KRONBERG: One of RAGBRAI’s elder statesman

Steve Swartzrock first answered a call to participate on a little bicycle ride that was making its way across Iowa.

Forty-three years later, the Charles City resident has continued to pedal his way across his home state annualy.

Swartzrock, 60, spent his Monday afternoon and evening in Creston as RAGBRAI made its overnight stop here.

He was in Creston with his team based out of Rockford.

Catching up with my longtime friend from my days back in Charles City, Swartzrock smiled as we talked about some of the adventures he’s had on RAGBRAI over the years.

“I enjoy it. It’s a lot of fun,” he said.

Tuesday’s stops between Shenandoah and Creston impressed one of the most experienced members of RAGBRAI.

“(Monday) a few of the towns were cool,” he said. “Corning’s a neat little town. It’s about all of the little towns. I enjoy it.”

Now having been on RAGBRAI for 43 years, the pace isn’t as fast.

But he still pushes the pedals up and down, across the flatlands of the north, to the hills in the south.

“I go slower,” Swartzrock said. “The big thing is we get here safe. There were no crashes. We get up at 5 (a.m.) and try be on the road by a quarter-to-six. On a typical day, we get in at noon. Today we got in 2 (p.m.).”

A young rider taking part in SAGBRAI

Swartzrock was 17 when he first rode his bicycle across Iowa, riding on what was then called SAGBRAI, or the Second Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.

“I remember the first one I went on,” Swartzrock recalled while sitting outside the house he was staying at on Creston’s north side. “My neighbor kid dared me to do it. If you can do it, I can do it.”

He informed his mother about his plans.

“I told my mom I was going to bike across Iowa. Everyone thought I was nuts,” Swartzrock said.

That year the route went from Council Bluffs to Dubuque from Aug. 4-10.

“I died on that one,” Swartzrock said. “That was in ‘74 and the rest is history.”

RAGBRAI started a year earlier, thanks to an idea from Des Moines Register writers John Karras and Don Kaul.

Their little excursion was held from Aug. 26-31 in 1973.

“They had a bet back then. Karris said he’d ride across Iowa. Kaul said if you can do it, I can do it. Karris was a big biker. He put an ad in the paper if you want to come join us, join us. It was one of those things that’d be a once-a-year thing and disappear in a year or two.”

It didn’t. Instead, interest in the ride continued to grow into the behemouth RAGBRAI is now.

“It’s amazing how big it’s got,” Swartzrock said. “The first year I did it, there was maybe 2,000 people and maybe 20-25 percent did the whole thing. I lot of people joined it for a day.”

The ride patch wasn’t given out like it is now.

“If you wanted the patch, you had to ride up to Eagle Point in Dubuque. They made sure you got one,” Swartzrock said.

As the largest, longest and oldest bicycle tour in the world, RAGBRAI has generated international fame.

RAGBRAI’s fame grows

RAGBRAI draws riders from all over the world. Swartzrock said he has met riders from at least 25 countries, lured to Iowa to ride on RAGBRAI.

“It’s on peoples bucket lists,” he said. “These bikers come from all over the world. They want to come and do RAGBRAI because it’s one of the things I’ve got to do. If you’re a biker, a lot of people know what RAGBRAI is all about.”

For Swartzrock, preparing for this year’s ride started in the dead of a cold Iowa winter.

By the time RAGBRAI rolls around, he has already ridden at least 500-600 miles.

“If you didn’t have something to look forward too, it’d be easy to stay home and watch TV, be lazy,” he said.

Having the base miles in makes the route enjoyable for him.

“There’s a minimum you have to do if you want to have fun. You have to have so many miles in,” Swartzrock said. “When you get older, you have to get those base miles in.”

Swartzrock’s riding team of approximately 43 consists of members from all over northeast Iowa and the country. Included in the team are members from North Carolina and Texas.

“This group here, a lot of times we only see them once a year,” Swartzrock said.

Anyone can, and does, participate on the ride.

“Everybody’s wearing black shorts and a shirt,” he said. “You don’t know if the guy’s a doctor or works as a common man. Everyone’s treated the same.”

Technology has been one big area of change over the years on RAGBRAI.

Twenty-three summers ago, there was no such thing as smartphone technology. Email was in its infancy and there weren’t laptops all over the communities along RAGBRAI. Steve’s wife Dianne was almost at full term with oldest child Ben while Steve was on RAGBRAI. Connecting on the route back to Charles City that summer was an adventure.

“Back then, you didn’t have cellphones,” Steve recalled. “I remember the last time we stayed in Leon (Tuesday’s overnight stop), they had all these huge phone bags. You had to wait in line to get on a phone. Today, everybody’s got their cell phone. Before, everybody was going to the library to check their email. It’s really changed from the technology standpoint.”

Technology on the bicycles have also changed he said. Most bicycles in the early days of RAGBRAI were made of steel. Now, most are made of carbon.

“It’s amazing how fast you are now,” he said. “The tires were 80 pounds (per square inch), now they’re 120. Bikes are made a lot better.”

Bicycling is a way for Swartzrock, or anyone else, to stay in shape in a relatively low-impact manner.

“Biking, like swimming, is very easy on your body,” he said. “I don’t have any knee issues, any joint issues. It’s very forgiving on your body versus running or something like that.”

He noted proper maintenance of the bicycle makes riding RAGBRAI enjoyable.

“The key with biking is keeping your cadence (gear ratio) up,” he said. “I wasn’t going real fast, but my cadence was up. If your knees start to hurt, either your seat’s not at the right height or the cadence isn’t quite right.”

RAGBRAI brings communities together, giving each of the towns along the route a chance to shine to the thousands of out-of-town guests.

“It’s a great tourist thing for Iowa,” Swartzrock said. “I always said a lot of towns have a centennial and RAGBRAI. It’s a time for the town to clean things up. They shut down, get the spotlight for a day.”

Communities take advantage, showing their best to the state, the country and the world.

“How many times do you get 10-15,000 guests coming in to show your community off?” Swartzrock said. “You never know. The guy may be looking to build a new plant here or he likes what he sees.”

Those participating on RAGBRAI help bring the communities it passes through, stays overnight in, a significant financial windfall. Money riders spend can, and does, help local communities out.

“The stats with what this spends per night is mindboggling,” Swartzrock said. “It’s millions that it spends. It’s a big shot in the arm for a lot of communities.”

Groups can take advantage of RAGBRAI.

“It’s a great way for a church to raise some funds, a 4-H and FFA. They all come together. It’s a good fundraiser for them. People are willing to spend the money. I look at all the little towns today and it’s a great, great way to raise funds if you don’t get too greedy with your prices.

Swartzrock estimates he spends at least $50 per day, minimum.

“People will spend money, there’s no question,” Swartzrock said.

Over 43 years, he’s been in many of Iowa’s communities, but not quite all.

Yet.

“I haven’t been in every town, but I’m getting real close,” Swartzock said.

It’s helped him in his job as owner of Swartzrock Implement Co., a New Holland dealership.

“I do business all over and some guy will say he’s from a little town and I’ll go I’ve been there. I really like the pie in there and the guy will say my grandma made that. It’s good for business.”

Traversing the biways of Iowa gives Swartzrock an idea of what the crops are looking like. He can use the first-hand information to help with his business choices.

“I’m looking at the crops and they’re looking really good. I’ll go back and order more equipment. They were really dry here. You guys are looking as good as we are.”

Tuesday was one of the most difficult on this year’s ride, with 4,000 feet of climb.

He will have a longer day today, taking part in the option 32 mile part of the ride between Leon and Centerville, making it a 100-mile day for him.

Each participant that completes the loop receives a patch, with Karris back for that.

The crowd, he noted, was down a bit compared to years when the route is in the flatter northern part of Iowa.

“People don’t like the hills,” Swartzrock said. “I’d say this year we have less people because they’re concerned about the hills.”

As he relaxed in Creston Monday night, he was impressed by what the community had done.

“Creston’s doing a great job,” he said. “They’re very organized.”

RAGBRAI provides a week for the state, its communities to put on their Sunday best.

They do.

“It makes Iowa look pretty good,” Swartzrock said. “The state couldn’t dream of something like this if they wanted.

“It’s been a good PR thing for Iowa.”