The long-sleeved shirt, stocking cap and gloves I threw into my baggage at the last minute saved me from a week of shiveringly cold nights.
The National Weather Service says an average July day in Mason City, the fourth overnight town this year, has a high of 82 degrees and a low of 62.
Mosquitos, chiggers and other critters can be abundant in July. Bring bug spray. I usually forget that.
Every RAGBRAI town has emergency plans in place. Towns have designated storm shelters for every campground. The locations are published online.
Be sure to know where to seek safety. RAGBRAI is held in the last week of July, typically one of the hottest, most humid and most active weather weeks of the year in Iowa. Thunderstorms, both on the route and in overnight towns, are common, and at least one rider has died when a tree fell on a tent.
I do. Crowded campgrounds have all types of noises: port-a-potties clanking shut in the middle of the night, cars, trains, drunks yelling and generators running.
When it sounds like a NASCAR pit stop outside as people unzip their tents.
Phone companies provide cell booster towers during the week, but cell towers in rural areas, like the ones on the route this year, get overwhelmed.
By praying their texts get through — and setting times to meet people at specific places, like libraries or town halls. Or by carrying whistles or duck calls or making some other code sound so they can find members of their teams when they reach towns.
