One of my favorite RAGBRAI anecdotes, which I relayed in a magazine story a few years ago:

A few years ago, I visited a quaint little village known for its wholesomeness and small-town charm. One morning my wife and I stopped at a stand called “Good Eggs” to grab breakfast. As the owner behind the counter scrambled our order, I noticed a portrait of cyclists on the wall with the inscription “RAGBRAI” underneath.

“Did you ride RAGBRAI?” I asked, having experienced a few days of this legendary bike ride myself.

I had just uttered the secret code word. He stopped and looked directly at me.

“Ride RAGBRAI?” he repeated. “I lost my virginity on RAGBRAI.”

Of course, you can only do that once. Thanks for the thoughts about managing expectations through the prism of RAGBRAI. I need to get back one of these years.