The first leg of RAGBRAI saw riders and their support vehicles leave Council Bluffs Sunday enroute to Atlantic for the first overnight stay on the 427 mile cross-State trip. Along the way, the throngs passed through Underwood, Neola, Minden, Avoca and Walnut, with an optional loop through McClelland early on. Three members of Team “Bad Monkey,” Zack Humphries from Kansas City, Al Hiller from Liberty, Missouri, and Craig Sommeren from Chicago, Illinois, spoke about their first day.

Sommeren said their group didn’t actually start from Council Bluffs.

They arrived in Atlantic early Sunday afternoon. All three riders are RAGBRAI veterans. Hiller has participated for 15-years, for Humphries it’s his second year, and Sommeren said he’s been on the ride for a total of 20-years. He said he learns something new every day. Humphries said the Iowan’s have been very friendly, and were excited to see the riders.

Hiller said the rain didn’t put a damper on the ride.

(He said “We have people from Seattle…it was Seattle weather.” Otherwise, it was a beautiful day.”)

The overcast skies, the men said, made the scenery all the more interesting, especially with the blades of the wind turbines partially hidden in the clouds. Along the way, they stopped for baked goods and pie in Walnut. Sommeren said the host communities never have enough of one type of pie, though. He said there is never enough rhubarb pie. “If you think you’ve made enough, make more.”

He said it’s the first pie that sells out. He also just make plain rhubarb…”Not any of this strawberry-rhubarb bingo stuff.” For those who have always wanted to participate in RAGBRAI, the men have some advice. They said prepare for a lesson in problem solving, and expect the unexpected.” That includes mechanical failure with support buses. They gave a shout-out to “Team Hard,” who had to push their bus across an intersection after it broke down.

When asked if things are different on RAGBRAI this year, than in past years, Sommeren said “Yes.” He said “There’s a lot more rules. When I started there was almost no rules.” That, he says, concerns him because younger people aren’t participating in the ride as they had when it started out.

(He said the average age of ridership is aging out. How do we get younger riders in this to keep it going. The average age keeps going up.”)

Riders leave Atlantic Monday morning on their way to their next overnight stay in Winterset. Along the way they’ll pass through Wiota, Anita, Adair, Casey, Menlo, Stuart, Dexter and Earlham. Listen for KJAN News Director Ric Hanson’s full interview with the three men Monday morning at 7:30, on “Heartbeat Today,” with Jim Field. The podcast of that program will be posted soon after it airs.

From Left to right: Craig Sommeren, Ric Hanson, Zach Humphries and Al Hiller. (Photo courtesy Steve Andersen)