Bicycle Ride Across Georgia
The Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG) is an annual road-cycling tour across the US state of Georgia. It began in 1980 as an offshoot of RAGBRAI. Between 1,000 and 2,000 riders participate in this great ride every year.
The route covers approximately 400 miles over 7 days with options for longer distances. Mid-week, the tour stays two nights in one town allowing riders to either rest or ride a century with lesser mile options. Rest stops are every 8–15 miles and snacks and drinks are provided to registered riders.
BRAG was originally called Georgia’s Annual State Bicycling Event (GASBE) when it first began in 1980. The head leader on the ideas for this event was Dot Moss. The inspiration originally came from the bicycle tour in Iowa called RAGBRAI (Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa). The first ride began in Savannah, Georgia, and finished in Columbus, Georgia. The ride was a total of 300 miles. In 1985, the name of the ride was changed to Bicycle Ride Across Georgia or BRAG.
For BRAG, many riders start training in January. Bobby Rone, a BRAG cyclist, makes the following suggestions:
Rone says that after following his training strategy, the BRAG ride “is very easy and enjoyable.”
BRAG volunteers choose the route each year and when the time comes around, they help paint the arrows and other lines on the pavement. They also post BRAG signs to help bikers out. The volunteers also pre-bike the ride to make sure it is a good route for cyclists from all over. When the registration papers and fees are collected for each rider, an envelope is sent back to the rider, with information about the ride and precise distances and directions for every turn. For example, a directions packet might say something like this, “Begin a 1.2 mile serious climb…” They are made easy to follow.
Everyone has their own reason to ride on BRAG. Many ride to keep in shape, many ride to accomplish a personal goal or complete a personal challenge, many ride for fun with family and/or friends, or on their own, as a hobby. And others ride to enjoy scenery, different terrain, and new country. On BRAG, almost all riders believe that it is more about the journey, rather than the destination. Riders may choose to complete as much or as little of the tour as they want to. This means each rider may travel a different distance during the week. On average, each rider travels between 43 and 100 miles in a day. Each day of riding is pre-mapped out and planned so riders know where to go and what kind of trek is ahead for each day. When the trek for the day is complete, the cyclists stop in a city or town, and set up camp at a local high school or college. In the evenings, bikers can relax or enjoy entertainment and tourism for the remainder of the night. If riders want to go out, a shuttle provides transportation between the camp site and touristic spots around town. At the camp site, riders can choose to either set up camp outside, in a tent, on a field -most likely a soccer or football field-, or inside in a gym. In the morning, most riders begin riding early to avoid the heat. Most of the routes are back roads with beautiful scenery and little traffic. Official BRAG rest stops are spaced every 10 to 15 miles and provide drinks and snacks to riders. Organizers suggest that riders not stop longer than 5 minutes to avoid difficulty restarting that may come from lactic acid. Cyclists not able to take the heat (average temperature is usually around 90 degrees Fahrenheit) or not able to ride up a hill can be picked up by BRAG support wagons. Those not able to bike for a couple days can also use the support wagons to transport them, their bike, and, gear to the next stop on the route if necessary. Riders can purchase a meal ticket plan for the week. Cyclists can choose how many meals they want on their plan. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are available. According to Fitz Miller, “The food is good to excellent and the prices are very reasonable.”
...
Wikipedia