Ranger Rick Rides RAGBRAI

Hi! I’m Kate. Most days, I’m in the Ranger Rick office writing stories about the adventures of other people (and animals, of course). But last summer I had an adventure of my own. I rode my bike across the state of Iowa! I was part of a team from National Wildlife Federation (the group that publishes Ranger Rick). We shared the road with about 10,000 other bikers on a huge ride called RAGBRAI. Along the way, I met lots of kids riding with their families. (You can read some of their tales in the July 2008 issue of Ranger Rick.) And you can get a glimpse of the ride through my eyes below.

Here I am with my trusty bike and my riding buddy. Yup, that stuffed Ranger Rick crossed all of Iowa on my handlebars! Why is my bike in the water? Well, the tradition is to dip your back tire in the Missouri River on the west side of Iowa where the ride begins. Seven days later, you finish by dipping your front tire in the Mississippi River on the east side.

Look who showed up at the end of a long, hot day of biking: Ranger Rick himself! He’s helping my team spread the word about global warming. All of us from National Wildlife Federation wanted to get people thinking and talking about this problem. Meanwhile, we were all riding bikes—one good solution!

If someone tells you that Iowa is flat, don’t believe them! Iowa has lots of green rolling hills, with fields of corn and soybeans stretching as far as you can see. During RAGBRAI, two-wheeled traffic filled the road all day long, mile after mile and town after town.

This is what break time looked like. Each little town put out the welcome mat for us. Music boomed from speakers and stages, food and drinks for sale tempted the hungry and thirsty, and every patch of grass was filled with bikes and resting riders.

Here’s one of the kids I met enjoying a big slice of watermelon. Sweet, juicy, and cold—watermelon was my favorite treat on the ride. But there was lots of other yummy food, too. Good thing—all those miles on a bike make you hungry!

It was HOT all week. We started riding early each morning to beat the heat, but it wasn’t long before the temperature rose. What to do? Keep an eye out for friendly Iowans to the rescue! Some stood alongside the road with a garden hose and sprayed anyone who wanted a cool shower. Others hung “Free Shade” signs on trees in their lawns, inviting riders to stop for a break. Lots more just waved and cheered us on as we kept pedaling toward the finish line.

Hooray! It’s the Mississippi! Here’s the whole National Wildlife Federation team dipping our front tires in the river at the end of the ride. After seven days on bikes and seven nights sleeping in tents, we were glad to be done. But it sure was fun!

 

Photos by Kate Hofmann (NWF)