RAGBRAI

by T.J. Juskiewicz, RAGBRAI Director

There really is only one good way to inspect the selected roads for a bike event… get out and ride it on a bike!  And that is exactly what we are going to do with a team of knowledgeable cyclists thoroughly examining every mile of the RAGBRAI route on bicycles. 

For the sixth consecutive year, Jim Green, Dan McKay will ride the entire RAGBRAI route 50 days in advance of the event.  “Greenie”, the retired RAGBRAI director, volunteered to help the event in any way possible as he was retiring from his post back in 2004.  He probably didn’t realize that might entail pedaling 450 miles across the state during windy June.

Green and McKay, the State RIDE RIGHT Chairman, were appointed in 2005 to head up the Route Inspection Ride and spend an entire week inspecting the route and teaching the local RIDE RIGHT Committee what to do with the information learned during the inspection ride.  They also will be looking at traffic patterns since they will be riding the route on the same day of the week that RAGBRAI will ride on later this summer. 

In addition to riding with McKay and Green, I’ll be writing a daily blog for the web site. I’ll try to point out some places of interest along the route that you wouldn’t want to miss.  I know Dan will help me find the best pie in each town.  We feel this is a beautiful and scenic route with amazing sites and towns along the way.  Judy Green will be helping provide support for the riders again.  Judy is Jim’s wife, who has headed up the Information & Merchandise trailers in the campgrounds every day of RAGBRAI for the past few decades. 

RAGBRAI works diligently with the RIDE RIGHT committees to continually inspect the roads and report potential hazards to local officials and engineers who might be able to repair the roadways.  The local RIDE RIGHT committee also alerts home owners on the route about the event and educates townspeople about bicycle safety.  Many committees will host bike rodeos or safety events for the community’s youth prior to RAGBRAI’s arrival.

For the past several years, the Route Inspection Riders have been joined daily on their trek by the local committee members as well as local bike club members and bike shop owners that are willing to help.  Charlie Harper, of Harper’s Cycling & Fitness in Muscatine, has joined the group for at least a few days each of the route inspection rides.

For those that want to ride for a day and help with the inspection, a schedule is listed below.  You have to provide your own transportation back to the starting location and battle Dan when there is only one slice of apple pie left at the diner!

Sunday, June 6
Ride from Sioux City to Storm Lake
Mileage: 68.5 Miles / Feet of Climb: 3,687 Feet of Climb
Ride starts at 8 AM from Missouri River Boat Ramp, Dip Site on Hamilton Blvd

Monday, June 7
Ride from Storm Lake to Algona
Mileage: 79.0 Miles / Feet of Climb: 1,083 Feet of Climb
Ride starts at 8 AM from the King’s Pointe Resort

Tuesday, June 8
Ride from Algona to Clear Lake
Mileage: 59.9 Miles / Feet of Climb: 1,068 Feet of Climb
Ride starts at 8 AM from Algona High School

Wednesday, June 9
Ride from Clear Lake to Charles City
Mileage: 51.8 Miles / Feet of Climb: 1,180 Feet of Climb
Ride starts at 8 AM from Clear Lake High School

Thursday, June 10
Ride from Charles City to Waterloo
Mileage: 82.0 Miles / Feet of Climb: 2,635 Feet of Climb
Ride starts at 8 AM from Charles City High School

Friday, June 11
Ride from Waterloo to Manchester
Mileage: 61.6 Miles / Feet of Climb: 2,635 Feet of Climb
Ride starts at 8 AM from Lost Island Water Park

Saturday, June 12
Ride from Manchester to Dubuque
Mileage: 47.5 Miles / Feet of Climb: 2,591 Feet of Climb
Ride starts at 8 AM from the Delaware County Fairgrounds

Be sure to tune in each day for the daily updates and photos from the route inspection ride on the RAGBRAI web site and FACEBOOK. You can also follow the pre-ride adventure and learn interesting tidbits about the route by following me on TWITTER by following @TJRAGBRAI.