You ride 80 miles, they toss beer at you. Want in?
When Mike Knapp sets out to bike across Iowa along with thousands of others , he does so decked out in Ne garden pink . He toss away out neon - pink beads and neon - pink thorn from underneath his neon - pink feather feather boa , and so does his squad of 26 others . They ’re conjointly called the Pink Flamingos , and they ’ve been riding RAGBRAI since 1983 .
That ’s an acronym forRegister ’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa , the macrocosm ’s oldest , largest , and long amateur bicycle touring event — and 2023 marks the ride ’s fiftieth anniversary . It ’s Knapp ’s fortieth time enter , and when I need him to describe the event , he know how to sell it : “ It ’s like Mardi Gras . On wheels . ”
At least , that ’s what it is for the Pink Flamingos ( and Team Caboose , Team Rawhide , Team Skunk , and dozens more ) , as well as the many passing day riders and visitors who want an action while seeingwhat Iowa is all about . They ’ll happen through town that shower them with beer or popsicles and put onfestival - comparable music concertswhile they pillow up , before doing it all again the next mean solar day .
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For others , RAGBRAI is about the challenge of a approximately 500 - Roman mile ride across the state in eight days . “ The serious bikers , the greyhound , are right smart out ahead of everybody , ” says Knapp , president of the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective . ‘ They ’re value their warmness pace , eating protein gunpowder , riding to improve their clock time . It ’s a race within themselves . ” Even Lance Armstrong has shown up six times .
But for most — we’re talking some30,000 cyclists — RAGBRAI is aride , it ’s an risky venture , and it ’s about two things : Iowa camaraderie and a bloody good time .
RAGBRAI begin in 1973 , when twoDes Moines Registerwriters , John Karras and Don Kaul , coiffure out to rag across the state , from the Missouri River to the Mississippi . Readers were ask for to join with a six - week notice , and some 300 show up in Sioux City , on the Nebraska border—114 made it to the Davenport finish strain . C more were overturn they could n’t make it , writing to beg Karras and Kaul to make it happen again next year .
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AndRAGBRAI was bear .
By year two , 2,700 rider usher up in Council Bluffs , helmet at the ready ; a decade later , there would be 7,500 ; by the late ‘ 90s , 13,000 . There ’s now an 8,500 - someone detonator on seven-day - riders , but day - rides are anybody ’s game , with numbers pool usually hovering around 20,000 ( 2019 saw 40,000 day - riders near Winterset ) . While many are Iowans — roughly 40%—most actually are n’t . Participants traverse the Earth , from Illinois to Arizona , from England to the Czech Republic , from Mike Knapp to Matthew McConaughey .
organize a drive on this story is no average feat , says Jason Taylor , Head ofUSA TODAYNETWORKVentures , which operates the event . But after nearly 50 long time , it ’s down to a science : The seven - person , full - time stave organise over 10,000 residential area voluntary , work with local government activity , minor business organization , and community organizations . “ As soon as one ride is over , ” says Taylor , “ planning for the next begins . ”
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“ There ’s first breakfast , 2d breakfast , luncheon , post - luncheon … ”
To shake things up — and spread the economic windfall — the squad selects a different statewide itinerary each yr . Pass - through towns are designated or so every 10–12 miles , with overnight Town every 60–80 knot ; a “ C loop , ” or 100 - mile drive , is offered every yr , too . Even tiny pass - through towns set up with food vendors , lemonade stands , beer pen , the industrial plant . “ You ’ll gain five pounds , ” says Knapp . “ There ’s first breakfast , 2d breakfast , lunch , post - tiffin — all you ’re doing is consume solid food to keep up . ”
Flat as a… roller coaster?
Yes , you ’ll have to keep up , because no , Iowa is n’t completely flat . “ It ’s something I bid more first - time riders realized , ” order Anne Lawrie , cycling managing director at Ventures Endurance . Though the center of the DoS is gentle , the westerly edge mean the rolling wave - coastering Loess Hills and the eastern region means the towering bluffs of the Mississippi . This twelvemonth , there are several ramification that time above 3,000 metrical unit of climb .
“ There are enough hills that you wish they were n’t there ! ” laughs Knapp .
While that general topography is pretty much guaranteed regardless of route , there is one thing that ca n’t be accounted for — weather . You could get eight days of pelting , eight day of sweltering 95º temps , or eight days of low humidity and 70º bliss . ( More than potential , you ’ll get all three . )
Photo by Brian Powers, courtesy of RAGBRAI
“ It ’s like a traveling carnival . ”
The ethnical experience varies , too . The northern part of the province is more populated than the southern , notes Gina Hanippone , two - time rider and preceding Waterloo organizer . “ More population means more wayside stands , more adults tossing out beers , more kids handing out popsicles or offer up novel cold water from their squirt guns . ” church , 4H groups , Rotary club — everyone present up to get in on the action .
Less universe means long stretch of farmland , though farmers are known to show their support with drink and snacks at wayside stand . Though that ’s not always a rule — Knapp remembers hinge on on a Sunday in northwestern Iowa , where the locals were shaking their finger at rider for violating the Sabbath . When a gas station down up along the route , Knapp recalls how the cyclists were so hungry , they chowed down while waiting in line ; by the time they got to the cash registry , the only thing left to pay for were thousands of empty housecoat . “ There was no food left in the Casey ’s that morning , ” he says .
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That ’s an outlier , of class — most of the time , you ’re ride one giant parade . Overnight townsgo even more all - out than pass - through townspeople , with this year bringing in performance by the Spin Doctors , Bush , and Lynyrd Skynyrd . Thousands will flock to camping area and public spaces like county fairgrounds to overnight , with trafficker , beer tent , games , and amusement galore . “ It ’s like a move around circus , ” adds Hanippone . “ One that moseys across the state the last workweek of every July . ”
This Midwest State Is So Much More than Corn, Caucuses, and Flyover Country
Dress up with a group or be one of the larger whole
Many riders , like the Pink Flamingos , tackle RAGBRAI in teams . Support driver haul all their geartrain from town to town , can aid with dislocation ( both physical and genial ) , and gear up up tent before the passenger arrive . Some teams also do remain in local anesthetic ’ homes or in their yards , fix the upshot an yearly reunification for repetition rider and master of ceremonies .
But there are just as many single and duo as teams , Hanippone notes . Some hinge on in solemnisation ; some ride in memoriam ; some ride for charity . Many sit for a day , often nearheavily dwell Des Moines ; others hotfoot to the cultivation line . RAGBRAI aims to have something for everyone .
If you do n’t have a team , RAGBRAI becomes your squad .
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To participate for any distance , you’ll take to register — that ’s typically open through May 15th . Fees cover ambulance and medical services , wheel hangout stops , gear transport , camping site assistance , and perks like amusement , intellectual nourishment vendors , and portable toilets . If you register for a day pass , you ’ll get put out a wristband for that specific day , which entitles you to all the RAGBRAI fun ( and all of its divine service ) .
If you do n’t have a team , RAGBRAI becomes your team . Individual rider get access to RAGBRAI’ssemi - trucks — you plainly toss in your collapsible shelter and dish get along dawning , and grab it back out at night . “ While you might be riding solo , ” says Lawrie , “ there will always be someone to aid you with a monotonic tyre , share a repast with you , or even open their home to you . Community is at RAGBRAI ’s core , and there is certainly no shortage of it in Iowa . ”
And should you want someone to show you the ropes , just take a look around . The pinkish plumage boas should be easy enough to spot .
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Come for the fried chicken. Stay for the dentist’s office.
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