With BRAG taking a southerly route this year, I thought that it would be a good time to check it out. So I signed up, loaded up my TourDale, and headed for Bainbridge, a 2 1/2 day ride with a loaded bike.
I've been on cross-staters in Nebraska and Wisconsin with 500-700 riders, but BRAG was much bigger with almost 2600. As with most of these really big rides, a majority of the riders would feel most comfortable with our Hunters Crossing Pedalers or Newnans Lake Riders groups, with the stronger riders falling into the Bee Line category. There were probably at most 30 A Rider types. What this meant was that on the first day, with a late start, I passed somewhere around 2000 cyclists on the road in a fifty mile ride without encountering a rider capable of my speed (after three days with a full load, my 30 pound TourDale felt like a feather).
At all of the facilities that we stayed at there were inside sleeping places available. These ranged from gymnasiums to air conditioned class rooms. Still, a majority of the riders pitched tents and endured the daily afternoon and evening rains. Shower facilities ranged from a decrepit high school gym to a sparkling university coliseum. A shower truck also followed the ride.
Rest stops on the ride were designed to support the slow riding majority, being spaced every 10-12 miles. Run by the MS Society, they provided PowerAde, fruit, and munchies. The MS Society sold lunches at one of the rest stops each day to finance the rest stop operation and make money for MS research. Evening meals were provided by local groups (if you purchased them in advance) or were on-the-town. The local group meals varied from a small plate of spaghetti up to an all-you-can-eat buffet.
There was very little traffic on the primarily back-roads course, and except for those on the optional century, the road surfaces were decent. Daily distances ranged from 50 to 71 miles for the masses, totalling 431 miles. And as promised, this was a flat BRAG. Next year they will go back to north Georgia and considerably more hills. The only rain I encountered while riding was on the last day coming into Brunswick.
My TourDale held up mighty fine until mile 858, on 39th Avenue in Gainesville two miles from home, when a sharp remnant of a Heinekin bottle sliced open my rear tire. We've got to do something about bike lane maintenance in Gainesville!