This is an annual cross-state ride called RAGBRAI. It's been going for 52 years now. Riders typically use support teams, but I ride self-supported from the center of the state, ride half the route, and ride home. More photos:

My grandparents were on the first 25 or 30 RAGBRAIs. The year I was supposed to go was the first year they missed :( I hope you had a blast.

Nobody thinks Iowa is hilly until you ride a bicycle across it.

I have wanted to do RAGBRAI since I was in middle school. I'm 60 now and retired, so once I get my knees replaced, I think I'm gonna do it.

I've so wanted to do this event. It seems like such a cool wall to see Iowa.

It's a blast! If you're on a team with a bus and host houses it's generally pretty comfy too, at least at night.

I did RAGBRAI a couple of years ago with a friend!
It was really fun and I recommend it to people all the time. My favorite memory was a guy running a slip n slide in his front yard, offering free jello shots to everyone who went down it.

That said, I'm not sure I'd do it again. The days (and especially the food) felt very same-y by the end of the week.

That's why I do it the way I do it; I only did like a day and a half on route this year, and the rest of the time I'm either riding out, riding back home, or just fucking around in a state park somewhere for a day or two. The bags are heavy but they have their advantages.

Yeah, that sounds excellent. By the end of the official route I found myself longing to break away from the group. It sounds like you have that figured out.

A friend of mine has done it a few times, and I know a couple other people that have done it.

that's.. amazing, truly as an Australian you hear all this crazy political shit going on in the US and this seems like comparative peace and calm

I'm trying to imagine what flat midwest/central USA would look like to the naked eye if air didn't obscure sightlines. Like if the air were absolutely perfectly infinitely clear, no fog, no mist, etc. Like if it were a game and you set the view distance to infinite.

The vast majority of the country is as rural as these photos look. Unfortunately the vast majority of the political bullshit also seems to come from those areas..... Land effectively being able to vote is utter bullshit.