January 24, 2008
Dear Porkers and Soon-To-Be Porkers,
Turning the corner of a new year triggers an almost primal yearning in the RAGBRAI veteran, a
physical ache deep in the belly. Your friends notice; you’re twitchy and distracted by day.
The nights find you drooling, dreaming of pie, dozens of pies set out on wooden tables in a
church basement, fresh from the ovens of a hundred grandmothers. Your legs begin to twitch
against the sheets as you pedal up through the morning mist, climbing to the rhythmic cadence
of shifting gears all around you. Your eyelids flutter at a rush of sensation—pungent smoke
off a cob fire, a dazzling blue chain of kybos, cool paving bricks in the courthouse shadow,
and that sea of corn and beans, rolling away in waves of green.
Well, wake up, Porkers, because your annual dream has once again come true. Come,
long-timers! Come, first-timers! The route is out, and here is your invitation to ride Iowa
with Pork Belly Ventures!
Some say we spoil our Porkers. We don’t see it that way, but we ARE known far and wide, from
river to river, for the luxurious extras we provide. We’ll offer delicious morning coffee to
revive you, the Cool Zone mist to soothe you, Back-of-the-Truck Cocktails to cheer you, hearty
suppers to nourish you, and the best live music in all the Midwest to make you feel like a kid
again. And that’s only the tip of the grain elevator. Since August, we’ve been thinking and
planning and dreaming up new ways to make you happy. So give us a chance to show you a
whopping good time during the best week of the year. Come to Iowa this July and know the joy
of living like pigs.
If you’ve traveled with Pork Belly before, scroll on down to the 2008-specific stuff.
First-timers, see below for some basics about us and RAGBRAI. In this invitation letter,
you’ll find
* “What’s New at PBV in 2008,”
* a full description of our Weeklong Support,
* a full description of our optional Tent Rental and Daily Set-Up,
* 2008 services and prices,
* our cancellation policy,
* how to make reservations at our designated Omaha hotels,
* our new and classic Pork garments,
* and answers to other frequently asked questions.
Who is Pork Belly Ventures LLC? For the past fifteen years, my brother Pete Phillips and I,
Tammy Pavich, have been partners in the operation of PBV, based in Council Bluffs on the
Missouri River. Our RAGBRAI history goes back about ten years further, though. Back in the
day, a person could ride the whole ride AND run a small-time charter (we rode the mid-1980s
through the mid-1990s), but in 1994, we gave up the bikes and gave ourselves completely to the
care of our Porkers. Having ridden RAGBRAI for years, though, we know exactly what a rider
needs, and every year we expand and improve the support, entertainment, and relative luxuries
of Pork Belly Ventures. We are best known for our first-class weeklong support, detailed
below. To get folks to and from the ride, we operate a round-trip motorcoach service out of
the Omaha airport and an east/west shuttle from RAGBRAI’s long-term parking on the east coast
of Iowa. We never tire of showing off the beauty and hospitality of our home state.
The weeklong Pork Belly Crew of about twenty-five includes our sister, her in-laws, our
brother, my husband (we met on RAGBRAI), quite a few schoolteachers, biking buddies,
firefighters and paramedics. As we all get older, we’ve inducted a new generation into our
crew, some very muscular, energetic young fellas (most of them sons of firefighters and
paramedics) who make the pure physical labor of our operation look almost easy. Before,
during, and after the ride, we thank our lucky stars for our parents, our nieces, Pete’s wife,
our brother-in-law, and our many good friends—couldn’t do it without them!
The hardy cyclists who join us every summer hail from all over this country and beyond. Most
are in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, but we get our share of thirty-somethings every year, and we’ve
marveled at many remarkable RAGBRAIers in their eighth decades. A lot of family groups join
us—grandfathers and grandsons, aunts and nephews, brothers and sisters. Some are educators,
some are professionals, some have retired, but all Porkers have a common denominator: they
thrive on good healthy fun. That means they love a challenging day on the bike, a cold one or
two in the afternoon, frequent belly laughs, and a sound sleep. It’s our great fortune to
spend the best week of the year with so many fine people.
What are the ride dates? The ride begins before dawn on Sunday, July 20th, and ends on
Saturday, July 26th. That means that we’ll meet up with most of you on Saturday, the 19th,
either at the Omaha airport, the Le Claire long-term parking area, or at the Missouri Valley
campground.
What’s this year’s route? This year, you’ll pedal across Iowa’s midsection, mustering in
Missouri Valley and overnighting in these host towns:
Harlan,
Jefferson,
Ames,
Tama-Toledo,
North Liberty, and
Tipton. We’ll finish up in little Le Claire on the Mississippi River. Most
of our host towns were settled by Germans and Scandinavians, and are now home to three, four,
five thousand people. As I’ve read through their town newspapers, they sound thrilled,
grateful, and a little bit terrified to have 15,000 people coming to eat, drink, dance, and
sleep over in July. But like all Iowa townspeople, they have always known how to work, and
there’s no doubt that they’ll be ready for us. We envy you RAGBRAI virgins who will be
experiencing the humor and hospitality of your Iowa host towns for the first time.
So far, I see nothing published about the terrain, but
you’ll ride 471 miles during the week,
just a few miles short of last year, which makes this ride relatively long. Highlights on this
route include Desoto National Wildlife Refuge on the Missouri River waterfowl flyway (you might
be dipping rear tires there, as it’s close to Mo. Valley), the beautiful Loess Hills, the
scenic Iowa River, and Iowa State University in Ames. For additional info on the route, how
much climbing to expect, the pass-through towns, the century loop, and the daily mileage, keep
an eye on ragbrai.org.
What’s New at PBV in 2008? Every year, we scrutinize the whole Pork Belly operation for ways
of improving what we do for you. For starters, here are some of our 2008 plans. We’re working
on others, so expect a few surprises, come July.
The Blue Band on Sunday Night In addition to our hefty Sunday welcome supper, we aim to serve
up the blues/jazz/bluegrass combination The Blue Band has long been famous for. This
outrageously popular five-piece band performs original and cover blues, soul, rockabilly, and
R&B, and they’ll add a whole new flavor to our Sunday night ice-melter! (Don’t worry, Pork
Veterans. You’ll get your midweek blowout, too. We’re 95% sure that the Elders are in for
another Pork gig this July!)
Thursday Night SIZZLE Since about 1996, we’ve been lighting the coals for our
late-in-the-week SIZZLE, the traditional PBV cookout. Until now, each Porker would hit the
local market for something to throw on the grill, while we did the rest. Well, no more hassle
of going to the market. It’s all on us this year. When you smell smoke, just follow your
nose, choose something from our coolers to throw on the grill, fill your plate with yummy side
dishes, and enjoy this leisurely meal. The expert grill-masters on our crew will help you on
the barbie.
Pork Bracelets One of the first things you’ll do when you arrive in our Missouri Valley camp
is claim your Pork Bracelet (wristband) at our front desk. We hope this adornment on wrists or
ankles will help you identify other Porkers on the road. In camp it will entitle you to all
the PBV amenities of our weeklong support package, including beverages, below.
Beverages We’ve always offered you cheap, ice-cold beverages throughout the afternoons and
evenings, but this year we plan to cut the cost of liquid refreshment even more. We’re working
out the details, but some beverages will be offered for free and others at a nominal price. An
easy PBV punch card will make the cheap ones cheaper, and your Pork Bracelet will entitle you
to free ones. If all goes according to plan, we’ll be serving a nice variety of good stuff by
the keg, all day every day. As ever, our fresh-brewed coffee, hot tea, and hot chocolate are
free to all Porkers every morning from 5:00 to 7:00 a.m.
Thingys For the past couple years, we’ve gone whole-hog on equipment. Sheesh, we gotta lot
of stuff (our three beautiful new circus tents and four big Cool Zone Misting Fans, for
instance). Still, our passion for new and better Thingys is unquenched. Pete’s at work on an
air compressor (a Pump Thingy) with a manifold and pressure regulator to make inflating your
bike tires a piece of cake. Our phone-charging station (The Juice Thingy) can handle over 100
electrical devices, but since more Porkers travel with valuable techno-gadgets, we’re working
on a check-in-lock-up system (Locker Thingy) for iPods and video cameras. At least one little
improvement is planned for The Shower Thingy—dry-deck squares to keep you Porkers out of the
mud. Don’t be surprised if we come up with other Thingys between now and July.
The Shower Guys We can’t make promises here, as the details have to be worked out and each
host town will have final say. But we are working to partner with the Shower Guys this year in
as many towns as possible. For you newbies, in several of last year’s host towns, we had The
Shower Guys right in our camp or within half a block of us. Their wonderful hot-water set-up
made daily showers super convenient and comfortable for our Porkers. We’re working on it!
Shipping Bikes Back Home Last year, we arranged a special FedEx bike-shipping station,
dedicated to PBV members, so that Porkers could ship bikes home from our mustering site in the
last host town. We are working with FedEx to make ride’s end even smoother for our
bike-shippers. (By the way, RAGBRAI will also be using FedEx this year.)
Website and Email Updates Porkers will be able to access our series of Pork Belly email
updates right at our site. For you newcomers, we’ll send about 30 email updates over the six
months prior to the ride. If you miss one or lose one, you can re-visit important reminders at
www.pkbelly.com. Also, you can now create your own password and manage your own registration
and travel info at our site.
Everything! We’re already hard at work on all the stuff you expect of Pork Belly
Ventures—groovy evening events, a still larger butt-kicking crew, slick/quick tent set-up and
take-down, better busing and bike transport, and lots more.
What’s included in PBV’s Weeklong Support? When
you ride into our camp each day, a bit sore and weary maybe, you’ll find a
happy little community designed to comfort and revive you. Twenty-five
cheerful
Pork Belly crew members will have unloaded your bags, stocked our large
coolers with ice and
beverages (some free, others cheap), erected our
big
circus tents, arranged your open-air living rooms beneath them, complete
with
Cool Zones—four huge fans attached to garden hoses that blow a
cooling mist into the air—and set up the whole Pork infrastructure. After
a cold one or two in the shade, maybe a game of cribbage or a bean-bag toss,
just step up to
our Front Desk and read the daily
announcements—directions to showers and other amenities. Our Front Desk
crew (Martina, Lori, Kim, and Karen) will be standing by, ready to help you
with sign-up for our
optional midweek laundry service (give us the dirty
duds on Tuesday night and get them back fresh and folded on Wednesday
afternoon),
optional Pork meals, or
economical beverage punch cards.
They’ll have
just about any little thing you may need: band-aids,
plastic cups, a hammer for your tent stakes—just ask.
As
we said above, we intend to partner with those wonderful Shower Guys and/or
claim campsites near town showers in schools or community centers. But
you can also soap up at
Pete’s Shower Thingy, a table plumbed with five
spigots and equipped with a mirror for shaving and a wringer for your bike
shorts. Even if you’re not into public bathing, you can brush your teeth
or fill your water bottles at the Thingy, and dry-deck squares will keep you
out of the mud. If your muscles are aching, surrender
to one of our
five licensed massage therapists, all of them strong and
talented (additional charge). For a gear adjustment or other
bike
repairs, see Dan and Doug, our professional bike mechanics. Every
afternoon before suppertime, they’ll set up bike racks and wrench your troubles
away. A gratuity is appreciated and they charge for parts, but their
service is free to all Porkers.
Plug in your phone or other
electronic gadgets at our charging station. Powered by our whisper-quiet
generator, it will juice over 100 items at a time.
When
you wake in the morning, just stumble to the
Coffee Truck where our
commercial coffee maker cranks out three gallons of delicious Dunkin Donuts
brew every eight minutes. Have a second cup, a third, as much as you need, or
pour yourself a cup of hot tea or hot chocolate instead. Pete is working
on
a compressor that will make tire-pumping a breeze! As your
tents come down, our crew will come around to help you dispose of rubbish and
wish you a great day on the bike.
Why do we do work so hard to revive you every day? To pump you up for
Pork
Belly Nights! First off, as our annual ice-melter,
we’ll serve up a
hearty Welcome Supper on Sunday night, free to every
Porker, along with the blues/jazz/rockabilly fusion of Iowa’s best live band—
The Blue Band.
Heck, Sunday will compete with our midweek blowout for
your favorite night of the week. On Tuesday or Wednesday, you’ll be able
to sign up for a savory chop cooked over a cob fire by the most famous food
vendor in Iowa—the Pork Chop Man. Actually, Matt will man the grill since
his dad has retired, but we do hope for a visit from the irrepressible Paul
Poooork Chooooop. Yummy
side dishes complete the meal. And we are almost sure that
our favorite
Irish Band can make it too. The Elders enjoyed last year’s private
Pork concert so much that they’re working on their schedule to swing another
one in ’08. Fingers crossed! On a couple of evenings we’ll set up
for
Back-of-the-Truck Cocktail Parties, featuring the biggest,
baddest blender in the Midwest—or possibly the
world—equipped with motorcycle handlebars and a rearview mirror. Please
step up and drive a batch of Margies. Expect
Bloody Marys with our signature splash of pickle
juice, some rum-and-somethings, and whatever else we
can find on the truck. Leave your wallet in your pocket and belly up to an
open bar. And finally, late in the week, we’ll do our traditional
Pork Belly
SIZZLE. This year, though, you don’t have to hit the grocery
store. We got it all—a selection of ready-to-grill meats, seasonings, hot
coals, savory sides, plates, forks, sauces, everything. All Pork events
wind down around nine, so you can crawl in that tent for a restorative
sleep.
To provide this kind of service takes a lot of preparation, scouting, planning,
and fervent hoping that the weather will cooperate. We could use a little
help with the hoping, but you can count on us to get out and
scout every
host town in May to select the
best campsites available for PBV.
During ride week, two PBV crew members will drive ahead each night to hold our
real estate for the following day. As RAGBRAI draws closer, we’ll send
you regular
updates by email to help you imagine, prepare, anticipate,
and train. Our informative
June Letter will tell you just what to
do and expect in July. About a week out, we’ll send you
directions to
our campsites in each host town so you’ll find us easily every day.
First-timers, consult our
Tips (www.pkbelly.com), and in June, we’ll
send you a wealth of advice compiled from our RAGBRAI veterans. Your
questions
are welcome by phone or e-mail. Want to
ship your bike
ahead? We’ll tell you more in the June letter, and no charge for
receiving the bike (to those on weeklong support).
On the first day,
we’ll help you get it out of the box and road-ready.
We’ll
store your flattened box or your hardshell
bike case at no extra charge (to those on weeklong support). On the
last day, you can ship the bike home, and we’ll offer
free mechanical
assistance for boxing it up, as well as the service of FedEx bike-shipping
right in our camp. We can’t say enough about
our wonderful, patient,
strong, friendly crew who work diligently from before dawn till after dark
to show you a good time. We’ll introduce them to you down the road.
No question about it—RAGBRAI will be RAGBRAI, no matter which charter you travel with. Don’t
doubt that on a few days it will wring you out with heat, hills, and headwinds, maybe even a
thunderstorm. The question is, what’s waiting for you when you come in from a tough day on
the road? Our weeklong support costs more than that of other charters, but given all the
extras we provide, you won’t find a better bargain in all of Iowa.
What’s included in Pork Belly’s Tent Rental and Daily Set-up? If you want to take a big chunk
of work out of your vacation, this service is for you. Our Cabela’s XPG Deluxe Three-Season
tent is actually advertised as a four-man tent. With duffels inside, we consider it a roomy
two-man. You can share, or you can occupy it alone (the majority of tent-renters in ’07 liked
their solitude). Tent-renters simply pack up their bags in the morning, leave them inside the
tent, and pedal away. Enjoy your ride, and in the next host town you’ll find your chores are
already done—tent up with bags inside—so you can relax and have a cold one or head off to the
shower immediately! We’ll set up Tent City on the same grid every day, and color-coded address
cards on each tent will help you locate yours. We are happy to arrange the grid so that
friends are next door to each other. Due to an even greater demand this year than last, we
think this service will sell out quickly, so don’t wait to claim your tent.
Please note: We’ll aim for set-up by noon, but obstacles beyond our control, like the host
town traffic and inclement weather, can sometimes put us a bit behind. If you pride yourself
on arriving very early in camp, we don’t recommend using the tent service—you’ll be happier if
you just set up your own tent on your own schedule. We don’t recommend three to a tent unless
you’re all pretty small or one occupant is a child, and there’s an extra charge of $75 for
handling the third person’s baggage. We offer this service for seven nights, from Saturday
night to Friday night of RAGBRAI (not on the Friday night prior to RAGBRAI). It’s available
only to those on our weeklong support.
What are Pork Belly’s services and prices?
Prices are not listed at our website. Please email us: tammypav@aol.com or
petephillips@cox.net.
1)
Bus from Omaha to Missouri Valley. On Saturday, the 19th, we’ll meet you
at Omaha’s Eppley Airport and transport you and your bike to our campsite in Mo Valley, the
RAGBRAI start town. (Last bus will depart by 4:30 p.m.)
2)
East/West Shuttle. If you want to park your car in Le Claire (the end
town) before the ride, we’ll meet you there early on Saturday the 19th and transport you and
your bike to Missouri Valley (the start town).
3)
Weeklong Support. We can take you and your belongings across Iowa for the week,
from Missouri Valley to Le Claire, providing many support services, described above.
4)
Return Bus. On Saturday, the 26th, we’ll transport you and your bike from Le
Claire (the end town) to the Omaha Airport hotel (see Hotel section below), so you can catch
your flight on Sunday.
5)
Tent Rental and Daily Set-up. See full description and details above.
You may use any combination of these services. We use only comfortable, quality motorcoaches,
restroom-equipped and air-conditioned.
What is Pork Belly Ventures’ cancellation policy? Prior to Wednesday, June 18th, if you
cancel all or part of the services or merchandise you have reserved with Pork Belly Ventures,
we will refund all but 10% of the value of those services and the merchandise you have
reserved. On or after June 18th, we will make no refund. We may be able to help you sell your
wristband, though. See next question.
Are the services I purchase from PBV transferable to another person? No. Your registration
with Pork Belly Ventures is not transferable. Don’t buy your spot on our charter from anyone
but us. If you see us offered on e-Bay or on some bulletin board, don’t bid. We won’t honor
the purchase.
How do I get an official RAGBRAI Wristband? Every Porker MUST have an official RAGBRAI
wristband. At ragbrai.org,
register electronically by April 1st. Note that snail mail
applications are due in mid-February. By May, you’ll know the lottery results, but if you’re
not selected, don’t worry. See next question.
Should I wait to learn my fate in the lottery before registering with PBV? No. We will very
likely be full long before the lottery announcement is made. Many people contact us when they
cancel, and we’ll almost certainly be able to point you to a seller and help you follow the
Register’s simple procedure for transferring wristbands. Let’s put it this way. We aren’t
allowed to promise, but in over twenty years, we have never not found a wristband for a patient
Porker.
If I’m flying or driving into Omaha, will I need reservations at a hotel? From July 20th to
the 26th, you will be camping with PBV, but if you’re flying into Omaha on Friday, the 19th,
and/or returning with us to Omaha late on Saturday evening, the 26th, you will need Omaha hotel
reservations. We have room blocks for both nights at three hotels. Two are virtually across
the street from each other, and you can see the third just up the road about two blocks as the
crow flies.
Our primary hotel is the Omaha airport
La Quinta Inn and Suites, and
all Omaha buses will
depart from and return to this hotel. Call 712/347-6595 to access our large block there, and
mention our name for a rate of $99 for double queens or kings—a few kings have sleeper sofas.
(We’ve blocked several suites, some with Jacuzzis, also discounted for our group.) This
property is only eight years old, yet the hotel has just done a major renewal, updating and
refreshing its guestrooms. All rooms have wireless internet service. Big pool. Free
breakfast includes the usual cereals and juices as well as biscuits and gravy, made-to-order
waffles, and fresh-baked pastry from a bakery down the street! For Friday night dinner,
they’ll shuttle you for free to Omaha’s famous Old Market district, where you’ll find great
dining, shopping, and music.
NOTE: Please don’t hog the Pork rooms at La Quinta. If you are part of a large group coming
into Omaha, please count heads judiciously and only reserve as many rooms as you will use and
release rooms back to our block if you find you don’t need them. For safety reasons, the hotel
staff will need an occupant’s name for every room and a credit card number for each occupant
(one per room, cardholder and occupant should be the same person). Thank you.
We have a smaller block of rooms at the
Holiday Inn Express, conveniently just across the
road. Call 402/505-4900 for the Holiday Inn Express, and mention our name to access our block
and get a rate of $109. This is a clean, excellent hotel also, with many amenities. We’ve
worked with them for four years now.
The third hotel is
Country Inn & Suites, a bit further away, but walkable. We have a
small block here on Saturday night only, $99 per room. It’s a smaller property, very nice.
Just call 1-800-456-4000 for central reservations, and ask for the RAGBRAI group in Carter
Lake, Iowa (adjacent to Omaha, Nebraska). The manager has said that if we run out of Friday
night rooms, she might be able to give us a few.
(If you’re driving to Le Claire on Friday, you may camp at the town’s designated camping area
or find a convenient hotel.)
What’s the advantage of booking a round trip into and out of Omaha? Basically we take care of
you from the time your plane lands in Omaha to the time you step off our bus at the front door
of La Quinta on the evening of the 26th. You simply make air and hotel reservations and
register with us. We’ll meet your flight in Omaha and deliver you to Missouri Valley on a
comfy coach. You’re ours for eight days. At the end of the ride, climb aboard our Omaha-bound
coach and doze off. After a meal stop, we’ll drop you about 11:00 p.m. at the door of La
Quinta Inn and Suites. On Sunday, the free hotel shuttle will take you to the airport.
A little free advice: We caution you about using the open-admission shuttles to eastern Iowa
airports at ride’s end. It’s tough to make those connections in a crazy, partying town where
everyone is trying to make some connection. You will have baggage. You won’t have a car.
It’s so much easier to buy a round-trip ticket to and from Omaha.
What is the advantage of using the PBV East/West Shuttle? It’s ideal for people who live
within driving distance of RAGBRAI’s end town. You drive to Le Claire on Friday the 18th and
park your car in designated parking (the Le Claire host committee will charge a reasonable
long-term parking fee; see their website). Our crew will meet you there for bike-loading on
Friday night and/or early on Saturday, the 19th. By late afternoon, we’ll have you and your
bike in Missouri Valley. You bike for seven days, back to your car.
May I ship my bike to PBV ahead of the ride? Sure. We’ll gladly receive your bike free on
the front end, and we’ll help you ship it home on the 26th (mechanical assistance is free to
those on PBV’s weeklong support). Details in June.
What does PBV expect of its team members? Read this letter and do what it says. Read your
email updates and do what they say. Read your comprehensive June Letter and do what it says.
And in between all those letters, put in your saddle time so that you come to Iowa a fit and
happy Porker. Tell jokes and laugh a lot after 5:30 a.m. and before 10:00 p.m. After 10:00
p.m. and before 5:30 a.m., whisper. Be good to our hard-working crew, your fun-loving fellow
Porkers, and your Iowa hosts. Keep your expectations low and have the time of your life.
What if I have a problem or a special situation? Tell us what you need, and we’ll try.
How can I show the world that I’m a Porker? Images of the Pork garments below can be found at
our website, www.pkbelly.com. Our t-shirts are made to look vintage, and you’ll wear them and
our jerseys proudly on the road, in camp, or back at home. (Attention, Pork Women! You’re
welcome to order the appropriate size in a men’s t-shirt, OR, if we have enough demand, we can
try to print a women’s version—more fitted in the middle, shorter sleeves—for about the same
price. Let Tammy know if you’re interested in women’s shirts.)
NEW T-Shirt: “Be A Corn Star.”
The back of this shirt shows a plump, pink, naked pig, casting a coy, over-the-shoulder glance
before slipping between the stalks to answer nature’s call. It comes in a desert-washed, soft
green color called “peyote,” 100% cotton, with a retro look and feel, old-style distressed art
in shades of green with kernel-gold and pork-pink accents. On the front, the PBV logo appears
below the waist, with a cornstalk sprouting up to chest level. “Be A Corn Star,” (back), and
“Pork Belly Ventures, Passing the Corn in Iowa Since 1984” (front). Men’s regular sizes $20,
2X shirts $22.
NEW Hooded Sweatshirt: “Be A Corn Star.”
Same coy, naked pig described above, slipping between the stalks. Similar soft green color
called “pine,” 100% cotton exterior with 80/20 cotton/poly blend inside, preshrunk, hidden side
pockets, old-style distressed art in shades of green with kernel-gold and pork-pink accents.
On the front, the PBV logo appears at the waist, with a cornstalk sprouting up to about
shoulder level. “Be A Corn Star,” (back), and “Pork Belly Ventures, Passing the Corn in Iowa
Since 1984” (front). Men’s regular sizes $40, 2X sweatshirts $44.
Coming Soon: NEW PORK BELLY VENTURES JERSEY
Oh darn. We’re still working on the design, but it’s new, different, old, familiar, and very
cool. It will feature the same all-over art of our other jerseys, as well as the longer,
invisible front zipper. Regular sizes are $90. (See form for 2X/3X prices.) They run snug,
so see the sizing chart on the order form. We’ll send you the art in February and offer you
the special deal below.
GET TWO NEW PORK GARMENTS and “Live Like a Pig” Socks FOR A BARGAIN $105.
You can get any Pork t-shirt and our cool new jersey ($110 value), and we’ll throw in a pair
of “Live Like a Pig” cycling socks for the special price of $105 plus shipping and handling (a
bit more for 2X and 3X sizes). The socks are black with pink lettering. We’ll send you jersey
art in February and remind you of this special deal.
Stupidity T-Shirt: “It’s not so much the heat, it’s the stupidity.”
That’s not a misprint. In this case, it’s not the humidity. We reprised this ‘80s RAGBRAI
slogan, a sample of dry Iowa wit. It comes in a soft desert-washed denim color called “night
sky,” 100% cotton, with a retro look and feel, old-style distressed art in warm colors, yellow
and orange. “It’s not so much the heat, it’s the stupidity,” (back), and “Pork Belly Ventures,
Passing the Corn in Iowa Since 1984” (front). Men’s regular sizes $20, 2X shirts $22.
Classic T-Shirt: “Live Like A Pig”
Our classic “Live Like a Pig” shirt, in a desert-washed mud color called “mesquite,” 100%
cotton, is a must-have for every Porker! Same retro look and feel with old-style distressed
art in pink and green, wee pigs on bikes passing the corn. “Live Like a Pig” (back), and “Pork
Belly Ventures, Passing the Corn in Iowa Since 1984” (front). Men’s regular sizes $20, 2X
shirts $22.
Cycling Jersey: Grant Wood Style
Our original Pork Belly jersey is a favorite! The all-over art depicts Iowa’s gentle
landscapes in Grant Wood’s classic style, with our signature pig grinning from the left breast
and, on the back, hefty pigs on bikes cresting a hill. With the all-over, full-color printing,
they’ve been the envy of the ride since the first Porkers wore them on the road. Regular sizes
are just $80. (See form for 2X/3X prices.) They run snug, so see the sizing chart on the
order form!
How can I get the email updates from PBV? Write to petephillips@cox.net. He’ll put you into
our email database.
How can I get a spot with PBV? Register electronically at our website, and by email you will
receive an invoice for the services you have reserved. (We no longer send a registration form
with the email invitation, because we much prefer that everyone use the “Apply” page at
www.pkbelly.com.) Our web application asks you for important details, like your travel
information, but you don’t have to fill in every blank now. Register right away, and then
update your travel info as you can. Because we’ve had to turn people away for five summers
running, we can’t say how long spots on our charter will last. Please contact us with your
questions and get busy securing your place with PBV. Register for the ride itself, register
with PBV, and send in payment right away to hold your spot.
Winter dreams can sustain us for only so long. Thank heaven for this little map, this
archipelago of host towns strung between our two great rivers. It’s our next adventure
together. So whether you’ve done the last ten in a row or whether this is your first, RAGBRAI
will startle you with its gorgeous vistas, its pungent odors, sudden storms and the cool relief
they bring, and the good sense and good humor of Midwestern people. We hope you’re with us
this July, and until then we remain,
Your friends,
Tammy (Phillips) Pavich
808/946-5315 or tammypav@aol.com
(Honolulu—four hours earlier than Iowa)
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Pete Phillips
712/328-6836 or petephillips@cox.net
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