Prieksats continue RAGBRAI experience together

Mason Prieksat, front, his uncle Paul Prieksat, center, and dad Carl Prieksat, right, are riding in RAGBRAI next week. All three have ridden in RAGBRAI previously. In its 38th year, the seven-day ride across Iowa leaves Sioux City Sunday and ends in Dubuque July 31. [Click to enlarge]

The now 18-year-old Le Mars Community High School senior will ride in his 10th RAGBRAI (The Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) starting Sunday.

"I started on a tandem," Mason said. "Four years ago I switched to my own bike."

He rode double with his dad Carl Prieksat as a child.

"He said I wasn't pulling my weight and didn't want to do it anymore," Carl said with a grin.

Mason was quick to add, "I felt like I was getting to old to ride that way."

He, his dad and his uncle Paul Prieksat, all of Le Mars, will join an estimated 15-20,000 cyclists in the 38th annual RAGBRAI, which takes off from Sioux City Sunday.

The Prieksats will begin their journey about 6:15 a.m. from Le Mars with about 30-40 other local cyclists riding straight to Kingsley, the first pass-through community on the route.

Carl plans to ride the entire 442-mile route which will finish in Dubuque Saturday, July 31.

There's a tradition for cyclists who ride beginning to end.

"They dip their back tire in the Missouri and their front tire in the Mississippi," Carl said. "It's fun to go to the river."

He enjoys riding across Iowa -- seeing the different people, food, cultures, smells.

"Each day the state changes," Carl said. "I love even the changes in the air."

His first year riding in RAGBRAI, in 1997, came after a challenge from his insurance agent.

"Back then I knew everything about tractors, but I didn't know anything about bicycles," Carl said. "The first day I had a flat tire and somebody changed it for me."

The 12-speed bicycle he rode his first year had custom-made Japanese handlebars -- and came from the Plymouth County Landfill.

"I thought it was a 10-speed," Carl said. "I didn't even know it had 12 gears on it."

Mason and Paul, whose first RAGBRAI ride was in 2008, currently aren't planning to go all the way to Dubuque -- but that could change.

"I'm going to do at least three days, but I took the rest of the week off so I don't know," Mason said. "I've never ridden all seven days."

He finds the bike ride relaxing because -- contrary to what some people believe -- RAGBRAI is not a race.

"You go 10 miles, stop for half an hour and keep doing the same thing until you get to the half-way town," Mason said. "When you get to the half-way town, that's usually where all the busses are."

Some RAGBRAI cyclists ride on teams which often have support vehicles like busses that carry supplies such as water, sports drinks, snacks and bike repair equipment.

As cyclists pedal into the half-way towns, which on Sunday is Washta, they can gets supplies from their support busses.

Mason, Carl and Paul are members of team Pink Floyd, which has a pink bus, from Le Mars.

The busses aren't built for comfort or gas mileage, just the necessities, Paul said.

"There's usually 50-60 old busses," Carl said.

And they come in all different sizes, colors and themes, he said.

The same can be said of cyclist teams that ride in RAGBRAI like Pink Floyd.

Members' jerseys are pink and black with a picture of Floyd the barber from the television series "The Andy Griffith Show" created in 1960.

"We have 50 people who ordered jerseys," Carl said. "They will show up all over the ride."

Other unique teams the Prieksats have seen in RAGBRAI include Smelly Cats whose members didn't shower for seven days and Roadkill who decorated and picked up dead animals.

There's also all different styles of bicycles from tandems to mountain bikes to those pedaled by hand by people with disabilities.

"All you really need is a rearview mirror and a helmet," Paul said.

Most anybody can ride in RAGBRAI.

"Any person that can do 5 miles without duress can do 70 miles," Carl said.

RAGBRAI is meant to be a leisurely ride with plenty of stops along the way, Paul said.

"You don't have to be a professional cyclist," Mason added. "It's like you're starting a new ride every town."

And while you're taking a rest, you might as well sample the food.

"The food is a huge part of RAGBRAI," Paul said. "It's like mom's cooking for every meal."

He and Carl agreed churches have the best pasta and pie. Mason said they serve larger portions than you can ever ask for.

"You don't lose weight," Paul said. "You gain weight."

Bananas are also popular because they provide potassium which helps prevent cramping.

"I've never seen so many bananas in my life," Paul said.

Along with the food and small towns, RAGBRAI is also about the people they meet, the Prieksats said.

"When you have problems you don't have to worry about people stopping and helping you because people will," Paul said. "One year I had back spasms. I laid in a ditch and 50 people asked if I was all right."

Cyclists come from everywhere to ride in RAGBRAI and they are amazed at Iowa's open spaces and clean air, Paul said.

He told the story of a group of riders who stopped at a hog confinement along the road to look through the curtains.

"They see these things for the first time in their life," Paul said. "They didn't even comment about the smell."

Paul, Carl and Mason ride in RAGBRAI for the same reason -- they enjoy it.

"It's just a whole lot of fun," Paul said.

Carl summed up RAGBRAI another way.

"It's a carnival across Iowa on wheels," he said.