Liz Rides Across Iowa
The heat at the 2026 RAGBRAI (The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) was so blistering, that on day two, Liz Daeninck's cycling partner, Rhea, made a rule: No socializing. "Because it was too damn hot," says Liz, 57 years old.
Rhea, a Canadian like Liz, wanted the pair to ride the day's 56 miles (and conquer the not-insignificant 3,500 feet of climbing) from Harlan to Gutherie Center, Iowa as efficiently as possible so they could be in inside when temps got totally unbearable.
Rhea (left) and Liz (right). And a troll who doesn't care how hot it is.
The duo was on the road by 6:30 am and stopped minimally, although they elected to take an important detour to see the infamous troll. They rolled into Gutherie Center around noon, and headed to a local pub with A/C and plenty to eat and drink. Mission accomplished.
Liz, a former rugby player who took up collegiate rowing ("I needed a non-contact sport"), started riding bikes when she was a teenager. She's amassed thousands of miles, including 62 at the Venus de Miles, where she met Rhea (and where I rode briefly with both of them...you can read about it in "Dimity Needs a Friend" in The 27th Mile).
Although Liz, a nutritionist in Denver and mom to two adult daughters, invited me along on RAGBRAI, I wasn't able to make it work. But I am thrilled to bring you her recap of 400 or so miles with 16,000 feet of climbing over seven days in July.
Revisiting her past (kind of): I did two long cycling trips in the 1990's: one was eight-weeks long around the northwest segment of Canada, and the second, six weeks long, took us down the Pacific Coast from Vancouver to the Mexican border. A week in Iowa was easier because I didn't have to carry all my gear and cook for myself.
I'll take a root canal and three sports bras please.
Lawns, a dental office and other random sleep spots: We joined Team Curbside before the ride; there are a multitude of teams you can join that provide various levels of support for their riders. Curbside has a school bus and transported our luggage from town to town. We primarily camped on people's property, which meant we could have a hot shower after our ride. Sleeping in a tent was tough though; it was almost too hot to sleep.
Bonding time at its best.
Spotted on wheels: One guy rode a BMX bike backwards for the full route. Another towed a full bar behind him. There was never a lack of people around, and there were all paces too.
Mr. Pork Chop: fueling cyclists all over Iowa.
Best meal of the ride: Hands down, the pork chop. It was just tremendous--about the size of your hand. Rhea and I split it. We ate about four of them over the course of seven days. (We didn't stop on the first two days--too hot!)
Also popular: Pie is a big deal, as is ice cream. The peach ice cream was delicious. We could hear the motor of the ice cream truck a mile away: Joy to our ears! We only found corn on the cob once, despite riding by endless fields of corn and soybeans.
No GPS, no problem: Before the first day, we asked our teammates how the course is marked. Don't worry, they said; just start riding and you'll find it. With 20,000 riders, there's a constant flow of people of all paces. It's really just an amazing thing to experience.
The curbside crew.
Water, water everywhere: There's always a place to refill your water bottles in each town. Also, after our "no socializing" day, a huge rainstorm came in and brought the temperature down for Day 3, which was great.
And beer too: There was always one, and sometimes two, beer gardens on the daily route. Apparently there was an incentive. If you drank 10 beers during RAGBRAI (not all in one day), you got a tee shirt. I didn't quite get there; maybe next year.
My payback for no socializing day: On day 5, I was feeling pretty good, albeit a little tired. It was an 85-mile day. After we met some teammates at a beer garden, I convinced Rhea to do an additional 15 miles so we could complete a full 100-mile century.
15,000 miles deserves a dual kiss from two helmeted cyclists.
We're done already?: Before the last day, we celebrated Dan Wollner, a member of Curbside who has ridden 15,000 RAGBRAI miles over 30+ events. On Day 7, we stopped at the Field of Dreams baseball field. There was tremendous support in Dubuque—and all along the course. It was such a thrill to get to the end of the week and dip our bikes into the Mississippi River.
Strong legs, great smiles, and little Canadian flags on both bikes.
If you want to do RAGBRAI: Train on the hills, train in the heat. While training, I intentionally rode outside midday, not in the early morning. I did a lot of hill climbs both on shorter and longer rides. My longest training ride was 70 miles. On the ride, it's vital to constantly eat and drink along the way--and not just pork chops and ice cream.
