RAGBRAI Journal: Purist or Charter Service

Pork Belly Ventures aerial view.

You've hopefully now registered for the ride and have your wristband

reserved.

Step 1 completed. Nicely done.!

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You are now committed to the ride, but you do have a few more choices to make in short order. So are you a RAGBRAI purist or are you a Charter Service person? Yes, aside from your training, the time is now to decide whether you stick with the base level RAGBRAI services experience , (I call this the "purists option"), or do you level-up your ride experience by signing up for one of the Charter Services company options? You do have a number of choices, which I last counted to be 19 sanctioned charter companies The services cover everything from tent rental services to bike shipping. It is a healthy list. I suggest you take a dive into these companies to see what services they offer.

Baggage Handling Is In Your Future

You might have gathered by now that I think that baggage is a very important logistical topic. And you would be right.

Let me give you a glimpse into why I say that.

For the "purist" experience, this means a fairly well defined morning routine. I can't tell you how stressful it is to get dressed every morning, repack your bag, teardown your tent, bundle your bag and tent, and then lug your baggage/tent bundle over to the Baggage Truck for drop-off every morning. The very first morning, you will find yourself wondering if you have crossed the 50 lb baggage limit. You will wonder if you "will be that guy" who has to shed items from his bag and drop them into the trash can? Of course, once your baggage/tent bundle has passed muster on the first day with regards to being under the 50 lb limit, you shouldn't have to worry about that any longer. What your bag contains at the start of the RAGBRAI should be exactly what your bag contains at the end of the ride. So you should be good there. Phew!

I would be remiss if I did not mention just how close you will cut it to the 8:00am Baggage Transport truck cutoff. It will happen. Why? Because you will spend most of each morning waiting in line to use the KYBOs. I will say that KYBO will outrank packing. Biology wins every time. Packing can wait, mother nature cannot. You most certainly do not want to be THAT guy!

Needless to say, you will have to deal your baggage/tent routine on a daily basis. Expect the first day of your baggage handling routine to be stressful. There is just no escaping it. It is a camping event after all. I promise, you will get fairly efficient at it. Because you have to!

Baggage Handling Will Set The Mood

I know you what you may be thinking...

"Okay, I get it. The morning baggage routine might be a little stressful at first. But I can handle it.".

Right you are... you can handle it. I have no doubt you can. Maybe even better than me.

But let me add one additional thought...

While simple in that it is just a routine that you have to work out, your morning baggage/tent handling routine will both start your day, and it will start your evening. This will be true every day... for all 7 days. I can assure you from experience that your daily routine will set the emotional tone for your ride, and also for your evening relaxation. When your routine goes well, it will barely be perceptible. After a long, hot day on the bike, you will still have to pitch your tent in that same toasty sunshine in each overnight town. If you are an experienced summer camper and don't mind such things, you shouldn't mind any of this at all. However, as I mentioned in my previous post, every thing at RAGRAI is "first come, first serve", and that includes the shady spots under the trees. Finding a shady swatch of earth upon which to pitch your tent is a challenge... you could say it might be a competitive sport. You will eventually find a spot to camp, it just may not have any shade to speak of. Your relief from the summer sun may not arrive until sunset. When your tired and hot, that makes a difference. A big difference.

RAGBRAI Purist Or Charter Service... You Will Handle Baggage To Some Extent

Okay. So you now have that small glimpse into "a day in the life" of the "purist" option. Yes, it is a very small portion... baggage handling... but if nothing else, hopefully you see why I consider it one of the driving forces behind the decision to go for the "purist" experience or the "Charter Service" option. Knowing what you might be facing is probably the best way to make an informed decision.

Whether you choose to take the "purist" experience or opt for the "Charter Service" experience is totally up to you. The services offered by the Charter companies vary. But one feature of Charter Services experience is that most do allow you 2 soft bags. Yes, that is 1 more bag than the "purists" experience. This benefit is a big selling point for me. I have found that I can easily fit all of what I need for the week of riding and camping into two REI Roadtripper Large Duffel bags. Yupper... definitely a plug! But seriously, I would recommend that you should skim through a fair number of the sanctioned Charter companies to see what they offer, and what appeals to you. At a minimum, you will get a feel for the services that are offered, and by which companies.

Charter Services

I would describe these service offerings as being on a graduated spectrum/scale. On the one end

of the scale you have the most minimalistic in service offerings such as a dedicated campground and baggage services. As you slide on this scale to the right, you can find companies that offer a few more services such as in-campground food, or tent setup/teardown services, or maybe even

shower services (soooo worth it!!). On the far right of the scale, you will find those charter companies that provide "full-service" offerings, and a-la-carte services such as in-campground breakfast/dinners, showers, tent rentals, tent setup/teardown services, baggage transport, and even live entertainment in the evenings. You name the service, there are logistic companies that offer it. But again, each comes with a cost. So like everything in life, you have choices. Those choices might bring additional out-of-pocket expense, but they do increase your overall experience.

Think about it this way... what if you could "subcontract out" parts of the baggage handling process? Hand off some of the stressful parts of your day? What if all you have to do is wake up in the morning, get dressed, and pack your bags? What if you only have to leave your packed bag outside your tent? No need to teardown your tent. No need for lugging your baggage to the transport truck. Wake up, pack your bag, get on your bike and ride. Much simpler, don't you think? What if arriving in the overnight town campground means just finding your fully pitched tent with your bag sitting inside of it? I cannot imagine it getting much simpler than that.

Only you can determine what is right for you. It differs for everybody. Choose wisely, but do choose. If you are a "purist", you are good to go. Nothing to decide... at the moment. If you lean more towards the "Charter Services", you need to sign up for them now. The charters, especially the good ones, sell out super fast. I have seen charters sellout even before the Route Announcement party. I even saw one of the charters had only 13 tents remaining for rental as of the day after the route announcement. Yikes, that is fast!

RAGBRAI Services or Charter Services...

Don't wait to signup for Charter Services. If you want services, now is the time to signup. Don't miss the chance to make your experience the best it can be.

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