RAGBRAI riders of the Burg

By ANDREA FURLONG

Each year, cyclists spend one week biking across Iowa while living an unglamorous lifestyle that includes filling plastic bags with water to create makeshift showers to doing their business in cornfields. Here are three Williamsburg residents who have survived at least one Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) and lived to tell about it.

RAGBRAI VETERAN

Ron Capper, 52, caught the RAGBRAI bug when it passed through Williamsburg in the 90’s. Shortly afterward, he started cycling, joined a 150-member biking club, Bicyclists of Iowa City (BIC), and started RAGBRAI with a two-day ride in 2006. He’s braved the full ride for the past four years.

Capper packs his belongings into two camping bags that BIC hauls for him during the ride. Inside is one sleeping bag, seven biking jerseys, five changes of biking shorts, a D battery to power a fan at night, a tent and a plastic bag that can hold up to three gallons of water for showering. He carries with him a medical insurance card, shampoo, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, water bottle, spare bicycle tube, driver’s identification, cell phone, camera, sunscreen, cash and deodorant.

“You need lots of deodorant on RAGBRAI. It’s not for those with a sensitive sense of smell,” he laughed.

By the time he sets out for RAGBRAI the last full week in July, Capper logs at least 500 miles of cycling outdoors on his 27-speed Trek 1500. He trains alone and rides the race alone in his jersey, shorts, biking sandals and helmet, but he meets some interesting people along the way from Iowa’s western border to the Mississippi River.

“There’s one guy who rides every year who has no legs. He sits on a recumbent bike and pedals with his arms the whole time,” Capper said.

He photographs the riders wearing odd costumes, like a banana suit wrapped around a recumbent bike and its rider that Capper spotted this year.

“I think some of the bike creations amaze me more than the scenery,” he said.

One year, Capper ran into a fit Californian in his 70’s from who claimed to ride 5,000 miles a year. After some talking, Capper learned the man was actually from Williamsburg, but left nearly 50 years ago. He’d been coached and taught in the classroom by former football coach and principal Bob Murphy. Capper was amazed by the man’s fitness for his age, not to mention his local ties. The man also belonged to Capper’s biking club, BIC.

“That’s interesting to meet somebody who left Williamsburg almost 50 years ago and then find out he’s in your own group of 150,” Capper said.

RAGBRAI provides an opportunity to meet new people, but also see new towns. Capper’s favorite part of the ride is biking through little towns he’s never of or visited before. Many small towns go all out for RAGBRAI with themes and sculptures made from bicycles.

“I see so many towns that I would never ever go through in a lifetime. Some of these towns don’t have a population of over 200 and they can put on the best times for people. When I think about when we travel, everything’s about interstate and how fast can we get from here to there. Seeing all the little towns I didn’t even know existed is the biggest thrill I have ever year,” he said.

Last year, Capper’s favorite town was Milo, which took on a MASH theme during RAGBRAI.

“From the time you came in they had people dressed up as Radar, Klinger and ‘Hot Lips’ from the MASH TV show standing there greeting us. Once we got into town, they had army tents sent up that they were serving breakfast out of. All the people in town were dressed in army fatigues. There must have been 5,000 of us in for breakfast at the time I was there and this town only had a population of 839,” Capper said.

He also enjoyed creating history in another town last year, when the City of Indianola attempted to break a world record for the highest number of handprints in concrete.

“They would pour a section of concrete and all the RAGBRAI riders and locals were waiting in line. You’d go up there and put your hand in it and they had a place where you could wash your hands. Once that section (of concrete) was full, they had a cement truck and the concrete layers would pour some more fresh. It’s still on Main Street in Indianola. I think they do hold the record now,” he said.

The town sites that caught Capper’s eye this year (July 25-31), were the documentation of the tornado damage and rebuilding at Parkersburg and the Grotto of the Redemption at West Bend.

“I was starting to leave town and all of a sudden I spotted it. That is one of the things that really sticks out in my mind. I was at the Grotto as a child, but I did not remember the near magnitude of it. It is just out of this world — amazing that a man can do that,” he said.

And then there are the sites along the route that can’t always be attributed to a town, but still stick out in a rider’s mind, like a sign for a women’s restroom in the middle of nowhere.

“One of my favorite things was this sign for a women’s restroom fastened to a high line pole with sticks attached with toilet paper rolls. Of course it’s right next to a cornfield. It blows my mind just how many (people) I swear come to Iowa and ride a bike just so they can go in a cornfield,” Capper laughed.

RAGBRAI ROOKIE

Like Capper, Marty Bunge, 52, was inspired to join RAGBRAI when he saw the riders pass through Marengo about four years ago. But, Bunge waited until this year to ride because his daughter’s birthday and the ride have overlapped until now.

“I really wanted to see if I could do it. I was figuring it would be a lot of fun. When it passed through Marengo, I thought, ‘This could really be a good time,’” he said.

Bunge, who regularly rides for recreation and exercise, logged about 1,000 miles of mostly solitary riding to prepare for his first RAGBRAI.

Bunge had his tent, shower bag, and changes of clothes transported by BIC, while he carried a debit card, credit card, medical insurance card, cash, toilet paper, cell phone, sunscreen and camera on the ride.

Bunge said he trained hard enough that he was able to finish without any injuries, but he did experience a nasty sunburn.

“I had sunscreen lip balm, but I didn’t get it on frequently enough. I was kind of a cry baby the day we were riding in the rain because the raindrops were hitting my sunburned lip,” he laughed.

Like Capper, Bunge biked most of the ride by himself on his 18-speed Litespeed Terramo, but said he got to meet a lot of new people that way, including the aunt of one of his daughter’s friends and an acquaintance of his brother-in-law’s dad.

“I remember as we were leaving Sioux City, there was a team of riders called Team Trust Me. They had pictures on the back of their jerseys that was a guy with a really long nose that looked like Pinocchio. One of them was a car dealer, a couple of them were lawyers and one was an insurance salesman. Later on that day, I came across the car dealer as he rode by me. I asked to take a picture of his shirt, because I thought it was pretty funny. Later that day, I met him, we got to talking and . . .he knew my brother-in-law’s dad. Talk about a small world,” he said.

One of Bunge’s favorite things on his first ride was learning many of the odd team names and the stories behind them.

“There’s a group called Team Roadkill who puts beads and stuff along animals that are dead alongside the road. The last day there was a raccoon and it had beads and bracelets and all sorts of stuff all over it. Part of you is like, ‘Oh gross,’ but you got to laugh too.

“Then there’s Team Flamingo that wears the feather boas. Team Gourmet cooks gourmet meals for team members and the homeowners at the homes they stay at on the overnights. Team Stop-a-lot – “they don’t go very far,” he laughed.

Bunge even encountered a team by his own name. When he first spotted the Bunge bike plate, he thought the rider might be some distant relative, but later he found out the name came from a grain company where the rider and his teammates were employed.

“I’m still waiting to see if I can somehow finagle a bike jersey off of that,” he said.

Bunge said he was able to bike the whole route, except for the legendary and very steep Potter’s Hill, Dubuque, where he had to stop and walk.

“I heard a story about a guy who was trying to get up it and he was trying to downshift his gears to get up it. It was an older bike and he was big. All of a sudden his rear derailer broke, his chain fell off and then there was this high pitched ‘ping’ and something flew off his handlebars. The next thing you heard was him calling out ‘Man down,’ which means he’s stopped and he’s going to tip over because he can’t get his feet out of his pedals,” Bunge laughed.

He credits Gatorade and occasional energy gel packs on helping him avoid physical exhaustion on his first RAGBRAI.

“I think Gatorade helps a lot. You need electrolytes, you need some fuel, to go back into your body. Water alone isn’t going to do it,” he said.

RAGBRAI FOR A DAY

Peggy Wardenburg, 50, got the itch to try RAGBRAI for one day after she landed a gig singing during a previous RAGBRAI.

Being a mild recreational cyclist, Wardenburg had never logged more than 15 miles in one ride before biking 52 miles from Clear Lake to Charles City on the fourth day of the ride.

Like Bunge and Capper, Wardenburg, packed an extra tire tube, medical and personal identification and sanitary supplies, but forgot the toilet paper.

“I’ve learned that was probably a good idea because you run into places where they don’t have it,” she said.

Wardenburg biked the route on her 21-speed Schwinn Sidewinder with Williamsburg friend Kim Buresh.

“It’s a Wal-mart bike. It’s a lot smaller than everyone else’s on the ride. They were kind of looking at me like you can’t do it, but I did,” she smiled.

Wardenburg’s beverage of choice was also different from other riders on RAGBRAI: Diet Mountain Dew.

Among the people Wardenburg met were some a pair of male cyclists in 70’s leisure suits and a woman who looked like she was straight out of the “Wizard of Oz.”

“There was a lady riding with her dog in a basket and the dog had a helmet on and had different changes of clothes every day. I thought that was pretty interesting. It was like a little Toto dog,” she said.

Her friend, Buresh, 38, has seen even stranger sights on her seven years riding RAGBRAI.

“I love the team Dragbrai. It’s made up of a group of guys who wear old prom dresses as they ride each day. There has also been a rollerblader from California that bladed the whole route,” she said. “This year a lady actually ran the whole route one day….51 miles!   There is a famous guy, “Bareback,” that rides without a seat. There is a guy who rides in a loin cloth and nothing else. The list can go on and on,” she said.

Wardenburg’s favorite part of her one-day ride was being outdoors without a schedule.

“It was a really nice day enjoying the countryside, and if there was something really interesting to stop at we just did,” she said.

Wardenburg said she’d enjoy riding on RAGBRAI again, but isn’t sure whether she wants to stick the whole six days out.

“Maybe next year, I’ll ride two days,” she said.