RAGBRAI

Last year, Julie Strahl of West Chicago, Illinois submitted her entry and guessed all eight overnight towns correctly to win the Guess the Route contest.  This year, no one came close to getting them all right!

Hundreds of entries were received in the 7th annual Guess the Route Contest, but six of eight towns were the best that the contestants could figure out. Seven people picked six towns who were then entered in a drawer to decide the winners.  The following people guessed six towns correctly:

• Mike Thorson (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
• Scott Mills (Des Moines)
• Bryan Van Zante (Iowa City)
• Bob Brancel (Sun Prairie, Wisconsin)
• Janet Hunt (Council Bluffs)
• Virginia Schene (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
• Lisa (Dyersville)

During the RAGBRAI Route Announcement Party on Saturday night in Des Moines, we entered the seven finalist’s names into a fishbowl to select the winners.  Bob Brancel was selected as the big winner and will receive a gift certificate for $100 that can be used for RAGBRAI Merchandise.  Virginia Schene took second place and wins a certificate worth $80 of merchandise, and a Janet Hunt placed third and will receive a certificate worth $60 of merchandise.

Sioux City and Dubuque appeared the most frequently as over 40% of the guessers selected those towns in their routes. The mass majority of guessers were predicting a northern route and they were correct!

How do this year’s results compare with previous contests?

• 2003 – Winner guessed 7 towns
• 2004 – Winner guessed 7 towns
• 2005 – Winners guessed 5 towns
• 2006 – Winners guessed 3 towns (wow, we stumped you!)
• 2007 – Winner guessed 5 towns
• 2008 – Winner guessed 6 towns
• 2009 – Winner guessed 8 towns (perfect!)
• 2010 – Winner guessed 6 towns

We hope you enjoy the ride!