Published: July 19, 2008 01:01 am            

Ted takes to the road for RAGBRAI

When I wrote my column summing up RAGBRAI 2007 that ended in Bellevue last July, I figured it would be the last time I’d be writing about the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.

But, to borrow loosely from that little blond-haired kid in the movie “Poltergeist,” I’m baaaccckkk!

OK, before I get to the present, let me give you some info on my past for those of you who are wondering, “Who the heck is this strange Ted Schultz guy and why is he quoting a 1980s movie?” I was sports editor at the Clinton Herald from 1995-2007 before taking a job as sports information director at Grinnell College last August. In the meantime, my wife, Marsha, took a job as seventh-grade math teacher at Grinnell Middle School and also serves as head volleyball coach at Grinnell High School and assistant track coach.

The college where I work is highly respected academically. In terms of athletics, we may be best known for our men’s basketball team that led the nation in scoring this past season and was featured on ESPN a few years back (FYI ... with a good portion of our top players returning, keep your eyes and ears open for Pioneer basketball in 2008-09)!

OK, I’m off the subject ... I’m here to talk about RAGBRAI.

I contacted Clinton Herald Editor Charlene Bielema last month about possibly doing RAGBRAI columns for the Herald in 2008 even though I wasn’t officially employed there anymore. She welcomed my request with open arms. With Char’s coordination, plus the excellent help of Susan Jessen (she’s the one who did the RAGBRAI graphic for me), I’m off and running (or, would that be biking?) with my columns.

I’ve ridden RAGBRAI three of the past four years and did columns for the Herald during that time, and from the response I got those articles were pretty well-received. Thus, here we are for RAGBRAI 2008!

This year will be a bit different, though, as I will not begin my columns until Wednesday’s session. I had a schedule conflict due to a trip to Germany (see more details below) and the short turnaround time means I will join the fun after three days. Oh well, that just means I’ll be more rested up than the others!

This year’s ride begins in Missouri Valley, and from there makes stops in Harlan and Jefferson before I catch up with the masses in Ames. From there the route takes us to Tama-Toledo, North Liberty, Tipton and then finishes up in Le Claire along the Mississippi River. Should be a beautiful view as we pedal into town.

No longer living in Clinton has meant a change to both my training regimen as well as my means of transportation to the starting point and back home afterwards.

I used to have a nice 19-mile route that essentially took me around Eagle Point Park, around the outskirts of Clinton and back home. Better yet was a 40-mile route I’d take on little-traveled county roads to just north of Miles and back.

I investigated options in Grinnell and eventually came up with a nice 27-mile or so loop that took me into town (we live about five miles out of Grinnell on Highway 6), out to Rock Creek State Park, to Kellogg and then back home.

My training in late June and early July was hit-and-miss due to a business trip to Florida, and I was concerned about missing more training during my trip to Germany (we were visiting the exchange student who stayed with us in 2006-07, Friederike Harder). But as it turned out, I managed several nice, long rides in Germany. And talk about a variety of scenery, whether it be biking through a forest, a small town or right next to the Frankfurt airport! I got to do it all.

As for transportation to RAGBRAI, I always relied on Marsha to take me to the starting spot and pick me up afterwards. This year I hooked up with a charter service offered by the Grinnell bicycle shop, Bikes to You. Not only will they take care of the transportation tasks, but also haul my bags and set up a camping spot for us each day. I’ll throw my stuff in their trailer before the ride and meet up with them in Ames.

Hmmmm ... wonder how they’ll feel about dealing with “The Beast?” That’s my infamous tent cot I wrote about last year (if you have no idea what I’m talking about but are interested, check out the Herald’s Web site and do a search for “Beast” and it’s the story titled “The Beast comes through on RAGBRAI”). I guarantee the RAGBRAI baggage handlers are still having nightmares over having to lug that thing out of the semi trailer.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to this year’s ride and reporting about it. I hope you enjoy the columns.

        

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