Every one has heard of the Tour De France the world famous bike ride across France. But did you know RAGBRAI, Iowa’s own great bike ride has its own claim to fame?
RAGBRAI, or the “Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa” is not only the oldest, but also the longest and largest bicycle touring event in the world!
RAGBRAI was started in 1973, by two columnists at the Des Moines register who challenged each other to ride across Iowa and write about what they saw. That first year 300 people showed up and pitched tents on yards along the way, thus beginning a great tradition.
This year, RAGBRAI will see about 10,000 riders make there way from Sioux City to Dubuque, making it the 3rd easiest ride in RAGBRAI’s history. This year riders will get to ride past the Grotto in West Band, boating on Clear Lake and the Field of Dream’s in Dyersville.
Along the way riders will be greeted by townsfolk happy to lend a hand. Whether it’s a day stop, where riders can relax for a few hours and enjoy homemade lemonade and some entertainment. Or a night stop where riders are welcomed into the homes of Iowans for a home cooked meal and a place to rest their head and feet for the night.
Along the journey you’ll see thousands of bikes, traveling bike shops offering repairs, vans of team members offering refreshments and encouragement to their teams and plenty of crazy outfits and possibly crazy people.
By the end of the journey, when the riders make the annual dip of the tire into the Missippi river, riders will have traveled 442 miles and climbed 14,527 feet ( a wimp in comparison to last years 22,000 feet).
For more information on how to join next year, where else RAGBRAI stops this year or more history check out their website: www.ragbrai.com

With Spring almost gone and Summer right around the corner, now’s the time to put on the rubber gloves and get your home prepped for the season.

Thanks to marthastewartliving.com and housekeepingchannel.com , we’re here to share some tips and tricks on making your home spic and span before the summer begins.

For starters, it’s a good idea to set a game plan before you start your cleaning. Go through the house and make a list of what you notice needs done. After you do that, take a look at your cleaning supplies; make sure you’re going to have everything you need, so you don’t need to pause mid-clean to run to the store.

Then it’s time to prioritize and organize everything you want to get done. This will help keep you on track and prevent you and your family from going too many different ways at once with your cleaning.

After you’ve done all that it’s time to get dirty, well clean technically.

As you go through each room don’t forget about some of the places you might not think about:

Kitchen-don’t forget to dust your refridgerator coils and defrost your freezer. Defrosting your freezer is also a good opportunity to throw out any unwanted food that may have gotten lost in there, ie: frozen lasagna from 3 months ago.

Bedroom-rotate your bed to distribute wear on the coils evenly. Also, don’t forget to wash your pillows, for most of them, machine washing is fine. And when going through your winter clothes, don’t forget to get in touch with your local charity to find out about donation drop off locations and times.

Bathroom-Throw out old beauty products as well as any first aid products that may have expired. Make sure to replace them with new ones.

Basement-When working in the basement store things on blocks to keep the storage units off the ground in case of flooding.

Don’t be afraid to be ruthless when it comes to cleaning. It’s okay to throw things out and get rid of them.

For a full checklist and more tips and tricks check out:

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/spring-cleaning-checklist

Worried that moving to Des Moines is going to put a damper on your list of fun things to do. Or, do you already live in Des Moines and think nothing’s going on?

Well thanks to our friends at seedesmoines.com, we’ve come up with a few things to get you out of the house and out and about in Des Moines.

Des Moines has plenty of family fun options that will keep mom and dad as well as the little ones entertained.

Our top 3 for the family  include :

1) Adventureland Park and Adventure Bay. Iowa’s favorite amusement park, Adventureland boasts over 100 rides, shows and attractions to choose from. Ranging from Ben Ulin’s magic show in Sherriff Sam’s Saloon, to the Outlaw rollercoaster and the Frog Hopper; Adventureland has a ride for every member of the family. Combine that with the brand new waterpark “Adventureland Bay” featuring 13 water slides, Iowa’s largest lazy river, a pool and swim up bar; Adventureland is a great way for the family to spend a day in the sun. For park hours and ticket prices check out their website: www.adventureland-usa.com

2) Make your own chocolate at Suzette Candies. With a 50 year tradition and 3 locations in the metro area, Suzette Candies continues to please anyone’s sweet tooth. And we’ve all wanted to have our own “Willy Wonka Experience” and here you can. Just ask. For location information go to: http://www.suzettecandies.com

3) LazerX at All Play . Located in Downtown right near the Iowa Events Center, siblings can settle their rivalry in All Play’s 5,000 square foot Lazer arena for just $7. Mom and dad are also allowed to join in the fun.

For the inviduals looking for more “grown up” options, Des Moines still has plenty to offer.

1) John & Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park . This 4.4 arcre park is nestled right on the western edge of Downtown Des Moines and features over 24 works from 19 international artists. Visitors can take a leisurely stroll through the park’s specially designed walkways and artwork, while also getting a view of downtown Des Moines. After their visit, guests can stop by the Des Moines Social Club, located right across the street to grab refreshment in the SideShow Lounge.

2)80/35. This music festival taking place July 3 & 4 this year, features non stop music from local,regional and national artists. This year’s bands include: Modest Mouse, Christopher the Conquered and Modern Day Satire. For the full line up and tickets, check out: www.80-35.com

3)Downtown Des Moines bars . Downtown Des Moines is home to over 60 bars, from trendy nightclubs to casual brew pubs, with many featuring nightly entertainment.

All these are just a tip of the iceburg of what Des Moines has to offer. For a complete list of the 100 things to do, as well as the other great things that  didn’t make the list, check out www.seedesmoines.com/100 where you can choose your own top Des Moines “to-do’s”.