Hail Flamingos!
Just wanted to talk a little more about Saturday, July 21st, departure day for RAGBRAI.
1) Be at Carolyn's at
8:00 am so that we can get bikes and baggage loaded and get on the road
by 9:00 am to take advantage of the cooler temps in the morning.
2) Limit yourself to one bag, sleeping bag, tent, cot/air mattress, pillow, etc. to conserve space.
3) Use soft luggage -- duffel bag, gym bag, etc. rather then hard shell suitcase.
4) Bring snack food/beverage along for the ride. We can stop and shop
in Sioux City for supplies you want for the week (beer, pop, etc.) once
we're there rather then cramming everything in for the ride out. We
will try to have a cooler of some type in each vehicle.
5) Remember, we are staying in Sioux City, not Sioux Center on Saturday
night. We will have about an hour's drive to start point on Sunday
morning, so it would be helpful if we didn't have to off load bikes
Saturday night. Perhaps you could pack Sunday riding clothes separate
from your main kit so that we can leave as many things loaded on the
vehicle as possible for a quick start in the morning.
6) If you want to bring a camp chair along, bring it that morning to
Carolyn's. If there's room to carry it on the vehicle we will, but no
promises until we get everyone's gear assembled for loading.
7) Put your luggage tag on your main duffel bag, so we have a way of
tracking who's bag is whose when we load up each morning. Don't want to
leave you gear behind like Emily's was two years ago.
8) Everyone will be assigned to a specific support vehicle for the
ride. Assignments were made with size of vehicle, types of riders,
genders, and housing combinations, so hopefully everyone is happy with
their van mates. If not, bring a book to read.
9) Your support vehicle driver is just that. A driver. He or she is
not expected to unload your gear and carry it into the house that night,
or out to the vehicle the next morning. You are responsible for that.
Treat your driver nicely, it is hard to get support drivers and
vehicles.
10). We will have the FlamingoLoo along when/if we camp and the KYBO's are too far away for late night potty runs.
11) Each vehicle will have a hand sanitizer and a first aid kit on board
for emergency needs, bandages, etc. Tylinol, Ibupufren, etc. are not
provided.
12) Each vehicle should have a floor air pump and tire gauge on board.
Big Bird (Mike Knapp)
