Bicycling is great exercise. You get to go somewhere. We ride around the small towns in Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska. The distances can vary from 20 miles to over 100 miles in a day. Iowa is NOT flat. Western Iowa has the Loess Hills, which can be a few hundred feet high over the base elevation. Eastern Iowa hills slope to the Mississippi. Only the central, primarily northern, portion of Iowa is level. That's where the last glacier stopped, about 10-12,000 years ago.
Rural Iowa has paved, little traveled, secondary road systems. Small towns are about 6-10 miles apart. Perfect for cycling.
Cycling is a low impact sport, unless you are hit by a car. You have air conditioning, get to drink and eat, and see a constantly changing view. When I cycle alone, I used to ride a recumbent. Lately I have been riding a custom fitted titanium Lynskey with Campy Groupo. But I own many bicycles, and will ride the tandem if Susie or Brad ride with me. My cycling usually peaks in mid summer with the July ride across Iowa called RAGBRAI. The next RAGBRAI I ride will be my 24th consecutive ride. And if you don't do the WHOLE ride, don't say you did RAGBRAI! Pet Peeve of mine.
Roel has gotten me into mountain biking. He owns a condo in Moab, Utah. We have done about every ride that Rim Tours offers, plus both of the hut to hut rides. This is serious stuff, folks.
 | Siouxland Cyclists- My Sioux City, Iowa, bicycle club. Since 1982! | ||
| RAGBRAI -The longest, biggest, and oldest bicycle tour in the world. Bring a fast "road" bike, not a mountain bike. | ||
| Arizona Bicycle Club with
link to GABA Tucson.
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| Colorado Cyclist
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| Performance Bicycle
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| Bike Nashbar
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| Bicycling Magazine | ||
| Some Iowa Bicycle Clubs in Iowa |
Always wear a helmet (a standing 4 ft. fall to concrete on your head can kill you), gloves, bicycling shorts, and a rear view mirror ( you must see what's coming up behind you). I also like dedicated bicycle shoes with lock in pedals. Gaudy clothes are not just for the camera. You want petroleum powered conveyances to see you! Buy the most outrageous you see!
A fast bicycle is a joy, but that means high pressure, skinny tires. There is a learning curve...you may fall if not cautious.
A fall can happen in an instant, especially on fine road dust (mostly invisible or at corners), gravel, railroad tracks or road cracks.
| Avoid sweeping turns in corners...try to have a turn before and after the apex of the corner, and run most of the curve as straight as you can. |
| Always run over tracks at right angles...square them up. Tracks don't have to be wet to drop you. |
| Never run parallel to ANY road cracks. Cracks will catch your skinny tires and take you down before you can react to the situation. Any green vegetation coming out of a crack denotes seriousness! |
| Do I need to mention wet pavement? It rains on RAGBRAI. On and off riders, or cars, pull the dirt onto the roadway, and where it turns to mud, make it slick . Or if the RAGBRAI chiefs route you down a gravel road...and it rains. Always some gravel on RAGBRAI. |
Riders always fall, and a few die from falls on RAGBRAI.
Mountain bikes are the most stable, then to hybrids or cross bikes. These are great for around town, but if you are doing serious touring such as RAGBRAI, learn to ride a thoroughbred...a "road" bike.
Below are links to some pages of my more serious bicycling adventures. Roel got me doing most of the out west mountain biking:
