THE GUIDE

The Virgin’s Guide to RAGBRAI

First and foremost, congratulations on your wise decision to ride with the Perineum Falcons. You will probably not regret it.

The following information has been compiled to help guide you through your virgin RAGBRAI experience with the Perineum Falcons.

Departure

The details regarding departure will sent to members via email. Generally; the Falcon will lift off from Western Iowa near Stuart on the Saturday morning prior to the ride. She will end up back there at the end of the week...probably.
 

The Route

Get this year's route maps from RAGBRAI.com. You can print out each daily map. These are handy to carry with you each day so you know where the route is, what the mileage is and how poorly you are doing.
 

Support

The bus will stop in one or more pass-through towns before getting to the overnight town for support. Most times this will be the Ragbrai designated meeting town. Updates on bus location will be communicated by text message if you have the technology. The bus will typically arrive in the overnight town for camp setup (individually responsible for tent setup) between not early o'clock and 8pm. It\'s not usually that late, more typically mid to late afternoon.
 
If there are special needs to be in a specific town earlier, we will try to accommodate. 
 
SCHEDULES ON RAGBRAI ARE LIKE TITS ON A BOAR: PRETTY MUCH USELESS. However, we will do our best to be there for everyone and we will not leave riders behind.
 

Overnight Hosts

In most overnight towns we will have camp sites predetermined and you will be supplied with maps/addresses/phone numbers/names and give out addresses and maps beforehand. This is how you will find the bus most nights. In the towns that we don't, we will get into town a bit earlier, establish a site and send out text messages with the information to the team. Please be patient as the cell tower traffic is out of our control.
 
Our overnight hosts will kindly be providing yard space to camp and possibly bathrooms and showers. Respect these people and their property.
 

Gear Storage

The Perineum Falcons are not personally responsible for your safety or that of your equipment. Although we will try to protect your equipment and bikes, the ride and transportation on top of the bus can be somewhat rough on them. Bikes will be fastened to the deck on top of the bus with bungees and/or hub mounts. We can't guarantee your bike won't get scratches, etc. Therefore, bring your touring bike rather than your $5000 racing bike. Same goes for you and your personal stuff.
 
It's not that it will be an overly unsafe environment, but it's not "ideal" either. We’ll do our best to protect your stuff.
 

Packing for your first RAGBRAI can be a daunting task. Fortunately, the top brass of the Perineum Falcons have taken time out of their extraordinarily busy schedules to provide you with this vigorously researched and exhaustively tested guide to help escort you through the packing process for your virgin RAGBRAI voyage.

What you should bring

Personal Gear

  • Money: Figure on about $25-$30 per day on breakfast burritos, pork chops, corn, pie and booze at the local bars. Also, consider pitching in a few dollars on supplemental team beer, Gatorade, Red Bull or whatever else comes up. Lastly, do not forget $300 in personal burial money.
  • Street Clothes: Barely necessary. Pack light: 2 or 3 outfits, unless you're a female. Then, just try to keep it to a dozen or less, and don't forget your 3 in. pumps. The weather will be mostly hot as balls, but prepare for cool evenings.
  • Shoes/Sandals
  • Toiletries
    • Soap
    • Shampoo
    • Deordorant
    • Toothbrush/Toothpaste
    • Feminine Hygiene Products, if you are feminine.
    • Anti-Monkey Butt Powder or some equivocal swamp-ass remedy: Your undercarriage will thank you, as will your shorts.
    • Flushable wipes: These goddamn things were made for RAGBRAI.
  • Raincoat: Skin is also water resistant. Consider nudity during rain showers.
  • Towel: Nearly pointless in Iowa in July, as it will smell like a moldy basement after one use. But, you can use it to wipe stuff up, afterward.
  • Waterproof Baggies: For anything you want to keep dry.
  • Sunscreen: …and lots of it.
  • Medication: Bring enough to share.
  • Birth Control: Your preference: An Ovulation calendar and a thermometer, Birth Control Pills (or for the procrastinator, Morning After Pills), Condoms, Today's Sponge, a Super Soaker filled with Nonoxyl-9, or a jug of bleach. Just bring it... I’m not asking, Arun.
  • Your Liver

Bike Gear

  • Bike: Believe it or not, this is optional on RAGBRAI. There are many "riders" that dress the part only to ride the buses all week.
  • Bicycle Helmet: If you have a Specialized brand helmet, it is mandatory that you scratch off the "i" and the "z" on all of the "Specialized" logo stickers.
  • Cycling Shoes or SPD Sandals: Marc will make fun of you if you wear SPD Sandals, but he understands your motivation.
  • Cycling Shorts w/ Taint Padding: Optional, I guess... but at the end of the week, you'll be happy with any padding you can get.
  • Sunglasses
  • Water Bottle(s): 1 bottle for water and 1 bottle for liquor/fuel is recommended.
  • Compact Multi-Tool: For quick repairs, adjustments and opening beer bottles.
  • Extra Tubes / Patch Kit / Compact Pump: Just ask Arun if extra tubes / patch kits are necessary...
  • Aerobar: Optional but highly recommended, both for aerodynamics and for optional hand/arm positions. - Joe says bikes with these are a pain to load on the bus.
  • Lock: Not really necessary unless you're bike is worth more than your car. No guarantees.
  • Headlight / Taillight: if you plan on riding at night.

Camping Gear

  • Tent: Space efficient, weatherproof, and easy to set up in exhausted and shit-hammered drunk conditions.
  • Sleeping bag / Blanket: Most sleeping bags are too effing hot for IA in July. Most opt for a light blanket and a sleeping pad (below) and get along just swimmingly.
  • Sleeping pad: Optional, but recommended if you bring only a blanket.
  • Pillow: ...for biting or whatever.
  • Flashlight or Headlamp: Although people will look at you funny, a headlamp can double as a flashlight / bike light / kybo light / reading light / sex light. Very useful.

What will be provided by the Perineum Falcons:

Community Gear:

  • The Perineum Falcon II: The team bus. Love it.
  • 10-Gallon Storage Tub: All of your personal shit must fit in here. Unless it doesn't. Assuming we have enough.
  • Cellphone Chargers: Pretty popular amongst those smartphone users as their battery no longer lasts a day anymore.
  • Illegal On-Bus Pisser: Notice it is not referred to as an illegal on-bus shitter. Let's keep it that way.
  • 120 qt Cooler: For Beer Only.
  • 80 qt Cooler: for Beer and whatnot.
  • Trash and Recycling Cans
  • Leftover Swag from the yesteryears: Back when we were proactive enough to line up beer sponsors.
  • Markers: For writing on buses, people, livestock, genitals, etc.

Bike Gear

  • Floor Pump
  • Zip-Ties
  • Bungies
  • Basic Tools
  • Anything else: Just ask Frodo, he packs everything.

Camp Gear

  • Bus Shower: We now have a pressurized and heated shower tent set up. Don't worry, it's still completely unreliable in keeping with team tradition.
  • Camp Shower Privacy Tent: Optional.

We tried to out a mini fridge on the bus my first time to save the milk. The bus couldn't handle it. So mike dumped most of my milk. It was kind of freeing bc then I could drink without worry. The last time I pumped with the twins I rode just one day so any time I pumped near the bus I tossed my milk in the cooler which worked out well. You'll need to drink tons of water and expect a slight dip in production which may or may not be temp/perm. Although i did tend to stretch out my pumps longer compared to when nursing but you don't have to do that. I just fucking hate pumping so much.

It was much easier with a pump with a battery pack. With a nursing cover I've pumped in bars and been recognized years later, rest areas on the side of the ride with many people around, and I've even asked strangers of I could pump in their home (in front of 13 mounted deer heads). Its not for the shy but if you are determined you can make it work. We stop for beer so frequently it worked out. I always pumped before bed and with any wee ones would pump in the middle of the night, sometimes on the bus but watch out for bus sleepers or people with middle of the night pee breaks.

You are not required to share your milk with anyone else, but men are fascinatingly curious about EBM and super willing to try it which makes for some fun stories. It tastes good with Rumchata!

-JB

Addendum by MJ- Pumping breast milk in bars wins you things like "best left tit award" and makes you "Ragbrai Famous".

A Note Regarding Official RAGBRAI Registration

Of course, the Perineum Falcons condones registering for the RAGBRAI and supporting it. However, there will be more than 5000 riders without tags on the ride who neither drew, nor applied and are riding anyway. The Des Moines Register sells a limited number of registrations to support the ride and knows fully that there will be many more than that on the ride and in the towns. If you are not registered, you will be missing out on a dollar off a limited number of food items, semi-truck trailer hauling of your baggage (which we will not need), official sag-wagon usage (we have our own), vehicle access to the main campgrounds (where we will not be camping) and a dollar off car wash/high school showers (which we will not need to use).

If you do not have a wristband and someone gives you shit for it, slowly extend your fist toward their nose, palm up, and slowly extend your middle finger to within one inch of their forehead.