Rumble Yell: RAGBRAI narrative not quite naked enough

'Rumble Yell” begins with the story of author and Cedar Rapids native Brian Bruns' RAGBRAI training regimen in Las Vegas, where this novice rider learns a series of valuable - and hilarious - lessons, such as not to wear underwear with biking shorts and the proper way to look into a latrine while wearing a bike helmet.

Bruns' training in 130 degree weather and rough terrain prepared him well for a scorching ride across Iowa, but not for the food, conversations and laughs that would ensue when he reconnected with his high school friend, Aaron, and was introduced to a new friend: a secretive, pickle-loving, beer-guzzling Navy man named Cheek.

Bruns writes in an episodic style, detailing each day on the road and many of the stops - and meals - along the way. Bruns' observations are wonderful and plenty, from the nuns selling Popsicles to an enthusiastic young woman from Ankeny, and range from humorous to poignant.

However, where other non-fiction humor writers pull back the curtain to reveal personal insights to ground their experiences (David Sedaris and Jacob Tomsky), Bruns doesn't. While 'Rumble Yell” is structured around the premise of two old friends reconnecting, readers are not privy to the heart-to-heart conversations between them - only the humor and physical frustrations along the way.

The reason audiences connect with authors like Sedaris and Tomsky is not because we have lived in Paris or worked in a hotel, but because we've been the outsider, or unsure about our careers.

For audiences to connect with Bruns' adventures, he'll have to let his guard down so readers can connect with him first.