Veteran Tips

HINTS & INFO FOR JACKHAMMERS

*** EATING & MEALS

• Eat lunch on the road or meet up with the team in a pass through town if desired. 
• If you get a head start on the day you can stop for lunch on the road at a farmhouse or vendor set up on the road that has a location that has shade, have lunch and take a quick nap (there are usually many options like this on each day).
• ***Generally we plan to meet in certain towns to consume alcoholic beverages and almost always stop at Sassy’s, Mr. Pork Chop, the last town, and last craft beer tent.   
•  ***Stop at Mr. Pork Chop and Beekman’s Ice Cream at least once during the week. 
• ***Get a Steve Clark Extra Sassy icy drink at SASSY Stand which is usually at Mr. Pork Chop. 
• ***Sassy will have 2/$5 beers all week and they love Jackhammer.
• ***Always stop for free beer, slip and slides.
• Eat a big meal at the last town before the overnight town so you don’t go hungry at night!  Always takes forever for everyone to get showered up and head downtown for the night, so don’t get hangry.

***MEETING THE BUS

• KC will try to route the bus to meet us along the route at least once per day if it is possible and not too much hassle for the driver
• You will be made aware of where he will be, but if not please save the driver and support person’s numbers in your phone in case you need assistance. 
• Patrick Swayze 507-261-7736 Matt Anderson 507-271-0431

***STORING YOUR STUFF

• Please keep your belongings organized during the week; again, you are sharing bus space with 30 other people.
• Bus will serve as shelter in case of rain. 
• DO NOT leave any of your belongings in the main walkway or Sylvia will throw them off the bus. 
• Everything must be stored under seats, or overhead in the racks.  
• If you do see loose items, put them on the tarp near the front door of the bus, that is the lost and found bin.  

***GETTING AROUND

• You will also get free usage of the shuttles in some of the host towns to get back and forth from the parties, campgrounds and vendor areas.
• You will generally get free entry to all of the concerts and RAGBRAI events in the host towns.
• We do not know if the newer leadership of Ragbrai is going to require passes for concerts and such, it is a possibility.  

Help spread the Jackhammer love and be friendly to other teams. Many of the team managers try to help each other out so it’s vital that we preserve the connections we have made.  

***SUPPORT

Some of team is registered riders so if you have trouble on any of the routes between you can utilize the RAGBRAI sag wagons and get rides to the host towns or towns in-between (if you are not registered and have a mechanical trade your bike with someone who is registered and meet them at the next town). You will also be able to utilize the bike maintenance shops set up along the routes and the towns that we pass through.

GU-GU BLOCKS: 

Most bikers who do long distance GU down or eat energy bars or blocks every few hours. Team will not be providing these types of items so plan accordingly if you want to keep some on your bike.  Drip Drop also helps in hydration.

 FOOD:

There are food vendors all through towns and all sorts of vendors set up at farm houses and along the side of the roads so there is no need to bring food on the ride… take advantage of traveling light and eating on the road.  

WATER-WATER

Don’t run out of water! There are always folks selling bottled water and Gatorade along the ride (standard is $1 for water and $2 for Gatorade). All you really need to do is beat the heat and drink TONS of water. Every town will have a free water station as you are leaving the town, make sure to seek this out and fill up in EVERY town. The bus will also have water and Gatorade to start your day. 

PACE and PACE LINES

Go at your own pace. We will all meet up somewhere. If you are traveling with someone don’t worry if you get separated just pick a town to meet up there … like a fire station or first bar on the left (we have a large team so there should always be someone to ride with). Go slow and watch the corn grow if you need to don’t worry about those that go fast.  You won’t miss much in the ten minutes that they gain on you between towns.  

If you do want to ride faster or easier, Jackhammer has a fast group that does pace lines most days for speed and comfort. These can be very dangerous so BE CAREFUL!  This year may be very busy so pace lines may not be an option some days. Do not allow other teams to jump on our lines in front of our own members or at all if possible.  Do not jump on other teams lines unless invited or you ask permission.  Do not ride in a paceline if you feel a bit overserved or you are told you are not to ride in one due to alcohol consumption.  Safety is the top priority at all times.  

RIDING:

Slower riders will not always be on the right side of the road but should be!  If you are getting passed, move to the right!  Keep good distance between you and the riders in front of you, especially going down hills. This is where most of the mass accidents happen. Never stop in the middle of the road. If you need to stop, move over the right shoulder and yell BIKER OFF RIGHT and wait a second and move over to the shoulder.   Never make sudden move out of your “line” without looking first.  Riders may be just in your blind spot behind you and erratic moves cause crashes.  

Cars

If a car is approaching ahead you will hear CAR UP if the car is coming from your rear you will hear CAR BACK.  Be very very careful when dealing with large crowds around approaching vehicles.  

LIGHT CLOTH and BIKE PACK:

May want a clean sock or cloth to clean sunglasses. Early morning rides in rain or light mists and you will want a dry cloth. By 10 am nothing is dry on you. Carry a dry cloth in a plastic bag in a back pocket or bike bag. Carry wet wipes and butt butt’r in the bag also as well as a tire changing tool, lip balm, small tube of sunblock, duct tape folded over, a spare cleat and zip ties in case something comes undone on bike

TENTING: 

Please find tent mates to limit packing space or sleep with members you meet on the route (use protection).

HEADLAMPS:

Don’t forget a headlamp, bring spare batteries for it.

TUNE UP’S

Schedule a Tune Up at your local bike shop now so it is done before you leave for Iowa.  You do not want to have mechanical or gear changing issues during the week.