Does it cost money to be a SpokeEasy Member?

At this time we don't have any membership dues, although you need to buy at least one jersey ($160) and our various ride T-shrts. Having said that, riding definitely isn't a free endeavor. You are responsible for the cost of food/alcohol plus any other incidentals. As per RAGBRAI, there are some guidelines.  Shared costs for two drivers (bus + gear SUV & trailer), fuel for both vehicles, and misc. supplies are divided amongst all riders, but generally work out to $350 per person.  You will need a minimum of $500 for your own food / drink and miscellaneous spending money while on the ride.

What are the requirements to join your team?

You must have a bike (yes we've had people assume this wasn't necessary).  Other than that, you can't be a prick or an asshole. There's plenty of teams who would cater to these personalities, but we don't cotton to that kinda thing around here. We will definitely notify you if you are in any danger of fitting one of those descriptions.  Our team is now almost near capacity and as a general rule is accepting only friends of friends for the RAGBRAI voyage. We are one of the wildest and craziest groups on the entire ride, our antics can only be described as out of control. We roll with all the party teams most of whom are as crazy as us. If you really think you have an understanding of what this means and still think you can talk your way into joining up with us you'd better be pretty damn persuasive, but feel free to inquire.

What rides do you guys do?

SpokeEasy will always participate in RAGBRAI, but we participate in a few other rides as well. SpokeEasy members also mingle with other teams and participate in their rides in Iowa. These rides range from blind drunk romps through Cedar Rapids to focused hard rides in the middle of the desert. Our regularly scheduled maintenance rides are posted here. Outside of biking many of us are pretty extreme athletes. It's not at all abnormal to be running sub four hour marathons and doing half iron man’s. Part of being a team mate means coming out and supporting those of us that do those other events as well whenever possible.  (Trips to Disney to watch that Ian & Dave annual marathon not required).

I want to use the bus for (insert reason here). Can I do that?

Unless you are RLY RLY good friends with Ian Andrusyk, or you are going to use it to drive the captains to a Playboy tickle fight, probably not.

Do I have to do RAGBRAI?

Well there really isn't any point in being on the team if you aren't going to do that ride. So the short answer is no, but if you are going to buy a jersey and support the cause, then sure why not?

I don't drink, but I'd like to ride with you guys. Is that cool?

Trust me, you really really don't want to ride with us. While we certainly wouldn't turn you away if you're a good rider, we will most likely annoy, bother, molest and harass you the entire time, and you will not think we are nice people anymore. On our more focused hard rides, you would probably be a perfect fit though.

I am trying to raise money for (insert cause here). Will SpokeEasy ride for my cause?

Possibly. But if you are raising money for any kind of church/religious function or the rides are in any way "family oriented" (as in, we would have to act/talk as if we were conducting a first grade course on playground safety), we probably don't have much to talk about.

Do you have any sponsors?

Currently we do not, although that may change very soon. Beer distributors, condom manufacturers, and bars we're talking to you!

I have a flash in the pan hair-brained web service I'd like to promote on RAGBRAI, can SpokeEasy help me?

Most likely not. If you have a service that actually makes sense for people actually on the ride to hear about, then we may be interested. But if your idea of said service is something that would require any of us to demonstrate or talk about anything that can't be said on a sticker or condom wrapper, then you are probably barking up the wrong tree.

Is it safe to ride and drink as much as I heard you guys do?

Probably not.

Where did you get your bus?

It’s a retired CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) bus.  This is important in that no matter how drunk or mentally challenged any of us become while using this bus someone prior to us has been even worse.  They were probably riding the bus free at the time with help from our property taxes here in a city that can’t even plow its residents streets but we won’t get into that now.  Oh yea we also have the highest sales tax in the Nation (even more than NY but we won’t get into that either).

How come you guys don't do (insert some bullshit ride in bumble-fuck here)?

Probably because we haven't heard of it (and if we aren't riding it even though we've heard of it, it is probably because it sucks). Feel free to contact us if you know of a ride relatively close to Chicago that we'd be interested in.

Can I get arrested for being too drunk to ride my bike?

That all depends on your race, and what part of Chicago you happen to be in at the time according to the captains' experience. But the short answer is probably.

I want to ride with you guys on RAGBRAI, but I only want to do a couple days. Will that work?

Yes.  But you will need to provide your own transportation to and from the areas you wish to ride. However, you can't be a pussy. It's one thing if you can't get all the days off, but it is entirely another if you are only riding a couple days because "the whole week is too hard". We lost count in the mid three digits of how many times we heard that from people in twice the shape of half the RAGBRAI riders.