Unless you’re from Iowa or are big into cycling, it’s almost guaranteed you’ve never heard of it.
If you are from Iowa or are big into cycling, though, then it’s something that can bring up some of the coolest memories from one of the coolest weeks of your life (unless if you’ve maybe done the Tour De France, or something cool like that).
What is it that is cool only to Iowa natives and cyclists? It’s RAGBRAI, or the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. Starting on the west side of the state and traversing along some path through the corn and bean fields to the east side, every year is a new route, from way up on the north end of the state to all the way down near the south end. It’s gone on for 44 years, with the most recent one just finishing last Saturday. It started way back in 1973 as almost a challenge between two Des Moines Register employees, John Karras and Don Kaul. Karras challenged his friend to ride all the way across Iowa in a week on a bicycle, and Kaul agreed… as long as Karras would go with him. After preparations were made and invitations were given, approximately 300 people showed up to the start, with numbers increasing or decreasing depending on the locations. All in all, 114 riders made the entire trip across the state. The two Register authors after the week wrote several articles about 83-year-old Clarence Pickard, who was one of the 114 to make the complete trip. Many articles came in in response to these articles, begging the creators to make this into an annual event so that they could take part as well. And thus, RAGBRAI began.
Every year, 8 towns are selected to be a part of the RAGBRAI experience: one town to start the event, one town to finish it, and six towns in between which serve as stops for bikers to rest for the night until the next day. The whole trip itself is right around 460 miles (depending on the route itself), meaning that bikers are covering approximately 65 miles a day through the hilly countryside. The point of this trip is to traverse from either the Missouri or Great Sioux Rivers (based on where the starting township is located) to the Mississippi River. It is common for bikers to start by placing their back tires into the starting river, and end by sticking their front tires into the Mississippi. The ride has passed through all 99 Iowa counties throughout its history, and is known as the biggest bike-touring event in the world.
The facts behind this event are staggering and awe-inspiring, but it isn’t these facts that makes this event so cool. It’s the people who come along and create so many interesting stories along the way. Many people have made it into traditions to dress up in different outfits and bike in them the entire week, or have gone all out with their decorations to their attire, from what clothes they were to what they manage to attach to their bike and helmet. It’s also the fun generated at one of the many stops along the way. These types of ventures are great for local businesses, and many people along the route offer their lawns for the day as places for the tired bikers to take a break from the long rides of the day. Local breweries, food joints, and community locations will set up trailers selling some of their products for the hungry and thirsty bikers to take part in, and at one stop, hundreds of bikers will relax for an hour or so and chat with their fellow RAGBRAI members and swap stories. Going to one of these events as an outsider, you would be swamped in a sea of bright colors, spandex, and great conversation as you can help yourself to some delicious food and beverages. Everyone there is so nice and friendly, and the memories created there are some that can last a lifetime.
If you’re into biking, maybe this could be your chance to have some fun.
Just be prepared to see a lot of corn and soybeans. A LOT of corn and soybeans. This is still the country, after all.
