Not only is it the largest man-made grotto in the world, but it also has the largest collection of precious stones and gems found anywhere in one location - petrified wood, stalactite and stalagmite, malachite, jasper, quartz crystals, and many more.

Not only do they have the best homemade ice cream, but Beekmans also has the most unique way of making homemade ice cream.

The masterminding of RAGBRAI is mind-boggling.

Most questions we got were around these three topics:

Food. KYBOs. And overnight stays.

The logistics amazed us.

The variety of shapes and sizes and types of bikes and people astounded us.

The reality of riding 462 miles over 7 days still seems surreal.

And, we continue to unpack our thoughts and feelings about this epic adventure.

What does one need to go on a week-long bicycle tour?

We are finding out! And, you might be surprised!

Since the bicycle tour is RAGBRAI, we know they carry our stuff for us. Or, in our case, it will be on the bus that belongs to the local bicycling group.