Better With Friends
On this RAGBRAI, we rode with a group of folks from the FIRE community. I had met one of the couples in Greece at Chautauqua. Also along for the ride were the Waffles, Big Ox Little Bird, Craig Curelop and other friends. We also ran into Amanda and Alan from Why We Money.
Adventures are always more fun when you have good people along for the ride and RAGBRAI was no different. But first, there is the part about riding bikes:
And camping in random fields:
And loads of food:
And rural America:
And even dinosaur themed beer:
And beer consumption in places the world has never seen:
But when you have friends around, you get to witness “world-class” diving:
And ride on farm equipment:
And ???:
And most of all, just hang out:
As I plan out the next stages of my life, most of my projects involve collaborating with fun people. I’m working on a mindfulness phone app with a friend. I’m thinking about starting a brewery with other friends. Craig and I will be launching a podcast soon.
I’m working on all of these projects with people that I enjoy spending time with. One of these hustles may even make money, but even if none do, I know that I’ll have a great time along the journey.
Life is more fun when you get to share it with good people.
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Looks like a lot of fun!
And shower beers are the best. Great way to relax at the end of a day. I’m in western NY, so it’s not just an Iowa thing. If you haven’t tried it, you’re missing out!
Chris, I’m with you on the beer shower! On a hot day after cutting the grass, it’s a game changer! ?
I’m totally gonna try this.
I would LOVE to do this someday! My wife and I rode the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O towpath from Pittsburgh to DC six years ago; the concession for her was that we stayed in bed and breakfasts each night, with a hot shower and an actual mattress… but with a traveling party like RAGBRAI, I’d imagine the atmosphere is completely different. Thanks for sharing your experience!
i hope you saw some butter sculptures and brought a lot of bag balm.
freddy smidlap recently posted…Be Your Own Bank. The Smidlap Bucket System for Major Expenses
This looks way more fun than other races I’ve considered. Will definitely have to put this one on the list.
A podcast featuring Carl? That is awesome. I can’t wait to hear it. I thought about asking if you’d ever consider doing one. Good luck with that!
Meeting the other FI people sounds awesome at the RAGBRAI. I wonder if they would let my big ace rent mopad next year! ?
Seems like you had a pretty great girlfriend back then to turn you on to something so cool and fun! =)
Mr PoP has been saying lately that he wants to start more projects with fun likeminded people, seems like you’ve got that down!
I wish y’all were closer! I could keep Mr. PoP Funployed forever!
I’m glad you had a great week! Your post makes me miss home.
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Where did all the tents and equipment come from? Was any one bad-ass enough to bike that stuff around, too?
most use a charter serve to move the bags and tents, but a few are self support and carry all their gear on their bike. I carried mine (37 lbs) for my first RAGBRIA. Next time I’ll lighten the load a bit.
Lots of folks do it self-supported, but NOT me!
So cool…. I’ve done Ride The Rockies in Colorado twice and it’s kind of the same but with massive mountains. It’s a rolling party with tons of food. So much fun!
We had such fun on the small part of Ragbrai we rode this year. It was awesome to meet up with you all afterwards to top it off. Thanks for the great conversations! We plan to ride even more next year!
Podcast?! Did he say podcast?! Yahoo!
Haha! Thank you for your enthusiasm!
From my end: Just the thought of having to listen to my own voice for an hour every week makes me queasy!