The Unfinished Ride

There are trips you look forward to.

And then there are trips you have been trying to get back to for years.

For Kim and me, RAGBRAI 2026 was the second kind.

Chapter 1 — Seven Years Trying to Get Back Here

The last time Kim and I really got to do RAGBRAI together was 2019.

Since then, life has had a pretty impressive ability to get in the way.

In 2023, Kim had emergency surgery just a week before RAGBRAI. Any thought of riding together disappeared instantly.

Then July 2025 became my turn. My hip finally reached the end of the road, and a total hip replacement effectively ended my biking season.

Then came Kim’s serious back surgery in November 2025. Recovery takes what it takes, and getting back on a bike after something like that isn’t just a matter of deciding you feel like riding again.

So when 2026 finally rolled around and both of us were in a place where we thought we could give this thing another real shot together, this wasn’t just another year of RAGBRAI.

We were excited as hell.

And this year had something new.

For the first time, we had joined a great team. We had the bus, the group, the whole experience. We were excited about making new friends, riding with old friends, and being part of something bigger than just Kirk and Kim figuring everything out on our own.

We had bikes ready. Gear packed. Vacation scheduled. Dogs boarded.

And after years of surgeries, recoveries and interruptions, we were finally heading back to RAGBRAI together.

We couldn’t wait.

Chapter 2 — Then Iowa Turned Up the Thermostat

RAGBRAI is never supposed to be easy. That’s part of the deal.

There are hills. There are long days. There is heat. There is wind. Sometimes there is all of that before lunch.

But this year started throwing punches almost immediately.

The heat was brutal. The hills kept coming.

And for Kim, this wasn’t happening against a blank medical history. Along with everything her body had already been through, we had also recently started learning about some additional health challenges that made what was happening out there harder to dismiss as simply having a bad day on the bike.

Sunday, Kim made it about 20 miles before needing the SAG.

That hurt. But one rough day is one rough day.

You regroup. You hydrate. You tell yourself tomorrow will be better.

So Monday morning we got up and tried again.

About 16 miles later, she was back in the SAG.

Now it didn’t feel like one bad day anymore.

And that was hard for both of us.

This was the trip we’d been trying to get back to together since 2019.

We had finally made it.

And almost immediately it felt like it was slipping away.

Chapter 3 — Then the Wind Joined In

Tuesday morning, we tried again.

Because of course we did.

We had joined this great team. We liked the people. We loved having the bus and the friends and fun that came with it! We had waited years to get back to doing this together, and neither of us wanted to let go of the week.

So we rode.

The heat was still there. The hills were still there.

And then the wind joined in.

After we left the town of Jamaica, I looked over at Kim and could see it all over her face.

The strain. The pain.

She wasn’t having fun.

So I finally said it.

“You know… this trail goes all the way to Ankeny.”

And then I let that sit there for a while.

No sales pitch. No pressure. No trying to talk her into anything.

Just the option.

Then the tears came.

And once they did, the decision was made.

Home.

Some people might say we left at the wrong time.

Maybe.

But it was our decision to make.

And it was not an easy one.

Chapter 4 — Fifty Miles South

Once the decision was made, there was still a long ride home ahead of us.

About 50 miles of it.

And it was not an easy ride home for Kim.

By the time we had left Guthrie Center, made it through Jamaica, and then committed to riding all the way back to Ankeny, we were well into what became roughly the 74th mile of the day.

Somewhere along that ride south, the conversation slowly started to change.

At first, we were still sitting in the disappointment of the week we thought we were having.

But as the miles rolled by, we started talking about what to do with the rest of the vacation.

The dogs were still boarded. We still had time off. The bikes were still with us. We had camping gear.

We didn’t have a real plan yet.

But we were starting to realize we didn’t have to just go home and call the week a loss.

That night, after the heat, the hills, the wind, the tears and roughly 50 miles south to finish out a very long day, sleeping in our own bed felt pretty damn refreshing.

Chapter 5 — The Plan Starts to Bloom

The next morning, we woke up rested — but still without a fully formed plan.

The idea of doing something else with the week was there, but it hadn’t really bloomed yet.

That changed on the drive to Ames.

We were headed up to meet Dan, our bus driver, and get our gear.

And somewhere along that drive, the rest of the week finally started to come into focus.

Maybe the vacation wasn’t over.

Maybe we just needed to point it in a different direction.

By the time we had our gear back, the idea had started to feel real.

Okoboji.

And just like that, instead of talking about the ride we had left, we were talking about where we were going next.

Chapter 6 — The Okoboji Pivot

So we pointed ourselves north.

Cenla RV Park. Bikes. Camping. The lake.

No mileage to chase. No mandatory overnight town. No schedule hanging over us. Nobody telling us where we needed to be tomorrow.

We could ride if we wanted to ride. Stop if we wanted to stop. Sit by the lake if that sounded better. Have a beer. Find some food. Go to the beach. Do absolutely nothing.

And almost immediately, the pressure disappeared.

For the first time that week, it felt like we were on vacation.

Chapter 7 — This Is Why We Ride

The funny thing is, we didn’t stop riding bikes.

We just stopped riding somebody else’s ride.

We explored the trails around Okoboji. We wandered. We stopped when something looked interesting. There wasn’t a finish line waiting for us or a mileage number we had to defend.

And that reminded me of something I’ve known for a long time:

Every day I can ride a bike is a great day.

But the mileage has never really been the point.

Being out there with Kim is.

Once the pressure disappeared, the bikes became fun again.

And so did we.

Chapter 8 — Eat. Drink. Wander.

Then the trip settled into our natural rhythm.

Ride somewhere. Find something interesting. Eat. Drink. Wander. Repeat.

Captain Jack’s. West O Beer. The beach. The lake. The campsite. Cold drinks. Good food. Little stops that weren’t on anybody’s official route map.

Chapter 9 — Birthday at the Lake

And somewhere in the middle of our improvised Okoboji escape, I got to celebrate my birthday.

Steaks. Sweet corn. Camping beside the lake. Bikes sitting nearby. A beer or two. And Kim.

After the way the week had started, there was something pretty damn perfect about how simple that birthday felt.

No giant production. No schedule. No place we had to reach by the end of the day.

Just my best friend and me, exactly where we wanted to be.

I’ll take that birthday every time.

Chapter 10 — Maybe We Learned Something

Leaving RAGBRAI doesn’t mean we stopped loving RAGBRAI.

I don’t think that’s the lesson here.

RAGBRAI has been part of my life for a long time, and there is still plenty about it that I love. Maybe we do a day. Maybe we do two. Maybe someday another full week sounds right.

But I don’t think either of us feels obligated to give an entire week to it anymore simply because that’s what we’ve always done.

Because this trip reminded us what we actually love.

Bikes. Adventure. Food. Cold drinks. New places. A little chaos. And being together.

None of those things require an official route.

Epilogue — The Unfinished Ride

When we first made the decision to leave RAGBRAI, it felt like the vacation had fallen apart.

There were tears on that road for a reason.

We had waited years for that week.

We had overcome surgeries, recoveries and setbacks just to get ourselves back there together.

So yes, leaving hurt.

But now when I think about that week, I don’t really think about the ride we didn’t finish.

I think about Okoboji.

I think about riding around the lake with Kim.

I think about Captain Jack’s and West O.

I think about steaks and sweet corn on my birthday.

I think about sitting at the campsite with nowhere else we needed to be.

And I think about the moment we stopped doing the vacation we thought we were supposed to have and started having the one we actually wanted.

We didn’t fail RAGBRAI.

We listened when our bodies and our hearts were telling us something.

And then we changed the plan.

Turns out, sometimes that’s the adventure.

The ride was unfinished.

The adventure wasn’t.