RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Two Randolph cycling enthusiasts will soon join over 20,000 others in a bike ride across the state of Iowa.
The seven-day trek, officially called the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, or RAGBRAI, begins July 19. Sponsored by the Des Moines Register newspaper, the event began 35 years ago with approximately 300 participants and has blossomed into an annual midwestern celebration and pilgrimage.
Col. James Sturch, chief of the programs division for AETC, and Rob Thomas II, former Air Force Personnel Center executive director, will represent Randolph as part of a 12-person unit from military institutions around San Antonio. Hailing from bases across the nation, over 140 cyclists comprise an Air Force team which has as its primary focus recruiting potential Airmen.
"There are two great things about RAGBRAI," said Mr. Thomas, an extreme sports enthusiast and veteran of over 40 marathons plus numerous triathlons and endurance events. "On one hand, it allows us to recruit people from a different population base than we normally see. It also allows people to see Air Force members in a positive light. They see a conscientious group of people who are all really physically fit."
Colonel Sturch is not likely to be troubled by the 70-mile per day average haul at RAGBRAI. He has competed in his share of biathlons and once rode a bicycle 1,100 miles in 10 days, from Colorado to Illinois.
Midwestern flooding has left many Iowans homeless and created an unexpected interest quotient for organizers and participants, but RAGBRAI coordinator T.J. Juskiewicz said this year's chosen route will not be altered due to the natural disaster.
Mr. Juskiewicz said the Air Force team is one of many with large numbers, but the event always has a fringe element of unregistered participants who seek to join in, including riders who hop on the course for one day only. As interest soared during the 1990s, a lottery was put into place to guarantee cyclists a spot in the annual ride.
"Officially, we expect 10,000 people to participate but we know that number will be much higher," Mr. Juskiewicz said. "We haven't been through Ames in 25 years and the numbers on that day will probably break a record."
Financial aid from all corners of the event will be donated to "Embrace Iowa: 2008 Disaster Relief" by the Air Force team and numerous other participants who have raised money.
"The RAGBRAI is not a competitive race," said Tech. Sgt. Larry Gallo, a
C-5 Galaxy maintenance operation controller at Lackland Air Force Base and team captain of the local 12-person group. He explained that RAGBRAI is simply a backroads, cross-country, laid-back tour of Iowa, with people from small towns coming out each year to greet riders as they peddle toward each day's end site.
About 70 miles are covered each day - a relatively short distance to traverse for the legions of experienced peddlers who participate.
"The people have various foods, cold drinks and other things they sell along the route and all of us are camped in the same town each night," Colonel Sturch, a former footballer at Air Force Academy, said. "There is live entertainment and all kinds of food and drinks. It's a great atmosphere to meet people and to spread the Air Force message. We have a blast."
The food might be the key impetus for the thousands who participate each year. Secret-recipe, grilled pork chops, roasted corn on the cob, pies, cakes, and a variety of other delicacies are offered to riders as they traverse their routes.
A local transport company has provided a trailer to carry the Lackland and Randolph contingent's bikes and gear up to the start point, but nearly all of the group's expenses are out-of-pocket. Sergeant Gallo praised his team and said a handful of support people are as important as the riders.
"It's generally two support people who go with us and ride ahead to set up camp each night," Sergeant Gallo said. "They help with the tents, have cold drinks and food waiting, and are really invaluable to our group. Every team has support people who are along for the trip. There are between 15,000 and 25,000 riders, plus hundreds of support people."
Thomas said the Air Force team is representative of all ranks and statuses, calling the smaller, 12-member group from here "a total force, with both men and women, people of all levels, and a range from reservists to civilians to active duty to Guard to retired."
Fellowship and sharing of life experiences are hallmarks of RAGBRAI, which began in 1973 when a pair of employees at the state's largest newspaper decided to ride bikes cross-state to a circulation/sales meeting. They printed a "call to other riders" and attracted modest numbers for that casual first jaunt.
By 1984 there were almost 8,000 participants and it has continued to grow, as smaller towns and their citizens have gradually been incorporated. All of Iowa's 99 counties have at one time or another had RAGBRAI riders pass through and the route changes every year.
Group rides have prepared the Lackland and Randolph contingent for what figures to be a hilly road route. Several the local cyclists rode last week from Boerne to Lukenbach, then to Waring and back to Boerne - a distance of over 60 miles. It was a stretch loaded with hills and took them about four hours to complete.
"In Iowa, you go your own pace, enjoy the countryside, and each town gives us a chance to talk with men and women who might be interested in joining the Air Force," Colonel Sturch said.