RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) is oldest and largest bicycle tour in the world, and it crosses Iowa every year, rain of shine. And in this year of epic flooding in Iowa, RAGBRAI will still roll on, or at least that’s the plan.
For now, the ride is scheduled to set off on July 20th from Missouri Valley, and conclude in Le Claire on the 26th, using the previously-announced route and overnight stops. But high water could force some last-minute re-routing:
Extensive flooding in the state has left a handful of roads in some pass-through towns still underwater, said T.J. Juskiewicz, the ride’s director. The overnight towns are “in pretty good shape.”
“It may be another couple of weeks until we have a better understanding of road conditions,” said Juskiewicz. He has met with public safety officials in each of the overnight towns. “It just depends on what nature’s going to hand us,” he said. “There’s no telling when the water is going to recede.”
Rider safety is the No. 1 priority, Juskiewicz said. As the route dries out, they’ll determine whether changes have to be made.
If you’re planning to ride this year’s tour, you should probably check the RAGBRAI web site from time to time to make sure nothing changes in the next month.
Read more: Flooded roads across Iowa will hamper, but not halt, RAGBRAI, RAGBRAI officials monitoring Iowa floods
