FAQ - Team Hosting

Team Butt Ice ranges anywhere from up to 35 people on the first few nights to 20-25 cyclists the last half of RAGBRAI.

Yes, many times we are hosted by a team member’s parents, sibling, etc.

• We require very little from our host families.
• Food is available everywhere on RAGBRAI and sometimes we order pizza.
• In some cases we’ve camped in the lawn and had no access to the house. In other cases we’ve all slept inside the house, on floors, couches, guest rooms, hammocks, etc.
• Our hosting coordinator will be in touch with the host family to make arrangements and discuss details.
• It’s great when we can have access to a bathroom or two for showers, etc. However, we do have a portable shower that only requires a hose.
• We’ll arrange for a portable toilet to be dropped off the day of arrival and picked up the next morning. This relives some of the demand on indoor facilities.
• It’s great to have an extension cord for our power strips to charge all of our mobile phones.
• WIFI – helpful but not necessary.
• A sign on each door stating your expectations can be helpful, but we’re generally very respectful.
• Laundry – If possible doing 2-4 loads of laundry helps us smell better, but also not a requirement.

• We park our bus on the street and it’s fully insured.
• Yes, we carefully maintain our bus and follow all commercial regulations.
• We’re full insured.
• Our driver has a CDL and is very experienced.

• If there’s a mostly flat lawn, we can set up our tents in that area.

• It’s impossible to predict everything on RAGBRAI, but we have learned a bit about ourselves over 25 years.
• Team Bus should arrive to the host house by 3 pm.
• Riders begin arriving shortly after with a majority of riders arriving between 4-7 pm.
• Some riders may arrive later, but we’re usually all in by 8 pm.
• We get up around 7 am, do some yoga, pack up the tents and are on our bikes by 9 am.
• The bus will be loaded and on the road shortly after 9 am.

• Team Butt Ice originated out of the Iowa State University Mountain Bike Team and their friends in Ames, Iowa around 1995.
• We’re like a family and carefully vet our members.
• Today, we’re (mostly) mature professionals mainly from the Ames / Des Moines area but also have members from Florida, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Washington DC.

• Probably not, but we did organize a Nadas concert with a previous host.
• Jason Faas and Dan Huisenga will likely get the acoustic guitars out for some down-home RAGBRAI music.

• Yes, Team Butt Ice has six Faas riders and four Huisengas.
  

• No, but we did win a roadside hatchet throwing contest a couple years ago.