By Jennifer Banks, Public Information Officer
Every year since 1973, a group of bicyclists have ridden across Iowa from the Missouri River border in the west to the Mississippi River border in the east. Known as the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, or RAGBRAI, the ride has grown in popularity so much from the 300 participants in the first one that riders hoping to participate all seven days now must enter a lottery to snag one of 8,500 spots.
This year a city of Scottsdale team holds five of the coveted wrist bands.
But now that they’re in, at least one of the team members admits some trepidation.
“I hope I survive,” said Senior Transportation Planner John Kelley.
The ride, which follows a different route each year, will cover 419 miles and climb 18,488 feet during the seven days. That’s like driving from Scottsdale to the beach at Malibu, Calif., while climbing more than a mile higher than Humphreys Peak. The longest day is 75 miles, but that’s not what worries Kelley, who has ridden that far in one day before.
“It’s the second day when you have to do it again,” said Kelley.
So, why is he doing a ride that’s got him pondering his mortality?
“Peer pressure,” said Kelley.
That’s understandable after talking to a couple of the other team members. They can be quite persuasive about the joys of bike riding.
“I love riding my bike. It’s my favorite thing to do,” said Greg Davies, also a senior transportation planner with the city and another member of the team. He’s adopted the motto, “Live to bike. Work to live. Bike to work.”
Last year he gave up his car and now predominantly relies on his bike for his 12-mile commute, grocery shopping and other errands.
“It’s a whole different way of transportation. It’s very sustainable and cheap,” said Davies. “The only caveat is that it takes time.”
He also admits that like any other form of transportation, there’s a learning curve.
“Different modes of transportation involve different types of mindsets and skills,” said Davies. “You have to be comfortable on your bike, know how to maintain it and know the laws and best routes, just like with driving,” he said. “But, like with anything, you get more confident as you do it.”
A couple of years ago Senior Traffic Engineering Technician Pete Peralta, another member of the RAGBRAI Team, caught the biking bug. Last year he wanted to ride 1,000 miles, a goal he hit by March. He ended up logging over 4,000 miles.
“This year I’m already at 3,000,” said Peralta. “If I keep this pace, I’ll probably hit 6,000, including Iowa. I’ve kind of got a little bit of an addiction to it.”
You think?
If it seems like the city has an unusual amount of bicycle nuts, I mean enthusiasts, it probably does.
“It’s a great place to ride,” said Peralta.
Scottsdale has 138 miles of bike lanes and 90 miles of bike paths and is one of only 29 communities nationwide rated a gold level or higher bicycle-friendly community by the League of American Bicyclists.
And Peralta gets to help make it even better, as part of his job includes implementing bike lanes, share-the-road markings and appropriate signage, all of which he now tests out from his bike. In the past, technicians would typically only test newly striped roads by car.
“It helps to get a biking point of view, especially for things like bike signs,” said Peralta.
He’s also been working to help implement bicycle video detection and new bike-friendly community signs.
In addition to Kelley, Davies and Peralta, the city RAGBRAI team includes Maintenance Technician Andrew Dorame and retired Senior Budget Analyst Jack Miller.
If you’d like to follow along on their adventure, Peralta will be posting updates and live video streams Instagram @Carnsuelo or search #Scottsdale5Pack.
To read more about the race and its history, visit RAGBRAI website.
