Alternatives to RAGBRAI

[saab2000]

So I’ve done RAGBRAI the past four years, with varying degrees of enjoyment. Overall I like it but honestly it’s sort of like the Groundhog Day movie with Bill Murray. Every day is kind of the same thing and that aspect of it has kind of worn me down. This year was my least favorite, with very small host towns, meaning small, cramped camping areas. The best towns are the ones where the camping area is in a large park or something similar. Plenty of room and plenty of shade.

Anyway, is anyone familiar with similar supported rides? I do like that a rider’s gear is transported each day and I also really like that the roads are effectively closed, though not all roads are all the way closed obviously. Is there anything similar to RAGBRAI? Doesn’t need to be a copy but I will very likely take 2025 off of RAGBRAI but I’d still like a goal to train for.

Thoughts? Suggestions? I know there are riders here who make the trek to Iowa every year.

[Wunder]

I've never ridden it but Cylce North Carolina is modeled in the same vein. Substantially smaller event though, nothing will match RAGBRAI for the rolling state fair atmosphere (for better or worse).

https://ncsports.org/cycle-north-carolina/

North Carolina ridng is exceptional. Bring gears, people complained that this was the hilliest RAGBRAI ever, but it has nothing on Western NC.

[AngryScientist]

Not what you asked of course, but I love the idea of getting together with a small group of pals and renting a car. One person per day takes off riding and drives the rental car to the next destination, scouts a good restaurant for dinner and gets things ready for the group. Rotate the driver every day.

Also, at my age and stage in life, i vastly prefer to have a hotel room between days of riding. A hot shower and air conditioning really go a long way.

The idea of tent camping in a crowded place sounds like something I would have loved in my early 20's, but now I just want to wind down at night, have a couple beers and sleep in a bed.

Just a thought. You may be able to pull something much more enjoyable together yourself...

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by Wunder

I've never ridden it but Cylce North Carolina is modeled in the same vein. Substantially smaller event though, nothing will match RAGBRAI for the rolling state fair atmosphere (for better or worse).

https://ncsports.org/cycle-north-carolina/

North Carolina ridng is exceptional. Bring gears, people complained that this was the hilliest RAGBRAI ever, but it has nothing on Western NC.

That week-long ride to the coast definitely looks nice. I’ve spent a lot of time in North Carolina working and yes, it’s crazy scenic and the western part of the state is legit hilly and challenging I’d guess.

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Not what you asked of course, but I love the idea of getting together with a small group of pals and renting a car. One person per day takes off riding and drives the rental car to the next destination, scouts a good restaurant for dinner and gets things ready for the group. Rotate the driver every day.

Also, at my age and stage in life, i vastly prefer to have a hotel room between days of riding. A hot shower and air conditioning really go a long way.

The idea of tent camping in a crowded place sounds like something I would have loved in my early 20's, but now I just want to wind down at night, have a couple beers and sleep in a bed.

Just a thought. You may be able to pull something much more enjoyable together yourself...

I’ve done this and a couple years ago a bunch of friends and I went to Ithaca, NY. It was pretty cool and I had one great ride (was getting over COVID, so I was the weak link) but it was also sort of like herding cats. One of the “advantages” to RAGBRAI is that there’s no option except the route they’ve put together. So you don’t have everyone wanting to do something different.

I’ve also considered a similar thing to the driftless area of western Wisconsin. Getting consensus is almost impossible, from dates to rides to accommodations. For this reason I more enjoy heading to friend’s places in western MI and doing rides on familiar ground.

RAGBRAI’s camping isn’t always great but it isn’t always bad either. Showers are a thing there and I got a hotel in Des Moines in 2023, which was awesome. I think I slept like 10+ hours. But I’ve made it a priority to get shade, so I have to leave early and ride fast because it’s often limited at the camping areas and this year I ran into one guy who claimed to have ‘reserved’ a large section next to essentially the only grove of trees for himself and his group. That was bogus and the only time I’ve had words with someone at that event, which is almost always extremely friendly. He was not a rider but a driver who arrived early. I was in the top 10 riders to get to that town and he had already ‘claimed’ the best area.

[kppolich]

I recommend bagging it on RAGBRAI and getting a small group together. That will allow you to contact host families, sleep inside with access to beds/showers and also have a completely different experience both on and off the bike all week.

There's something said about carrying your gear for the full week and being self supported out there.

[biker72]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Not what you asked of course, but I love the idea of getting together with a small group of pals and renting a car. One person per day takes off riding and drives the rental car to the next destination, scouts a good restaurant for dinner and gets things ready for the group. Rotate the driver every day.

Also, at my age and stage in life, i vastly prefer to have a hotel room between days of riding. A hot shower and air conditioning really go a long way.

The idea of tent camping in a crowded place sounds like something I would have loved in my early 20's, but now I just want to wind down at night, have a couple beers and sleep in a bed.

Just a thought. You may be able to pull something much more enjoyable together yourself...

Now this is my kind of riding...

RAGBRAI has too many new riders that don't know the rules of the road.

[jmoeny]

Tour de Wyoming.

Limited to 250 riders. Fully supported, with good scenery (route changes every year so some may be better than others) and quiet roads all for $300.

https://www.tourdewyoming.org/

[Elefantino]

Bicycle Ride Across Georgia is an alternative that is less crowded but very much in the RAGBRAI vein. Several friends from Jacksonville have done the Big BRAG and enjoyed it.

Two of us did RAGBRAI in 2008, with Brancel Charters, and really enjoyed it. But the thought of sleeping in a tent for week on my old bones has lost its luster. Were we to do it again, we'd rent an RV and take turns driving.

[shoota]

There's no alternative to RAGBRAI. Have you ridden it with friends? We ride it with friends, self-supported, and only go halfway. I know that I wouldn't like it if I camped, went solo, or did the whole thing.

[holliscx]

No idea if this interests you or not James but Georgia's done a trans-Georgia ride for as long as I've been alive. It looks like they've expanded but the OG is the BRAG (Georgia) ride.

https://brag.org/

I would assume it's similar to the Iowa ride so you may have the same gripes. I would encourage you to do a DIY tour and ditch the people. You can find roads that are exponentially better with some research. Go off-road for a solo tour.

[fourflys]

decided maybe my comment wasn't productive after all..

[KevinC]

Dalmac - https://dalmac.org/
Lansing, Mi to Mackinac, MI
Various routes available every year of varying difficulty.
4 or 5 days available

I haven’t done it in 20+ years, but I’m hoping to next year.
Week before Labor Day and finish coincides with the Mackinac bridge walk.

[arimajol]

Freewheel is the Oklahoma version. I did it in 2016. It's a Ragbria clone. You stay in small towns, they haul your gear. Because it was so dang hot, there was always an indoor camping option, like a school gym, or something of that nature.

[rccardr]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Not what you asked of course, but I love the idea of getting together with a small group of pals and renting a car. One person per day takes off riding and drives the rental car to the next destination, scouts a good restaurant for dinner and gets things ready for the group. Rotate the driver every day.

Also, at my age and stage in life, i vastly prefer to have a hotel room between days of riding. A hot shower and air conditioning really go a long way.

The idea of tent camping in a crowded place sounds like something I would have loved in my early 20's, but now I just want to wind down at night, have a couple beers and sleep in a bed.

Just a thought. You may be able to pull something much more enjoyable together yourself...

This. Repeat, THIS!
That’s been our mode of operation for the past several years. About a dozen guys, and we always wind up with a final group of five or six. One person takes point, organizes the hotels and figures the ride routes- often with advance input from participants or locals who join for a day or two along the way.

One thing we discovered a few years ago was the BAT- The Big Ass Truck. Most rental companies in larger cities will rent you a full size Ram or similar, holds six bikes, bags, and riders. Each rider runs SAG for half a day every three days.
It works really well!