Cedar Valley Cyclists

Rainbow 's charter bus leaves from a parking lot where you can safely leave your car parked for the week at no charge .

If you are coming from out of state you can ship your boxed bike to us a week ahead of departure . That way you do not need to worry about how to get your bicycle from the airport to the start town or to the charter bus. And your bike box or case will be at the end town for you to get your bike ready to transport home .

Camp sites.....Many times our club is assigned a poor campsite . We have a driver who does his best to reserve good campsites . He looks for shade , water , showers , restrooms ( not too close or too far ) , close to downtown and food , etc...No place is perfect but he tries to get Rainbow the best place possible.

Directions to CVC campsite....Many clubs have you go all the way to the main campground information board to find directions to their camp . Our driver puts up large bright orange Rainbow Cyclists signs along the bike route to direct you straight to where Rainbow is camped .

Canopy...Rainbow Cyclists has a 20 foot by 30-foot canopy . Many campgrounds have no shade . So the canopy is very nice on sunny days or rainy days.

Beverages...Rainbow provides coolers with iced beverages under the canopy. You must pay for what you drink. It is nice to know that after a long day you can find your favorite drink right at camp.

Chairs...Rainbow brings 45 plastic chairs for everyone to use under the canopy. You can bring a folding bag chair or stool if you want, but no lawn chairs please .

Luggage.... no limit on luggage . Bring as many bags as you want . Please bring 2 or 3 bags , not one monster bag that weighs a ton .The drivers do their best to keep the bags dry if it rains .They will cover the bags with large sheets of plastic. Rainbow has about 140 people on the charter . I would hate to look for my bags that are on a semi with 5,000 others biker’s bags .

Shower Stalls....Rainbow brings 4 shower stalls to use with solar sun shower bags . You bring a solar sun shower bag ( 2 1/2 gallon size please ). You fill the shower bag each day and load it into the truck . The drivers unload the shower bags to heat up in the sun . The bags get very warm on a sunny day . With 4 shower stalls the line is never very long . You can always go to a school or pool and pay for a shower ( $ 2- $ 4 ) and the line could be long and the water might be cold . On an overcast day the solar bags only heat up a little bit . The last 3 years I have not paid to shower .

Odds and Ends :
Rainbow Cyclists also brings a floor pump to air up tires . We bring 2 electric air pumps to inflate air mattresses . We are set up to charge 6 cell phones at one time with the 2 truck cigarette lighter outlets . You need to bring your own charger . For a fee ( $ 5 a night last year ) one of our drivers will set up your tent .

Why Choose the Rainbow Charter?

KEN SHAPIRO, Massachusetts

I COME FROM OUT OF STATE, AND HAVE RIDDEN 8 RAGBRAI’S WITH RAINBOW. I FIND THE RAINBOW CHARTER IS ALL INCLUSIVE TO A RIDER’S NEEDS.

FOR A FIRST TIME RIDER, THERE IS A LOT TO KNOW, AND LEARN. THE ORGANIZER’S ARE INFORMATIVE - VERY INFORMATIVE. AND THEN, ALL THE RAINBOW REGULARS ARE HELPFUL, AND OPEN. AS AN EXAMPLE, I STILL REMEMBER HOW HELPLESS I FELT TRYING TO REASSEMBLE MY BIKE THE FIRST DAY, ON MY FIRST TRIP. AND I REMEMBER HOW MUCH HELP WAS OFFERED TO ME BY THE RAINBOW MEMBERS.

FROM MY HOME, I AM ABLE TO SHIP MY BIKE BY UPS DIRECTLY TO THE CLUB’S GARAGE - THEN IT’S ALREADY ON THE TRUCK WHEN I ARRIVE.

THE BUS RIDES TO THE START, AND FROM THE FINISH, SEEM TO RUN SMOOTHLY, AND ARE ON TIME. THE BAG HAULING IS SEAMLESS. SIGNAGE TO THE CAMPSITE IS UNBELIEVABLE, AND THE CAMPSITES ARE WELL CHOSEN BY THE RAINBOW SCOUT. THE BIG CANOPY TENT OFFERS A GREAT VISUAL BEACON... AND IT OFFERS COLD DRINKS, SEATING, AND CAMARADERIE - THERE’S ALWAYS FELLOW MEMBERS READY TO TALK POLITICS, SWAP A STORY, OR COMMISERATE WITH.
RAINBOW’S 4 SUN SHOWER SETUPS, ARE WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD! I INITIALLY WOULD GO IN SEARCH OF SHOWERS AT SCHOOLS, ETC. - BUT TAKING A SUN SHOWER ELIMINATED THAT CHORE, AND COST ALTOGETHER.

RIDING RAGBRAI IS FUN AND CHALLENGING. RAINBOW INSURES STRESS FREE MOVEMENT OF YOU AND YOUR STUFF, ELIMINATES THE GUESSWORK OF WHERE YOU WILL BE EACH NIGHT, AND WELCOMES NEW FOLKS INTO THE FOLD.

AS I’M RIDING INTO THE EVENING HOST TOWNS ON RAGBRAI... I FIND MYSELF FEELING SORRY FOR MANY OF THE RIDERS THAT SEEM LOST, AND BEWILDERED AT FINDING WHERE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO GO. I ALSO SEE SOME OF THE SECONDARY SITES THAT THEY HAVE TO CAMP IN.

THE RAINBOW CHARTER HAS WORKED WELL FOR ME. THERE IS A REASON THAT IT HAS FLOURISHED OVER THE YEARS, WITH RETURNING REGULARS, AND "NEWBIES". I HIGHLY RECOMMEND RAINBOW CHARTER.