Richard, I"ve done RAGBRAI 18 years (not consecutively) because we have such a great team (Team Silverstreak). It's a well organized ride, lots of people, and this year lots of hills. There is always lots of food. You can always plan on one day of rain--sometimes hard and sometimes not. The one thing you can ALWAYS count on is the friendly Iowans
. If you're doing it this year, enjoy.