Pork Belly Ventures 2024 RAGBRAI Invitation Letter!

December 20, 2024

Dear Friends,

To bike-lovers across the country and well beyond, to all of you special people for whom a corny 7-day challenge is your ideal July vacation, it is our pleasure to cordially invite you to apply and join us for this year's Iowa adventure. We're thrilled to enter the 31st season of Pork Belly Ventures and to anticipate the 51st RAGBRAI!

Along with these pleasures comes a new challenge.

As most of you know, this PBV invitation letter is different in some ways from all of the others. For one thing, we're opening well in advance of the route announcement, so you will not find our list of overnight towns and daily mileage below. And for the first time, Pork Belly Ventures will likely conduct a lottery for our high-demand services:

• our Weeklong Support
• our support for non-riders, children, and partial-week riders
• and our Optional Rental-Tent Service.

Everyone, please read the next part carefully. Then you'll scroll to a more familiar-looking section of our invitation letter with a Table of Contents.

December 20 to January 10:

Apply for Weeklong Support

(or support for non-riders, children, and partial-week riders)

and/or for the Rental Tent Service of PBV.

How to Apply for PBV Services

To create a new 2024 application, please go to pkbelly.com and click on the second column, RAGBRAI Charter. Then click the "Register" tab and scroll down to login, entering a username and password. And, importantly, if it's your first time, make sure you tick the box that indicates this is a new application. Then, you'll fill in the blanks, select services, enter your credit card information, and click "Submit."

The Importance of Group Names

We've been over this in the last few updates. Once more, here are people who need an identical, common group name:

• Any two or more riders on the same application, whether or not they share a common last name, who are attending RAGBRAI and joining PBV together.
• Any two or more riders on different applications, whether or not they share a common last name, who are attending RAGBRAI and joining PBV together.

Group names must be identical. If any group member omits the group name or enters a different group name (differently worded or differently spelled), it will not be possible after January 10th for him or her to be added to a group that has been selected.

Here are people who should NOT put anything into the group-name field:

• Any rider who is not associated with other riders on PBV. Single riders who are coming to RAGBRAI solo actually create for themselves a disadvantage by typing anything into the group-name field. Solo riders have a better chance of being selected if they leave the group-name field BLANK.

Credit Card Info for Deposit Only

Everyone who applies for services is committing to pay at least ten percent of his/her balance by credit card. In the event that you are selected in a lottery, we will process your payment of the 10% or 15% deposit only, and you will receive a confirmation email.

Your remaining balance will not be due until May 15th.

In the event that you are NOT selected, you'll receive a different notice by email.

No Hurry!

You can sign up for our Support, with or without the rental tent service, anytime over the next three weeks, until midnight on January 10th. No need to be first, and no advantage either. We hope to spread out the application process over three weeks in order to avoid high-volume issues with our website.

After January 10

Pork Belly Ventures will work fast. If no lottery is needed, we'll publish the good news quickly. If a lottery is needed, we'll complete it as quickly as we can. We can work more quickly if we're not dealing with heavy email traffic at the same time. We always want to answer your questions in a timely way, but we may have to take a break from email in order to complete our work and begin processing confirmations. We appreciate your patience during that time.

We sincerely hope to have all confirmations out to our riders by January 16th.

On January 29 and throughout the season:

Sign Up for Shuttles

of Pork Belly Ventures

In the body of this update, you'll find information about our shuttles, including approximate or typical departure times. Once we know the route (TBA on the evening of January 27th), we can publish pricing and actual departure times and invite you to reserve your shuttles before, during or after RAGBRAI. Please hang on for shuttle reservations.

(It's wise to hold off on airline reservations until you receive an update with all shuttle details. Learn from the mistakes of folks who prematurely scheduled arrivals after our last shuttle departure time, and those who purchased non-refundable tickets into airports with no likely ground transportation to the start of RAGBRAI.)

BELOW: Aerial photo, compliments of Tony Trease!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

This letter will be pretty comprehensive. It's necessarily long, and to help you navigate it, we have created this Table of Contents. The more urgent stuff is up front:

1. PREVIOUS SECTION: Possible Lottery for 2024 Support and Rental Tents
2. SECTION 1: All PBV Services/Some Prices Now, Some Later
3. SECTION 2: More on Registering for PBV and RAGBRAI
4. SECTION 3: All About Travel: Air Transportation, Hotels and Parking before and after RAGBRAI, and Bike Shipping
5. SECTION 4. Other Important Questions

Nobody needs this entire letter. If you're not on the Des Moines shuttle, for instance, skip that part. Hang onto this letter for reference, and feel free to share it with friends who are joining PBV.

If you've already asked your questions and know your plans, you may apply for our services today. You'll find our online application at www.pkbelly.com. Newbies, click the RAGBRAI column, then click "Register."

*If you have trouble logging in--it's probably best to create a whole new username and password. No need to contact us. Just go to the LOGIN tab, create new credentials, and proceed with your registration.

Please keep reading below for all the fun stuff and the details. The holiday season is busy for all of us, but we will respond to emails and return phone calls as quickly as we can. Sometime on or after January 29th, we'll publish more about our shuttles, and of course we'll be in touch with updates over the whole season.

Please wish us luck as we do our very best to include as many folks as we can, thought not as many as last year.

OR, if we're extremely lucky, we will receive a number of applications that we CAN accommodate and happily welcome everyone who applies! Until next time, we remain,

T: 808-375-8921 c, tammy@pkbelly.com

P: 402-681-2613 c, pete@pkbelly.com

SECTION 1

THE LATEST INFO:

DATES, ROUTE, and

the SERVICES and PRICES

of PORK BELLY VENTURES

on RAGBRAI in 2024

The 2024 RAGBRAI Dates:  RAGBRAI begins before dawn on Sunday, July 21st, and ends on Saturday, July 27th. That means that we'll meet up with most of you on Saturday, the 20th, either at Omaha or Des Moines airport hotels, the end-town long-term parking area, or at the PBV campground in the start town. A considerable number of you will fly or drive into Omaha on Friday, July 19th, and stay in one of our designated airport hotels. Most of those using our East/West Shuttle will drive to the end town on Friday, the 19th.

We'll publish the route and daily mileage ASAP after the January 27th Route Announcement.

Pork Belly Ventures

SERVICES AND PRICES   

Here is our menu of support services, followed by our shuttles. Please keep scrolling for the full description of what is included in our support and more detail about our comprehensive services.

Our services are available on an ala carte basis. You may use shuttles only or Weeklong Support only; however, the optional Tent Rental and Daily Set-up is available only to those on our Weeklong Support.

For all shuttles, we use comfortable, quality motor coaches, restroom-equipped and air-conditioned.

PBV Support During RAGBRAI

Weeklong Support for Rider

$569 per person for the full week

While you bicycle each day, we will transport your baggage across Iowa, from west to east, providing great campsites, meals (some included and some optional), entertainment, your daily shower and towel fee, and many amenities and support services, described more fully below.

Weeklong Support for Non-Riders, including daily transportation from one overnight town to the next, is available for $719 per person, and please contact us for a visit about your week.

Partial Week with Pork Belly Ventures is $90 per person per day. Consecutive days only.

Child Price for Weeklong Support is $345 per child for kids under 13 years of age, and they must be accompanied by an adult, of course.

Optional Tent Rental and Daily Set-up

$595 per tent - price is the same for one or two tent occupants.

See fuller description and details below. The tent service is available only to those on our Weeklong Support. Two riders can share and split the cost of a rental tent, but only one rider should select the tent service on his/her application.

Add $100 for a third tent occupant (We don't recommend this tent for three people unless one or more people are children.)

Because of high demand, we cannot pro-rate the rental tent service.

PBV Shuttles

before and after RAGBRAI,

plus our midweek Enter and Exit Shuttles

East/West Shuttle, End to Start

Friday Afternoon or Saturday Morning

$--- per person

If you plan to park your car in the end town prior to RAGBRAI, we'll meet you there either on Friday afternoon (the 19th) or early on Saturday (the 20th) and transport you, your baggage, and your bike to the start town. Our usual departure times are 1:00 and 3:00 PM on Friday, and at 7:00, 8:00, and 9:00 AM on Saturday.

Omaha Airport to the Start Town

Most popular airport shuttle, operates throughout the day until 4:00 on Saturday

$-- per person

On Saturday, the 20th, we'll meet you at a hotel parking lot near Omaha's Eppley Airport and transport you, your baggage, and your bike to our campsite in the RAGBRAI start town. We emphatically recommend arriving on Friday, especially if you're traveling by air. We usually have ten or twelve departures with a coach leaving for the start town every hour or so throughout the day on Saturday. Last coach will depart by 4:00 p.m. Do not plan to arrive after 3:00 PM on Saturday.

Return to Omaha after RAGBRAI is $--- per person. On Saturday, the 27th, we'll transport you, your baggage, and your bike from the end town back to the same Omaha Airport hotel (see Hotel section below), so you can fly or drive home on Sunday.

Shuttle to Airport Near End-Town, Quad Cities International Airport is $-- per person. On Saturday, the 27th, we'll transport you and your baggage (let us know if you'll have a bike) from the end town to the Quad Cities International Airport in Moline, IL. We will publish our afternoon departure times LATER. Please stand by for our late-January update on shuttle details and departure times.

Round-trip Des Moines Bus Transportation

This shuttle departs from a Des Moines airport hotel parking lot at 9:00 AM on Saturday, July 20th, and returns after RAGBRAI to the same location.

Des Moines to the start town on Sat, 7/20, is $--- per person.

End town to Des Moines on Sat, 7/27, is $--- per person.

The round trip Des Moines bus service is $---.

Midweek EXIT Shuttle on Tuesday afternoon, $--- per person, from our campsite on Tuesday to a Des Moines airport hotel. This shuttle is for those who ride the first three days, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. We'll publish complete details in our late-January update.

Midweek ENTER Shuttle on Tuesday afternoon, $--- per person, from a Des Moines airport hotel to our campsite on Tuesday. This shuttle is for those who enter the ride midweek and cycle Wednesday through Saturday. We'll publish complete details in our late-January update.

Midweek EXIT Shuttle on Wednesday afternoon, $-- per person, from our campsite on Wednesday to a Des Moines airport hotel, late in the afternoon. This shuttle is for those who ride the first four days, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We'll publish complete details in our late-January update.

If you plan to fly into Omaha or Des Moines

on Friday, July 19th

and out of Omaha, Des Moines or the Quad Cities

on Sunday, July 28th,

then feel free to make your airline reservations now.

But if you hope to travel on Saturday, July 20th,

and/or Saturday, July 27th,

we urge you to wait on booking your air travel

until after you've received our late-January update on shuttles and shuttle departure times.

PLEASE LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES OF OTHERS,

WHO BOOKED NON-REFUNDABLE AIRLINE FARES INTO

AIRPORTS WE DO NOT SERVE,

OR WHO RESERVED FLIGHTS THAT DO NOT SYNCH UP

WITH OUR GROUND TRANSPORTATION.

EXTRAS!

Add-on Services of PBV

These extras cannot be reserved on your application, friends. We'll let you know later in the season how to reserve and pay for them.

SAG Service on Our Motor Coach--taking a full day off the bike, which involves hanging your bike on a trailer and claiming a seat on our luxury coach for a lift from one campsite to the next: $30 per day

Midweek Laundry Service (described fully below) allows you to bring fewer clothes and save some duffel bag space! $30 per load

Massage Therapy--$50 for 30 minutes (or choose longer or shorter appointments) with payment directly to your therapist. We'll be in touch when you can begin making massage appointments. We'll have 11 therapists working in camp from about 1:00 to 10:00 p.m.

Optional Suppers in Camp--approximately $16 per supper. You'll be able to see our menus, the length of your cycling day, and who's entertaining us on Pork Stage before we ask you to choose your optional suppers in camp!

ABOVE: This photo is compliments of Brently and Marybeth Cooper of BBB Adventures on YouTube.

Indoor Sleeping when we can arrange it in air-conditioned facilities on site or nearby, the donation amount is $25 per person per night, all of which goes to the host facility, usually a church, school, YMCA, lodge, or anyplace with space for rolling out your bedrolls!

Cold Beverages at our Front Desk--water is $1 per. Gatorade and soda are $2 per. (Lemonade is served at a separate station from 2:00 PM through dinner at no additional charge to those on our support.)

Here is what we include in

PBV's Weeklong Support. 

Our goal at PBV is to provide virtually everything you need within our campsites. Most of the following is simply included in our support, but a few services like massage and laundry are optional, reasonably priced, and extremely convenient to have available right in camp. Here's the list.

Transport of two bags per person

AND

Spacious RESERVED PBV Campsites

from host town to host town (RAGBRAI's baggage transport allows one bag per person)

Hot and Private

Showers Daily

You'll find endless hot water, liquid soap dispensers, and fresh towels on our air-conditioned shower trailers right in camp. Pork Belly Ventures offers a minimum of 76 stalls in Pork Camp (possibly 87 stalls in camp), with a private dressing area for every stall. You can take more than one shower a day if you like, as your PBV wristband admits you to the shower. We clean showers stalls after every use. (Important to say that all RAGBRAI portable showers move at night, including ours. We close our showers at 8:00 PM. One trailer may stay open a bit later. Our crew must load up and roll before dark and drive to the next campsite.)

Live Music on Stage Every Night From Saturday night to Friday night, we'll have talented musicians on stage--usually from about 6:00 p.m. till the fireflies come out.

Shade Canopies and Misting Fans Our shady circus tents with chairs provide a place to sit down and join a conversation. You'll also find a misting system--Cool Zone fans-- to refresh you.

The PBV Team Shirt Be sure to include your shirt size when you apply online for our Weeklong Support. At check-in, claim your team shirt for 2024.

Phone-Charging Trailers with locking compartments for charging electronic devices. Both trailers will be locked overnight, but charging continues until the trailers are unlocked in the morning about 5:00.

Ice-Cold Beverages at the Front Desk, $1 or $2 apiece, plus Free Lemonade in the afternoon and through dinner.

Licensed Massage Therapists Our team of eleven therapists are excellent. You can book 15, 30, or 60 minutes of restorative massage, and you can book in advance. Our therapists will get your muscles ready for tomorrow's ride. (additional charge, paid to your therapist)

PBV's Midweek Laundry Service

Give us your dirty duds on Tuesday. We'll give them back to you Wednesday, fresh and folded.

This service is optional, for an extra charge of $30.

Breakfast Vendors and Lunch Vendors in Camp

Though vendor offerings aren't free, it's extremely convenient to have a breakfast vendor beside the coffee trailer every morning and a lunch vendor near the showers every afternoon.

Sometimes we work with for-profit food vendors, and sometimes non-profit. But this is important to note:

Pork Belly Ventures invites LOCAL breakfast and lunch vendors into our campsites, and we work strictly with LOCAL caterers, to benefit our host communities and our riders alike.

Indoor Sleeping Opportunities

We try to arrange indoor sleeping in a church, school, YMCA, or other facility on as many nights of RAGBRAI as possible. It's $25 per night to sleep inside, a donation to benefit both our hosts and our riders. In 2022, we really lucked out, with all seven nights of indoor sleeping. In 2023, we could offer indoor sleeping at an elementary school, a university facility, a chamber of commerce building, and a hockey arena. We'll see how we fare this year!

A few of our RAGBRAI crew,

always making it look easy!

Our big friendly, able-bodied, can-do crew numbered 120 last year (not including bike mechanics or massage therapists). Some of them you'll see every day, and others work behind the scenes. All are here to help, comfort, and revive you.

Other Needs: If you don't know who to ask, start at the front desk. There, we have band aids, a hammer for your stakes, a ziplock bag, just about whatever you need--AND we can find answers for you.

Regular informative email updates to help you plan and prepare

PBV Host-Town Maps sent to you in PDF format, showing our campsites in relationship to other amenities, with GeoBike Elevation Statistics for each RAGBRAI day.

PBV Locations Card Our laminated card with campsite locations in each overnight town. You can zip-tie it to your handlebars!

Prompt answers to your questions on email and by phone.

Our comprehensive June Letter with virtually all the info you need in one document.

The Pork Belly Mobile App for Smartphones, to help you learn more about our charter and RAGBRAI before the ride, with useful tools like route maps and host-town maps during the ride. Throughout the season, our updates are published and archived on the App. More on the App below. It's FREE--get it now at your App Store.

Bike-shipping to and from Iowa (additional charge). Your shipping label is sent out by email about 10 days before you ship. More info in the Bike Shipping section below.

Upon arrival, mechanical assistance with uncrating your bike and getting it road ready (free on July 22nd in the start town)

Pre-Assembly of your shipped bike prior to your arrival (additional charge)

Packaging of your bike to ship home--just hand it over (additional charge) and our mechanics do the rest!

A special receiving area right in our camp at the end town for shipped bikes

ABOUT OUR SERVICES...

Frequently Asked

Questions and Answers!

Can I ride RAGBRAI without the support of a charter? Yes, you can, but many riders like to have a friendly home base. If our prices don't suit your budget, we're happy to recommend another reliable RAGBRAI charter to transport your baggage, provide campsites, and support you during your Iowa adventure. Every charter has its own list of amenities, found on their page at RAGBRAI.com.

Why Use Pork Belly Ventures?

The Weeklong Support of PBV could mean the difference between a complicated, exhausting bike trip and a carefree athletic adventure. And it includes amenities (shower, towel, meals, coffee, t-shirt) that you'll likely be paying for no matter how you do RAGBRAI.

Our riders like to focus on their miles and enjoy their Week in the Corn. They rely on us for the little village they call home. They may choose to explore the overnight towns, but if they're tired at the end of a long hot road, they can find their shower, snacks and locally catered meals, cold drinks, an electrical outlet, a shady social area, friendly bike mechanics, restorative yoga and massage therapy, and some excellent live music-- right in camp!

Some of our riders are dealing with a medical issue and appreciate an extra level of support. 

We can refrigerate medication, provide help for those with CPAP machines--with limits--and charge e-bike batteries. We offer a comfortable (and legal) option for sagging on any given day of RAGBRAI.

What's included in Pork Belly Ventures' Tent Rental and Daily Set-up?

Tent-renters simply pack up their bags in the morning and leave them inside the tent. In the next host town you'll find your tent up with bags inside. You can catch your breath under canopies, grab a bite from one of our food vendors, or head off to the shower.

Our rental tents are 63 square feet (8.5' X 7.5'). With duffels inside, we consider our tent a roomy for one person and cozy for two. You can share it and split the cost, or you can occupy it alone.

We'll set up Tent City on the same grid every day. Address cards will help you locate yours. We're happy to arrange the grid so that friends are next door to each other (but you'll need a common group name on all applications). This service has sold out quickly in the past.

What if I want to bring my own tent? By all means, bring it! Those who bring their own tents do their own set-up and take-down, bringing their bags to the baggage truck each morning.

More than half of our Porkers use their own tents. We'll carry your gear (a maximum of two bags per person) from town to town, and we'll have plenty of camping space for everyone. 

If you set up your own tent, you'll have more choices of where to camp (versus your fixed spot on our large grid of rental tents).

May I book shuttles now? Not quite yet. We need the route of RAGBRAI to plan and price our many shuttles. The 2024 route will be announced on January 27th, and very soon after, we'll publish an invitation to sign up for shuttles.

Any RAGBRAI riders may use our shuttles, whether or not they are spending the week with PBV.

If any of our shuttles would become tight on space, we'll communicate that info during the season.

What if I want to a day off the bike? Whether you have an injury, need a rest, or you're just not that into riding today, we offer a DOT-compliant SAG service every day, namely 56-passenger motor coach and driver. Our SAG is a convenient, comfortable, and secure way for you and your bike to get to the next overnight town. We'll transport bikes on a specially outfitted trailer. You'll depart each day at 7:00 a.m., and you'll be in our new camp by about 9:30 a.m. The seats are soft, and you can doze all the way to our next campsite.

Remember, please, that we have 56 seats. On some days, we can have our driver make two trips to accommodate more passengers. It's not practical to have this coach make a third trip, as most or all riders are resourceful enough to find a way to the next overnight town before mid-afternoon.

(There's a special price for non-cyclists spending the full week with us. If you don't bring a bike at all, please see our Weeklong Non-Rider service, which includes your daily transfer from town to town on a luxury motor coach.)

Suppose I can only ride half the week? Our day rate for support is $90 per person per day, and you must spend consecutive days with us. We'll publish more about the Midweek Enter and Exit Shuttles in our next update. (Partial-week riders need to purchase RAGBRAI's day passes for each day they will cycle.)

Confused about Shuttles? We don't expect you to know the geography of Iowa and where the best airports are for your trips to/from Iowa. Just write or call, and we'll talk through your options. Contact us, please, before you make airline reservations. We will tell you much more about our shuttles in the next few FAQs and in our next update about shuttles.

What's the advantage of booking a round trip into and out of Omaha? Omaha is on the western edge of Iowa, and it's the closest international airport to most start towns on this west-to-east ride. This is our most popular airport shuttle, convenient for those who fly, but also for those who drive in on I-80 or I-29.

With our round-trip Omaha service, we pretty much take care of you from the time you reach baggage claim in Omaha to the time you step off our bus at your Omaha airport hotel on the evening of the 29th. Make your air and hotel reservations, and register with PBV. (See below for Pork Hotels.) We'll meet you at the Omaha airport (hotel parking lot) and deliver you to the start town on a nice motor coach.  At the end of RAGBRAI, climb aboard our Omaha-bound coach. We'll carry you back to our side-by-side airport hotels. On Sunday, the free hotel shuttle will take you to the airport.

You'll find information below under "Airline Reservations, Hotels, and Parking."

At the end of RAGBRAI, what are my transportation options with PBV? We can take you to the Des Moines Airport AmericInn Hotel, or we can take you to our side-by-side hotels at the Omaha airport. Finally, we can shuttle you to the Quad Cities International Airport on Iowa's east side. We will publish all shuttle details and departure times in a late January update.

What are the shuttle departure times? We'll publish a separate update soon with estimated departure times on all shuttles. On Saturday, July 20th, our last shuttle from Omaha airport is likely to depart at 4:00 p.m. It's wise not to make airline reservations until we have published shuttle departure times. Watch for our next update!

What is the advantage of using the PBV East/West Shuttle?

This shuttle allows you to park at the end town and shuttle across Iowa to the start. For those who live east of Iowa and/or within driving distance of the end town, this shuttle is a good choice. On Friday the 19th (or earlier), you park your car in the designated long-term parking (the end-town will charge a parking fee; see their website after May 1). You may also drive into the end town very early on Saturday--but plan for traffic that morning. Our crew will meet you there for bike loading on Friday around noon and/or early on Saturday. By mid to late afternoon on Saturday, we'll have you and your bike in the start town. At the end of RAGBRAI, you're back at your car.

Will PBV Run the East/West Shuttle on Friday as well as on Saturday Morning? Friday afternoon continues to be a popular choice, and we will continue to offer it. Those who shuttle on Friday get ahead of the fray and check in for PBV support early, before it gets busy. These folks have more time to enjoy the huge bike expo and start-town festivities on Saturday.

You have some time to think about which departure date and time is best for you and your friends. When you sign up, we'll ask you to choose Friday afternoon (usually two departure options) or Saturday morning (three departure options). Watch for our late January update for firm departure times.

What if I don't even bike but want to experience RAGBRAI? We offer weeklong support for non-riders. A handful of people participate as non-riders with our charter every year. Often they have a family member who is cycling with our charter. We'll carry non-riders on our 56-passenger motor coach from overnight town to overnight town. To arrange to join PBV as a non-rider, please contact us. I, Tammy, would like to visit with you about your week and what to expect.

May we bring our car or RV with PBV?

No, you may not. Whether or not they have secured the RAGBRAI vehicle pass, neither riders nor non-riders may bring their own vehicles if they are using our services.

REGISTRATION with PBV

We started this 2024 Invitation Letter with instructions for signing up for our charter. Here's a little more on that subject.

How Many Riders on One PBV Application?

Most people like to handle their own applications and payments. They like to set up their own usernames and passwords. Family groups may be an exception.

If you like, group leaders certainly can sign up several group members on one application, and each group member is able to mail in payment for his/her part of the fees. But given the fact that we require the 10% deposit on a credit card, such a group leader would be on the hook for ten percent of all services on the application. Around May 15th, remaining balances are due, but it's not possible for each person on the application to pay separately with a credit card--or it requires the inconvenience of calling Pete in the office.

If a group leader is willing to pay for everyone and settle up later, it's fine with us. But for simplicity's sake, we recommend that group members complete their own applications and pay their own fees. Please see "Common Group Name" below.

Common Group Name for Two or More People

Given the possibility of a lottery for our high-demand services, the group name has never been more important. If two or more friends are joining Pork Belly, you should put a common group name in the group-name fields on your applications, like "Friends of Henry" or "Cyclopaths." Now is the time to choose your group name and communicate it to all members.

No Group Name, Please, for Individuals 

It's important to leave the group-name field blank if you're riding RAGBRAI on your own. By putting something into the group-name field, a solo rider could actually hurt his/her chances of being with Pork Belly Ventures (in the event of a lottery).

How to Sign Up with PBV

To create a new application, please go to pkbelly.com and click on the second column, RAGBRAI Charter. Then click the "Register" tab and scroll down to login, entering a username and password. And, importantly, if it's your first time, make sure you tick the box that indicates this is a new application. Then, you'll fill in the blanks, select services, (ENTER CC INFORMATION) and click "Submit."

Deposit of Ten Percent on the Credit Card

Required for a Firm Reservation

Everyone who signs up for services pays at least ten percent of the balance by credit card in order to have a firm reservation. You will NOT incur a convenience fee on your ten percent deposit that holds your reservation for services. To avoid paying this fee at all, you may mail a check for your remaining balance; see our further explanation below. Your remaining balance will not be due until May 15th.

PBV Cancellation Policy and Protection

Please note that if you select our Cancellation Protection, 15% is charged to your credit card when you initially apply. That includes the 10% deposit and 5% for the cancellation protection. Both the deposit and the protection are non-refundable. This has always been the case, but we state it explicitly so there's no misunderstanding. Our Cancellation Policy and Cancellation Protection are explained more fully below.

You do not pay credit card processing fees on your initial 10% deposit. After that, it's up to you whether you mail a check for your balance or login to pay by credit card, incurring the 3% fee.

Here are your payment options:

1) Pay in Full with Your Card

Anytime between the time that you pay your deposit (early to mid-January) to May 15th, you may login and pay your balance by credit card. For this convenience, a 3% processing fee will be assessed.

2) Mail a Check for Remaining Balance

For folks like us who would want to save that 3% service charge, feel free to use the option of mailing a check for your 90% balance. No hurry. Just send it by May 15th to PBV LLC, 412 Forest Glen Drive, Council Bluffs, Iowa 51503.

PBV Cancellation Policy

Before June 15th, you can still cancel part or all of your PBV services and receive a 90% refund on the amount of services reserved. You can drop services or cancel entirely by email, and we'll process your refund quickly. On or after June 15th, we make no refunds. More on Cancellation below.

PBV Cancellation Protection

Pork Belly Ventures offers Cancellation Protection for an additional five percent (5%). Cancellation Protection extends your refund deadline from June 15th to Wednesday, July 17th at 10:00 p.m. The additional 5% for protection is due at the time of registration. Our Cancellation Protection is explained fully at pkbelly.com. More on Cancellation Protection below.

Non-Refundable Charges

We want to draw your attention to the non-refundable charges, not hide them from you. The first ten percent (10%) can be paid by credit card, and is non-refundable as stated in our cancellation policy. The five-percent (5%) charge for our optional cancellation protection extends the 90% refund deadline from June 15 to July 17th. It is also non-refundable.

Difference between Selecting and Reserving Services

Selecting services on your application without paying the deposit doesn't give you a reservation, even though the information is retained on your application.

Everyone who completes an application and pays his/her ten percent by credit card (or by mailing a check) will have a firm reservation with PBV.

When you submit payment or when we process your payment, you will receive a confirmation email, showing your payment and any remaining balance. Balances are due May 15th.

The Whole Scoop on Cancellation Protection 

First of all, if you have any trouble understanding this option, you should call or email us for an explanation. You have only one opportunity to purchase this protection, at the time of your original registration.

Here are some of the things that have happened to our RAGBRAIers during the last month before RAGBRAI. A member of their family has needed support through a crisis. People have been struck by a car while training for the ride. Their plans for childcare have fallen through. They have lost a loved one. The boss decided they couldn't be spared at work. They have been diagnosed with an illness. Although we--and every other tour operator--must have a refund deadline and cancellation policy, and although ours is quite liberal, and even though we publish our cancellation policy several times prior to the deadline every year, we can't help but feel for those people who cancelled out of necessity after the June deadline. After attending a conference of bicycle tour directors and discussing this issue with other tour operators, we offer this solution.

In short, it's up to you whether to protect yourself against these and other situations that may prevent you coming to join us on RAGBRAI.

If you want to extend your 90% refund from June 15th all the way through until July 17th, you can select "Cancellation Protection" on the online application form. The non-refundable fee for this protection is five percent of the value of services you have reserved with PBV--all services on your application. (One exception: cancellation protection does not apply to the PHAT Room Accommodations.)

This protection applies only to the period from June 15 to July 17 at 10:00 p.m. For anyone who cancels later than 10:00 p.m. on July 17th, we make no refund. This protection is not applicable to people who travel to Iowa for RAGBRAI and leave the ride early for any reason. This protection applies only to fees paid to Pork Belly Ventures, not your RAGBRAI registration fee or other travel expenses. To use this protection, you must contact us by email by 10:00 p.m. on July 17. Your refund will be processed at our earliest convenience, possibly in the early days of August, if your cancellation comes at the last moment.

In short, without protection, you stand to lose 100% of your fees paid to PBV. But by spending 5% up front on a non-refundable fee, you can receive a 90% refund if you cancel for any reason all the way through July 17 at 10:00 p.m. You may purchase this protection at the original time of registration only.

Registration With RAGBRAI

PBV (and all RAGBRAI charters) may not serve riders who are not registered for the event. You must register for RAGBRAI in addition to signing up for our services.

RAGBRAI registration has been open since mid-November. The cost is $225 per person now, and starting March 1, there will be increases. The deadline for registration is May 15.

Charters may not include the RAGBRAI registration with their services.

RAGBRAI uses a site called EnMotive for registration. You can send any RAGBRAI registration questions to info@ragbrai.com. You can use your phone, tablet, or desktop to register. 

Regarding The Former RAGBRAI Lottery

It's gone. No more lottery. If you sign up, you're in, though RAGBRAI has a maximum number of riders and takes registrations on a first-come-first-served basis..

Buying a RAGBRAI Wristband

on the After-Market

If you decide late in the season that you can make it to RAGBRAI after all, we recommend going on the RAGBRAI forum (at RAGBRAI.com) where many transactions are arranged every year.

SECTION 3:

BIKE SHIPPING, AIR TRANSPORTATION, HOTELS,

AND PARKING

BIKE SHIPPING:

Pork Belly Ventures Partnership with Bike Flights

Pork Belly Ventures has been the best ground game on RAGBRAI for many years, and we have done the lion's share of bike shipping to and from RAGBRAI. We will continue to partner with Bike Flights to provide bike shipping to and from RAGBRAI, and you'll receive your emailed label 10 days prior to your ship date.

Shipping rates were high last year, for everyone, not just bike-shippers. Yet, we received more than 300 bicycles!

Along with our partners at Bike Flights, we're working on a plan to keep your costs down and give you excellent service. We'll let you know when the you can register. More to follow.

We'll continue to offer the popular option of having your shipped bike pre-assembled before you arrive in Iowa. In April, expect more from us on bike shipping to and from RAGBRAI. 

When should I make airline reservations?

In short, wait for the update from Pork Belly Ventures on Shuttle Details and Departure Times.

It takes us a little time to think about how the route affects each shuttle and communicate with the bus companies, etc. Our shuttle update will run through all the shuttle details and departure times. Once you know our shuttle departure times, you can make your airline reservations with confidence that you can make your connections.

If I'm driving to the end town on Friday, how can I get reservations at a hotel? For hotel rooms in eastern Iowa near the end town, you may check the end-town website on about May 1st for nearby hotels.  Or you might Google hotels relatively close to long-term parking. PBV will not have a designated hotel in eastern Iowa.

If I'm driving to the end town on Friday, what are my overnight options? Pork Belly Ventures always attempts to find inexpensive indoor camping in the end town. We have reserved church facilities, gymnasiums, schools, dorms, YMCAs, and other large rooms, where folks could make a small donation to roll out their sleeping bags indoors and relatively close to long-term parking. Again this year, we will make every effort to arrange inexpensive indoor accommodations.

Also, camping is always available on Friday night in the end town.

Where can I park at the end town? One of the first things an end-town figures out is how to securely park hundreds of cars for the week. The host committee will make a good plan for this. Our bike-loading and bus-boarding area for the east/west shuttle is typically located very near the long-term parking area.

Hold tight and watch our updates. We are optimistic that we'll have this info for you prior to May 1. Camping, dining, and showers are often provided in the end town on the Friday night before RAGBRAI.

If I'm flying or driving into Omaha, will I need reservations at a hotel? On the nights of July 21st through the 26th, you will be camping with PBV, but if you're flying into Omaha on Friday, the 19th, and/or returning with us to Omaha late on Saturday evening, the 27th, you will need Omaha hotel reservations. We have room blocks for both nights at two side-by-side airport hotels.

Here are PBV's designated Omaha airport hotels!

Our two side-by-side hotels at the Omaha airport are the Best Western Plus and the Candlewood Suites. These properties are owned by the same company and run by an excellent team of managers. They are very nice.

PLEASE USE THE LOCAL PHONE NUMBERS BELOW AND CALL THE HOTEL DIRECTLY TO ACCESS OUR BLOCKS OF ROOMS.

Pork Belly Ventures has room blocks at both hotels. There are advantages to both hotels, but walk across a parking lot and you get all amenities, no matter where you stay. Your choice:

Best Western Plus, 402-505-4900:

• Mention our name to reserve your king or double queen room for less than $140.
• Hot breakfast served here (Candlewood guests will walk over for breakfast)
• Swimming pool located here (Candlewood guests have access, too)
• Hospitality areas available to our guests before and after RAGBRAI.
• Triple-sheeting is the standard at this hotel.
• Across the street from a large convenience store, Subway sandwich shop, and Perkins Restaurant.
• Very reasonable weeklong hotel parking, arranged between you and your hotel on the day
• Free airport shuttle and Old Market shuttle, a great place for shopping, music, and dining on the Friday before RAGBRAI.

BELOW, we include three photos of remodeled rooms at Candlewood Suites, but both of our designated Omaha airport hotels are updated regularly and very nice.

Candlewood Suites, 402-342-2500:

• Mention our name to reserve your king or double queen room for less than $140.
• North side of Candlewood is the site of our bus loading and unloading (Best Western Plus guests walk over and back.)
• The site of free laundry (Best Western Plus guests can do laundry here too.)
• Hospitality areas available to our guests before and after RAGBRAI.
• Triple-sheeting is the standard at this hotel.
• Across the street from a large convenience store, Subway sandwich shop, and Perkins Restaurant.
• Very reasonable weeklong hotel parking, arranged between you and your hotel on the day
• Free airport shuttle and Old Market shuttle, a great place for shopping, music, and dining on the Friday before RAGBRAI.
• Breakfast served next door; great convenience shop in the lobby.

Because Best Western Plus is located in Iowa, and Candlewood Suites is located in Nebraska (yes, they are side-by-side), the tax on Candlewood is 6% more. And if you reserved at Candlewood online, please change your reservation by phoning the hotel directly. Your rate will be reduced to our negotiated rate of $130 per night.

All Pork Belly buses will depart from and return to the Omaha airport Candlewood Suites, next door to the Best Western Plus.

We advise flying or driving in on Friday. Saturday is part of the RAGBRAI experience, and you miss it when you fly into Omaha at 3:00 p.m. You'll want to enjoy the big bike expo on Saturday, and the festivities, and a town filling up with people and bikes! Also, we have seen some things in our time, including delayed flights, cancelled flights, closed airports, and lost luggage--which can cause a rider to miss his/her shuttle to the start town. When you fly in on Friday, you hedge your bets against most of the problems an airline can cause you. SOME OF OUR 2023 RIDERS COULD TELL YOU HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO FLY IN AS EARLY AS YOU CAN.

Book your Omaha Airport hotel rooms in January or February. At times, we have run short on rooms, even with blocks at both hotels. If you find you don't need rooms you have reserved, please release them back to our block right away. For safety reasons, the hotel staff will need an occupant's name for every room and a credit card number for each occupant (one per room).

Will weeklong parking be available near the Omaha airport? Yes. The hotels will offer inexpensive long-term parking in their lots to those who spend a night there.

ABOVE: We thank the Movic Family for introducing us to the art of Kristie Grove!

What does it take to be a Porker?

We want you to have a good time, and here's what helps you do that.

It's hard to overstate the importance of training for RAGBRAI. Every mile you ride before RAGBRAI will increase the quality of your days in Iowa.

If you have the ability to take things in stride and let the temporary stuff roll off your back, if you have a good sense of humor, and if you like to be around people, then you'll love RAGBRAI with PBV!

We can get you showered and cooled down and fed and rested, but you might endure some temporary discomfort. When that happens--and surely it will--please treat those who serve you with respect and courtesy.

We are going to do our very best to show you a great time.

Remember that the vibe of our charter is "neighborhood block party," not "college frat party." With us, you're signing on for wholesome, healthy fun and quiet after 10:00 p.m.  If you want a hard party or a late party, we're not the right fit for you.

What if I have a problem or a special situation? Tell us what you need, and we'll try to help.

Who is Pork Belly Ventures LLC?

We are a brother and sister partnership, Pete Phillips and Tammy Pavich, born and raised in Iowa. Last year, we completed our 30th year of operating our RAGBRAI charter. We and our extended family live in Council Bluffs, on Iowa's west coast. Our charter is best known for our Weeklong Support, full of extras and relative luxuries, described in greater detail above. We take pride in Iowa's hospitality and the kindness of people you'll meet all across our home state.

We could get a mile down the road without our incredible crew. The Pork Belly crew stays strong and chipper all week long, and during the waking hours, you can always find someone to ask for help. Many are schoolteachers, farmers, and firefighters. About the only way to join our crew is to be recommended by another crew member--so we are a great big web of schoolmates, neighbors, cousins, and friends, everyone connected somehow.

Among our riders, you'll find many professions and many lifestyles, ethnicities, and cultures--most from the U.S., but quite a few from beyond. Most of our charter is thirties, forties, fifties, and sixties, but we appreciate the very fit men and women in their seventies and even eighties, most of whom have been riding for many years with us. You'll meet some youngsters, too. Under our canopies, you can join any number of interesting conversations! Our riders are a friendly bunch.

First-timers and RAGBRAI veterans alike pass the corn with us.

Will PBV communicate with me between now and July? 

You bet, and we'll have an update to you later in January about our shuttles. Between now and June, we'll send a couple of updates a month. In those last 60 days, we'll write to you more frequently.

What should I do right now? 

First, feel free to ask your questions. We welcome anyone to jot down a list of questions or concerns, and then call us. We look forward to talking with you!

If you feel that you understand our cancellation policy and our cancellation protection, then by all means, go to pkbelly.com, then click the RAGBRAI Register tab to create a new application. If you are signing up for the first time, you'll create your username and password--and remember to tick the box that indicates you're creating brand new login credentials.

If necessary, we'll conduct a lottery very quickly. Thank you for your interest in Pork Belly Ventures.

We're here to answer your questions, Porkers.

Please write to tammy@pkbelly.com or call me

at 808-375-8921 c.

Contact Pete at pete@pkbelly.com, 402-681-2613.

We can talk shuttles, services, prices, and

whatever you need during your Week in the Corn.