My cellular provider (AT&T) had poor coverage along the route so I wasn't able to post much during the ride. "Contemporaneous" writing loses something when done after the fact so I won't try to do a day-by-day recap of the ride. Below are some of my general impressions from the ride.
First, in a good way, the ride exceeded my expectations. The people were great, the weather not unbearable and the food wonderful. Depending on what our schedule is next year, we'd have no hesitation about doing RAGBRAI again.
We had no major mechanical problems (one flat tire) and our bodies held up pretty well (Kurt's right knee started acting up towards the end of the trip). The conditioning we did before the ride must have been sufficient because physically, the ride was reasonable.
There are lots of people on the ride but you sign-on knowing that it is going to be you and 10,000 of your best friends on the trip.
The atmosphere is such that you have no inhibitions over what you eat or drink. Your only responsibility is to have a good time and pedal yourself down the road to the next town. Remember, pie is breakfast food. 
The host towns and the pass-thru towns (places you go through during the day) go all out for this event. It is a celebration at every stop.
There is a lot of corn in Iowa. From one end of the state to the other, we passed field after field of corn. Also, Iowa is NOT flat!
