“Banana on!” Not a normal term that a you might hear from a cyclist on RAGBRAI.

However, when you work instead of ride the Register’s Great Annual Bike Ride Across Iowa — RAGBRAI for short, much shorter — you hear some of these quirky stories.

Trevor Mannella, junior in economics at Iowa State, works as a serviceman on RAGBRAI for his local bike shop. And each year, Mannella comes home with interesting and memorable moments.

“The most memorable was at one of the towns we were stationed at,” Mannella said. “A guy had come in with his wife — and we usually try to talk to them — but he was all the way from New Zealand.”

Mannella said seeing the people that come from all over the state, nation and world is what really makes RAGBRAI a memorable experience.

“It gave me a good perspective on how big, how popular RAGBRAI is,” Mannella said.

And RAGBRAI is all about the perspective. Being a serviceman along the trek is only half of it. There have to be cyclists to give the repairmen the work.

One cyclist who has endured RAGBRAI for five years, coming up on his sixth, is Bruce Babcock, professor of agricultural economics at Iowa State.

Babcock said he, too, has had those memorable trips where it seemed like the day would never end. 

He said the memories that really stick out the most to him are the days when the ride is the hardest.

“We were riding into Spencer, and it was an 83 mile day,” Babcock said. “It was just blaring hot, and it was really nice to get to the end. It was a flat, hot day, and it was one of my first RAGBRAIs.”

Babcock went on to explain he probably wasn’t as experienced as some of the other riders and underestimated the heat and mileage it took to complete a day like what he encountered.

For most, the thrill of finishing the seven-day excursion across the state of Iowa would be enough to keep riders coming back for more each year. 

But for Babcock, his outlook is a little different each year.

“Seeing the small towns where the students come from and seeing the small towns where agriculture really happens, it’s really interesting,” Babcock said. 

“It then helps me be a better agricultural economist and agricultural professor as I know more about the state of Iowa.”

Babcock said he has been doing the trip for only five years and can’t imagine what it would be like if he had been doing RAGBRAI for 20 years and what he will learn in the years to come.

For Babcock, it’s the small town feel and economies that bring him back each year. 

For Mannella, he said what brings him back each year — besides his job — is expo day.

“Expo day is where a lot of the representatives will come out, and they’ll have all the bikes you can test ride,” Mannella said. “So I’ll take a half hour or hour off and walk around and test ride some of the expensive bikes.”

Mannella said it’s tough being a repairman sometimes and looks forward to the end of the week some of the time. But he also said it is nice to feel needed and respected on the one of the largest organized bike rides in the country.

“You’re really needed and people really appreciate what you do,” Mannella said. “A lot of people understand you’re out there every day of the week just repairing bikes nonstop. The coolest part is the appreciation you get from the riders.”

Mannella and Babcock both shared their everlasting moments that will always stand out in their minds. 

And each had their own way of remembering what makes RAGBRAI so prominent.

“RAGBRAI is just a bunch of moments strung together, because every day, you’re going to get something you’re going to remember,” Mannella said. “Like a guy rolling by pulling a giant stereo-system … or you got guys who ride tandem bicycles who put a giant banana around it.”

“You’ve always got those crazy people who you’re going to remember. It’s the different people who go on RAGBRAI that make it interesting.”