Yeah, it’s the thrust week of July; it started because some Iowa news reporters were bored and thought it would be fun to tell the story of small town Iowa from the vantage of cycling across it; a dozen joined them and it grew to be a few thousand by the 4th yr.

Imagine a roadway closed to thousands of cyclists of all ages, riding through rural Iowa with lots of corn fields, and small town charm. Folks from nearby come spectate and share their favorite foods, most often a pie or a beer.

I’m thinking of doing Ragbrai again this year, that’s the bike ride across Iowa. About 20,000 folks do it every July.

Oh sweet! I did a similar tour in ‘22, but it took me a bit longer 4,000ish miles from San Francisco to Maine. I started avg 40-50 miles and finished avg 85-100 miles a day, camped about 85 days and stayed with friends 14 nights and at a hotel 2 nights.

If you’ve never done a tour before, I would encourage you to do a couple weekend/overnight trips testing gear, one with everything you want to carry, and a second with the minimal you can imagine carrying. It helps to winnow down stuff and figure out how you want to carry it. Then just go do it!

I want to someday do a tour of Italy, ride from the Alps to Sicily and eat my way through every town :)

Love it! Do you have a tour in mind you’re preparing for, or still formulating?

I used to think cars were cool, went to design school so I could be a part of it, but as I progressed it became more clear that we weren’t problem solving transit, so much as normalizing a certain variety of careless consumerism. We really don’t need 2 tons of metal to move us and the kids around.

Please run for office. We would benefit from someone who is a reason-based communicator.

Anyone else thinks it looks like Paul McCartney?

Wandering across country by bicycle might sound ridiculous, but it’s actually one of the most delightful ways to invite serendipity into your journey.

I took things at my own pace, camped wherever I could, & discovered so many less traveled places, met so many lovely people along the way.

A lot of folks don’t think of bikes as a mode for long distance transit, but I’ve learned just how wonderful (& challenging) it can be

I rode 4,000 miles across the US from California to Maine, carrying over 70lbs of cargo

By the end of the journey, I was 25lbs lighter, & fitter than I’d ever been