I biked Ragbrai the last week of July in Iowa. It is a 10,000 cyclist bike ride across the state of Iowa. The weeklong event travels along rural roads which are closed to traffic for this event. There are many vendors selling delicious food along the way. A popular vendor is Pork chop Man. It was originally started by a man named a Paul but he passed away and his family now runs it. The pork chops are cooked on large grills using corn cobs as the source of heat. The flavor of the pork is unsurpassed by any pork chop I have ever had. Absolutely delicious!! There are Iowa Brewery Beer tents everywhere. As you enter towns their are banners and American Flags hung from cranes because this the American Heartland. There is a lot of commarade between cyclists and the people in the towns are so friendly. We even met Dave who is Paul, the pork chop mans brother. Music was everywhere along the ride whether it be cyclists with their Bose stereos on their bikes or bands playing in the towns. It was wonderful to sit and listen to music at rest stops. Nighttime came and more bands played in downtown areas. Towns that normally only have 200 residents now had thousands of bikers in them.! Tents, RVs, buses and vans were set up everywhere as one can pay to stay on someone’s lawn, in a town park , at a supermarket, in the furniture store or in a campground. At night we would walk around to see everyone’s set ups as well as talk to everyone. It was a fun week getting to see Iowa and meeting the warm friendly people along the way. It was especially wonderful to see fellow bikers help out one another as the US Air Force bicycling team was there and would stop to help anyone with s flat or bike trouble. I also saw fellow bikers help a friend or spouse up a hill by putting their hand on their back and pushing them up a hill. It was very touching. And maybe that’s what life is all about!!
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