To anyone considering doing RAGBRAI, I'd say... it depends.

If you enjoy the solitude of being out in the middle of nowhere, just you and your bike and your thoughts, then I'd say it's not for you.

If you enjoy the solitude of being out in the middle of nowhere, just you and your bike and your thoughts, but also enjoy the company of all flavors of colorful people coming together for a week-long rolling mardi gras, then I'd say you should definitely consider it. 

For me, I'm glad I did it, and will probably do it again after I retire and won't have to burn vacation time on an organized trip when I could be  exploring backroads. 

I hope you enjoyed this one vicariously.