(Edited June 22: Cancelled my trip this year due to lack of training and conditioning)
I have plenty of excuses why I did not do RAGBRAI last year. Gear problems and lack of training where high, but the biggest reason I did not go was the 100+ heat index days the first two days that included a lot more hills than I am used to. For 2012 I am not as concerned. Still having some shifter problems, but I’m stoked to be in my best shape ever and the elevation (climbs) for this trip are much more manageable regardless of what the temperature is. Here’s the Ragbrai route for July 2012:
Sunday, July 22 (54 miles, 1,583 feet of climb)
- Start Town: Sioux Center
- Pass-through Towns: Orange City, Alton, Granville, Marcus
- Overnight Town: Cherokee
Monday, July 23 (62 miles, 2,062 feet of climb)
- Start Town: Cherokee
- Pass-through Towns: Aurelia, Hanover, Schaller, Nemaha, Sac City
- Overnight Town: Lake View
Tuesday, July 24 (81 miles, 1,724 feet of climb)
- Start Town: Lake View
- Pass-through Towns: Auburn, Lake City, Lohrville, Farnhamville, Gowrie, Dayton, Stratford, Lehigh
- Overnight Town: Webster City
Wednesday, July 25
- Start Town: Webster City (77 miles, 2,018 feet of climb)
- Pass-through Towns: Kamrar, Jewell, Story City, Roland, McCallsburg, Zearing, Saint Anthony, Clemons
- Overnight Town: Marshalltown
Thursday, July 26 (84 miles, 3,576 feet of climb)
- Start Town: Garwin
- Pass-through Towns: Clutier, Garrison, Vinton, Shellsburg, Covington,
- Overnight Town: Cedar Rapids
Friday, July 27 (42 miles, 2,272 feet of climb)
- Start Town: Cedar Rapids
- Pass-through Towns: Mount Vernon, Springville, Viola, Fairview
- Overnight Town: Anamosa
Saturday, July 28 (69 miles, 2,890 feet of climb)
- Start Town: Anamosa
- Pass-through Towns: Hale, Oxford Junction, Lost Nation, Elwood, Delmar, Charlotte, Goose Lake
- Final Destination Town: Clinton