The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) took place last week and was a quite warm for participants. This 7 day long trek across Iowa starts on the Missouri River and ends on the Mississippi River. Assuming that the weather reported by the Des Moines station is representative of the state, the featured chart presents the average heat index and westerly wind for the six day period each year that RABGRAI occurred on since it started in 1973. This year's average heat index was second to 1999. The bottom chart looks at a simple average of the westerly wind component during daylight hours. A wind from the east (negative values) would mean a head wind for bicyclists generally heading from the west to east. Easterly winds are typically associated with cooler weather, so you can pick your poison or a headwind or hot weather!

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Tags:   ragbrai   2011