Tour de Fat to do RAGBRAI 2009

This is solid advice, and is right on.  If you plan to do this -- plan to do the work.  Look on the Web about training for a Century (100 mile ride).  If you can't do the training for a Century, you can't do RAGBRAI, even though RAGBRAI is a "fun ride" and not a race. 

(I used to do 50 to 100 miles a week regularly at about 250 pounds, with big weeks in summer at 200 miles or so.  RAGBRAI would be a stretch for me, but I do have a clue what would be involved...)

EDITED:  One resource would be this $20 book from Bicycling magazine specifically on 100 days to train for 100 miles: http://shop.bicycling.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10007&storeId=10056&productId=51988&langId=-1

Great point, SJ. That's one of the purposes of the Tour de Fat SAG wagon. Many people will want to ride only portions of the ride but still "celebrate" from town to town. Some people don't even ride their bikes at all but still partake in the festivities. The SAG wagon serves as a shuttle.

Boner 

I know from my brother that the personnel in the SAG wagon can be a major asset on a ride.  In the ride across the USA by America By Bicycle, the bike mechanic was incredible.  My brother, Tom, said that he could just see someone get on their bike in the morning and instantly know if something was wrong with the bike.  Tom said that all of participants were expert at changing their own tubes and that they'd wash and lubricate their bikes every night.  But, they'd often go to the mechanic when chains broke or if they were having problems with derailers. 

You may want to either pay for a good mechanic or encourage someone who knows about bicycle mechanics to ride in the SAG bus.