Editor’s note: Bend residents Gary and Patsy Moss took part last month in an iconic cycling event of the American Midwest known as “RAGBRAI” — The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, presented by The Des Moines (Iowa) Register newspaper. Held on the last full week of July each year since its origin in 1973, RAGBRAI has evolved into a seven-day ride across Iowa over a route averaging 468 miles from the Missouri River on the state’s western border to the Mississippi River on its eastern border. Some 10,000 cyclists took part in the 2012 RAGBRAI, the 40th running of what is billed as the oldest, largest and longest bicycle touring event in the world. Among those riders were the Mosses of Bend: Gary, 62, and wife Pasty, 56, both retired and both cycling enthusiasts. Gary Moss wrote about their experience and shares it here:

This was Patsy’s and my first RAGBRAI and this is our story. We were invited by some friends to join them in signing up for the 2012 RAGBRAI, but when they had to cancel we decided to go anyway. Why not? We had never been on a bicycle ride with 10,000 other people.

It is important to note that we abandoned the ride after three days. This had nothing to do with the organization for RAGBRAI. They do a spectacular job. This had nothing to do with the distance. We have done many weeklong rides, and since we ride here in Central Oregon at an elevation of 3,600 feet, with many steep hills, we were well conditioned for the rollers of Iowa at an elevation below 1,500 feet. This had everything to do with the heat in excess of 100 degrees each day.

Because we knew it was going to be hot, and wanted to get to the next camp early to get a shady spot, we were on our bikes shortly after 5:30 the first morning. Many people started that first morning well before we did.

We had only ridden for about half an hour or so when we passed one of the many Burma-Shave signs that were everywhere along our route. This particular set consisted of three signs. The first had an arrow pointing to the field on our right and said “This is corn.” The next had an arrow pointing to the field on our left and said “Those are beans” (soy beans). The next sign simply said “That’s all you need to know.” These three signs were prophetic of what was to come, mile after mile.

Towns welcome cyclists

All of the towns through which we rode went all out to lure the riders to stop and patronize the various booths that local organizations set up for fundraisers. RAGBRAI provides no meals as part of the entry fee. All participants and any participant support personnel are completely on their own for food, so you can imagine the towns try to capture their share of this demand. But one negative of starting each day’s ride before dawn was that we just weren’t ready to patronize booths in the early towns through which we passed. That was pretty early to want to eat a pork chop or an ear of corn.

We rode for almost three hours before we started to look for something to eat. What caught our eye was a series of paper apples on sticks that said “Apple Pie Ahead.” We had been watching these for several miles before arriving in Marcus, Iowa, a town of 1,117 residents, so we were on the lookout as we passed through Marcus. Our patience was rewarded when we came to a Methodist church that was selling the apple pie. We stopped and each enjoyed a very generous slice of homemade apple pie with a big scoop of ice cream on top. When Patsy went inside the church to use their restroom she said there were 300 pies lined up on tables waiting for the rush yet to come.

Our batteries recharged on apple pie a la mode, we rode on and arrived at our next camp before 10 a.m. We were almost the first to arrive mainly because out of the 10,000 riders, many sign up with an outfitter to carry their baggage from camp to camp and to find a place to camp somewhere other than the official RAGBRAI camp. We were part of the official RAGBRAI camp, and because we had started early, and made only the one stop for pie, it wasn’t hard to be among the first to arrive. We saw riders were still coming into camp at 5 that afternoon.

We picked out a tent spot assured of being in the shade, and proceeded to take a shower in the local high school locker room, which was available for $5 per person. Showers are also not part of the RAGBRAI entry fee. These small towns love RAGBRAI; 10,000 hot, sweaty, hungry riders, all looking for food and creature comforts. What an opportunity.

Dealing with the heat

But while arriving by 10 a.m. meant that we were not on our bikes during the heat of the day, it did mean that we were in camp for the heat of the day. The shower really didn’t take. We spent the rest of the day walking around town, looking for an air-conditioned place to eat lunch, and later on dinner, and generally just trying to stay comfortable. By bedtime it was too hot, even in the shade, to nod off to sleep. We just both lay in our tent on top of our sleeping bags with the tent flaps open. Sleep did not come easy.

The next day was forecast to be even hotter so we had decided to be on our bikes earlier the next morning. We awoke at 4 o’clock to get dressed, pack our bags, and take down the tent, all in the dark. While many around us were doing the same thing, some were not, so all of this had to be done somewhat quietly. We met our goal and were on our bikes before 5:30, as were many more riders than the previous day, all trying to beat the heat. Riding in a crowd in the twilight was an experience in itself.

That second day we decided to stop for breakfast after an hour and a half and fortunately we found a pancake and sausage breakfast in the unincorporated town of Hanover. It was all you could eat, so when the server gave us each three small pancakes, I just put mine on Patsy’s plate and went back and asked for four more for myself. It saved a little time and we were both able to enjoy a great meal. After eating, we again kept our pedals turning so that we arrived at out next camp before 11 o’clock. Again we were among the first in camp and again we got a prime tent site. But again the real heat of the day was in front of us.

The closest available shower was about four blocks away at a laundromat which had used plywood to build an outdoor shower with stalls enclosed in plastic. Each shower had a rubber hose with a garden attachment for a shower head that worked quite well.

After showering we looked for an air-conditioned place to eat lunch, ignoring all of the outside vendors. We settled on going into the small grocery store, which was air-conditioned. Browsing the aisles of a grocery store for lunch has never been more enjoyable. We would return to this store at least three more times over the course of the afternoon for a brief respite from the heat and for ice cold bottled water and Gatorade.

For dinner we went to a local church that was serving a pork chop dinner for $9. It, too, was air-conditioned and very popular. You were allowed to enter only as space became available in the sanctuary which was the waiting area. A parishioner was playing the organ for the people in the pews, and a couple of people were napping on the floor beside the pews. At one point the organist played “The Star-Spangled Banner” which caught people by surprise and it took a few seconds before people stood as is customary. The sleepers were awakened. And even in the sanctuary someone uttered the obligatory “play ball” when it was over. The meal was excellent.

Second thoughts

After dinner, back out in the heat, just trying to get comfortable, and looking forward to another night that was not going to cool down, we took stock of our situation. The forecast had more days of triple-digit heat index. The first day’s ride had been 54 miles. The second day’s ride was 62 miles. The next day’s ride would be 81. Even with an early start to avoid the heat of the day, there would still be the sweltering rest of the day and an equally sweltering night.

We began wondering if there was a way to abandon the ride. The logistical challenge was getting back to the start town and our car. We noted that our ride the next day would pass within 25 miles of Fort Dodge, Iowa, a town large enough to have an Enterprise rent-a-car outlet. I called that Enterprise office, but was routed to a regional reservation center. Enterprise is primarily an around-town rental-car operation. Renting a car in one city and dropping it off in another is outside the norm. After some discussion, the reservationist determined that Fort Dodge did have a car that I could drop off in Sioux City, Iowa, which was close to our car in Sioux Center, Iowa. I made the reservation and received my confirmation code.

That night we again had a very hot, restless sleep. We were up again the next morning at 4 and on our bikes before 5:30. Even more, many more, riders were also on the road at or before 5:30. It seemed like at least double the bike traffic from the first two days. The heat had turned us all into lemmings, rushing headlong toward the next camp, not appreciating that our destination was a camp with more unbearable heat. Not exactly like going over a cliff, but still an unwelcome result.

About mile 35 into the ride on that third day we made our break. We took a left when everyone else was going straight and we were on our way to Fort Dodge. We were alone and headed for our rental-car reservation just 25 miles away. We were ecstatic.

Rental car nightmare

We arrived at the Enterprise location in Fort Dodge about 10:30. I went inside where two businessmen were at the counter and the Enterprise attendant, a young woman, was on the phone. I should have been more concerned as I listened to her explain to someone, clearly another RAGBRAI rider, that she had a full page of people on a waiting list for a rental car and none were available. After all, I had a confirmation number.

When it was my turn at the counter I said that I had a reservation. She asked for my last name. I said Moss and she said, “You didn’t listen to your voice mail, did you?” I said I had been on my bicycle since 5:30 that morning and no, I had not listened to any messages. She proceeded to explain that the regional reservation center had erred, and she had called me at 6 that morning to explain that my reservation was a mistake. I said I had a confirmation number. She said there were no cars. I said I was not getting back on my bike and just sat down, undoubtedly somewhat in shock.

She may have misjudged my shock as some kind of dogged determination to not leave without a car. Or she may have dealt with deranged bicyclists at some other time in her young career and didn’t want to relive that experience. Whatever the case, after explaining that RAGBRAI participants had locked up all available rental cars within 100 miles or more she said she would try some other locations just in case. I believe she was still trying to keep me from going off the deep end. After several fruitless calls she tried Cedar Falls. The attendant said he had no cars but that he did have a cargo van that might be available if he could make arrangements for it to be returned before Friday. Was I interested? I avoided being sarcastic and said yes. The attendant in Cedar Falls made a few calls and determined that he could get the van returned from our preferred drop-off point. We booked the cargo van.

But there was still the issue that the cargo van was 85 miles from where we were and I was still not going to get on my bike and ride there. So the young woman got on the phone to the local cab company to see what the fare would be to Cedar Falls. The fare was $163, cash, and they had an available driver. I didn’t hesitate to say send the cab right over. They did, and by noon, thanks to the very helpful young woman at Enterprise, we had taken the wheels off of our bikes so they would load in the trunk of the cab and were on our way to Cedar Falls. And yes, the cab fare was more than the cost of the cargo van rental.

It was a pleasant ride to Cedar Falls in the air-conditioned cab.

Getaway complete

The cargo van was perfect. It only had two seats which meant there was plenty of room for our bikes in the back. We loaded them up and drove to Webster City where RAGBRAI was camped for that night and where our bags were. We arrived at 4 parked right next to the baggage truck, retrieved our bags, and completed our getaway.

I admit to feeling a bit smug as we drove away, headed back to our car and an air-conditioned motel room for the night. By 7:30 we were back in Sioux Center, had retrieved our car and transferred all of our stuff from the cargo van into it, and checked into a motel. It had been a very long day and had turned out wonderfully, in spite of the obvious odds against what we had done. Chance does favor the prepared mind, and sometimes things just work out. The next morning we headed back to Oregon.

Patsy wants to do RAGBRAI again so that she can ride the whole route. But she would check the Iowa forecast before even leaving Oregon. I would go, too, but would act as her outfitter, driving a car from camp to camp, and making sure there was a more enjoyable place to spend each evening. That way we could both enjoy the essence of RAGBRAI, which is the small towns through which you ride and all of their fundraising food booths and activities.