That's great! I have friends who have done RAGBRAI, and they loved it. You should have a very fun time. Please post some photos if you get a chance. One of these days I'd love to do it. Meanwhile I'll live vicariously through you.
Mike
Forums
Re: Biking with multiple myeloma
Hi Ron,
That's great! I have friends who have done RAGBRAI, and they loved it. You should have a very fun time. Please post some photos if you get a chance. One of these days I'd love to do it. Meanwhile I'll live vicariously through you.
Mike
That's great! I have friends who have done RAGBRAI, and they loved it. You should have a very fun time. Please post some photos if you get a chance. One of these days I'd love to do it. Meanwhile I'll live vicariously through you.
Mike
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mikeb - Name: mikeb
- Who do you know with myeloma?: self
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 2009 (MGUS at that time)
- Age at diagnosis: 55
Re: Biking with multiple myeloma
Returned from RAGBRAI on Sunday. It was a long physical week. I did a total of 498.3 miles (801.9 km) in 7 days of riding. We started in Glenwood, Iowa on the west side of the state by the Missouri River and finished in Muscatine on the east side by the Mississippi.
It is a tradition that when you start the ride you dip your back tire into the Missouri and when you finish you dip your front tire into the Mississippi.
This was the 44th year for RAGBRAI. Each year they change the route. The state is hilly in the south and flat in the north. This year was a southern route and was the 4th hilliest in RAGBRAI history. We had 2 days where we did over 4,000 ft of climb. There were at least 5 hills that hit 10% and a dozen or so in total of 8% or more. There were several where the climbs were 1.5 miles or so. Although it burned my legs and I was huffing and puffing, I never had to get off my bike and do the walk of shame!
I had a treatment on Weds before we left, including an IVIG infusion to boost my immune system. We left Dallas on Friday afternoon and drove to Kansas City in our RV. We arrived at around 2 a.m., parked it for a few hours, and caught a little sleep, then headed up to Glenwood, Iowa for the start, arriving at mid day Saturday.
We unpacked and road our bikes 8 miles to the Missouri River, where we dipped our back tires. The ride officially started on Sunday. Each day there were rides of 50-75 miles going through and stopping at little towns on the way. The longest day for me was 112.8 miles. Should of been only 98, but I could not find the campground and found out that ATT has no cell coverage in central Iowa. So I drove all over the town of Centerville looking for our RV! Was totally wiped out after that!
We finished the ride this past Saturday afternoon and after quick showers headed back to Dallas, driving through the night. We arrived at about 8:00 am and I was in the office the following day!
Had a great time and met a lot of interesting people. RAGBRAI is like a traveling carnival of 20,000 bikers making their way across the state. Hard to describe, you have to witness it to give it any justice. Lance Armstrong came and road a few days.
Here is a pic of me finishing.
It is a tradition that when you start the ride you dip your back tire into the Missouri and when you finish you dip your front tire into the Mississippi.
This was the 44th year for RAGBRAI. Each year they change the route. The state is hilly in the south and flat in the north. This year was a southern route and was the 4th hilliest in RAGBRAI history. We had 2 days where we did over 4,000 ft of climb. There were at least 5 hills that hit 10% and a dozen or so in total of 8% or more. There were several where the climbs were 1.5 miles or so. Although it burned my legs and I was huffing and puffing, I never had to get off my bike and do the walk of shame!
I had a treatment on Weds before we left, including an IVIG infusion to boost my immune system. We left Dallas on Friday afternoon and drove to Kansas City in our RV. We arrived at around 2 a.m., parked it for a few hours, and caught a little sleep, then headed up to Glenwood, Iowa for the start, arriving at mid day Saturday.
We unpacked and road our bikes 8 miles to the Missouri River, where we dipped our back tires. The ride officially started on Sunday. Each day there were rides of 50-75 miles going through and stopping at little towns on the way. The longest day for me was 112.8 miles. Should of been only 98, but I could not find the campground and found out that ATT has no cell coverage in central Iowa. So I drove all over the town of Centerville looking for our RV! Was totally wiped out after that!
We finished the ride this past Saturday afternoon and after quick showers headed back to Dallas, driving through the night. We arrived at about 8:00 am and I was in the office the following day!
Had a great time and met a lot of interesting people. RAGBRAI is like a traveling carnival of 20,000 bikers making their way across the state. Hard to describe, you have to witness it to give it any justice. Lance Armstrong came and road a few days.
Here is a pic of me finishing.
- IMG_0377.JPG (136.4 KiB) Viewed 1200 times
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Ron Harvot - Name: Ron Harvot
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Feb 2009
- Age at diagnosis: 56
Re: Biking with multiple myeloma
Here is a picture showing the typical hills we did throughout the ride. Very picturesque countryside. There were miles and miles of corn fields as well!
- IMG_0325v2.jpg (81.68 KiB) Viewed 1174 times
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Ron Harvot - Name: Ron Harvot
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Feb 2009
- Age at diagnosis: 56
Re: Biking with multiple myeloma
Congratulations, Ron, on successfully completing the race. That's an amazing accomplishment!
Re: Biking with multiple myeloma
Thanks Terry.
Just a minor correction. This was not a race. It was a group, albeit a very large group, bike ride. RAGBRAI is a giant social event. There were some people that wore costumes doing the ride. Some had the big fat bike tire bikes and were loaded down with their camping equipment. There was one guy that did the ride on a old time Penny Farthing bike (real big wheel in front and little wheel in rear). There was a guy on a unicycle and one person actually was running pushing a stroller!! (He had his camping gear in the stroller). There was a lot of beer drinkers and vendors selling all kinds of food and drink. They had one vendor called Mr. Porkchop that sold 1 1/2 inch thick pork chops that they cook on giant grills. I had to have one as that is also a RAGBRAI tradition!
These vendors tear down their tents, etc, and overnight set up again on the next leg. The small local towns look forward to this every year as it puts money into the local economy. Most of these towns are small farming communities with populations of less than 2,000. The biggest structure in the town is the local grain elevator.
Just a minor correction. This was not a race. It was a group, albeit a very large group, bike ride. RAGBRAI is a giant social event. There were some people that wore costumes doing the ride. Some had the big fat bike tire bikes and were loaded down with their camping equipment. There was one guy that did the ride on a old time Penny Farthing bike (real big wheel in front and little wheel in rear). There was a guy on a unicycle and one person actually was running pushing a stroller!! (He had his camping gear in the stroller). There was a lot of beer drinkers and vendors selling all kinds of food and drink. They had one vendor called Mr. Porkchop that sold 1 1/2 inch thick pork chops that they cook on giant grills. I had to have one as that is also a RAGBRAI tradition!
These vendors tear down their tents, etc, and overnight set up again on the next leg. The small local towns look forward to this every year as it puts money into the local economy. Most of these towns are small farming communities with populations of less than 2,000. The biggest structure in the town is the local grain elevator.
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Ron Harvot - Name: Ron Harvot
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Feb 2009
- Age at diagnosis: 56
Re: Biking with multiple myeloma
Way to go, Ron! Sounds like it was a great experience, even if it was quite tough physically. I'm especially impressed that you made it back into the office the day you got back home.
You continue to be an inspiration for us mere mortals!
Mike
You continue to be an inspiration for us mere mortals!
Mike
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mikeb - Name: mikeb
- Who do you know with myeloma?: self
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 2009 (MGUS at that time)
- Age at diagnosis: 55
Re: Biking with multiple myeloma
Wow! That is amazing!
Thank you for sharing, it made my day.
Rhonda
Thank you for sharing, it made my day.
Rhonda
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Rhonda - Who do you know with myeloma?: myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: September 2014
- Age at diagnosis: 54
Re: Biking with multiple myeloma
Thanks for sharing about this event, Ron! It still sounds quite competitive, cycling 500 miles in a week! Guess there are a lot of cyclists who can do that, but how many are also taking treatments for myeloma? It is inspiring to hear about your accomplishments, and I hope you keep up the good work!
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Nancy Shamanna - Name: Nancy Shamanna
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Self and others too
- When were you/they diagnosed?: July 2009
Re: Biking with multiple myeloma
Ron,
Thanks for the details. It sounds like a great time. Do I understand that you had an RV that followed along and in which you slept each night? That is really the way to go. Who was the driver?
Thanks for the details. It sounds like a great time. Do I understand that you had an RV that followed along and in which you slept each night? That is really the way to go. Who was the driver?
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goldmine848 - Name: Andrew
- When were you/they diagnosed?: June 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 60
Re: Biking with multiple myeloma
Andrew,
One of my son's, Andy, was our driver. Andy is not into biking. He does weight lifting. One of the guys we road with brought his 3 sons, who stayed in a tent. Andy thus had some people his age to hang with. The way it worked was the RVs would pull out after we left and by a different route would head to the town we would be staying at the next night. They would be directed to locations to park and we kept in touch through cell phones, when we had coverage.
For those staying in tents (most of the people). they had numerous options. The hard core had panniers and loaded up their bikes with their gear and had to carry their clothing, tents, etc. Then there was the portage service. They supplied the tents and would set them up and tear them down each day. They also provided portable showers for their guests and carried the guests knapsacks and put them in the tents. So those riders only had to worry about their bikes.
The RV is the way to go as it is air conditioned, has a bathroom, kitchen, etc. We were cramped though, as we had 8 sleeping in a 32 foot (9.75 m) RV. Not the most comfortable, but beats sleeping outside when it is hot or raining. Andy had to dump/pump the sewage and fill the water. We tried to use the porta johns mostly and the provided truck showers, keeping use of the bathroom in the RV to a minimum.
I attached a picture of our RV and one of the portage tents areas. Keep in mind there were 20,000 people moving each day so their were multiple locations for RVs and general camping. That is why I had so much difficulty finding the location of our RV one day.
One of my son's, Andy, was our driver. Andy is not into biking. He does weight lifting. One of the guys we road with brought his 3 sons, who stayed in a tent. Andy thus had some people his age to hang with. The way it worked was the RVs would pull out after we left and by a different route would head to the town we would be staying at the next night. They would be directed to locations to park and we kept in touch through cell phones, when we had coverage.
For those staying in tents (most of the people). they had numerous options. The hard core had panniers and loaded up their bikes with their gear and had to carry their clothing, tents, etc. Then there was the portage service. They supplied the tents and would set them up and tear them down each day. They also provided portable showers for their guests and carried the guests knapsacks and put them in the tents. So those riders only had to worry about their bikes.
The RV is the way to go as it is air conditioned, has a bathroom, kitchen, etc. We were cramped though, as we had 8 sleeping in a 32 foot (9.75 m) RV. Not the most comfortable, but beats sleeping outside when it is hot or raining. Andy had to dump/pump the sewage and fill the water. We tried to use the porta johns mostly and the provided truck showers, keeping use of the bathroom in the RV to a minimum.
I attached a picture of our RV and one of the portage tents areas. Keep in mind there were 20,000 people moving each day so their were multiple locations for RVs and general camping. That is why I had so much difficulty finding the location of our RV one day.
- IMG_0285v2.jpg (74.58 KiB) Viewed 1052 times
- IMG_0358v2.jpg (83.17 KiB) Viewed 1052 times
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Ron Harvot - Name: Ron Harvot
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Feb 2009
- Age at diagnosis: 56