a lot of it is not a lot of through paved roads that aren’t busy and fewer pass through towns. There are ways to avoid the busiest roads. The lack of towns would need some creative thinking.
Although one I laid out does a decent job of it. Glenwood, Red Oak, Creston, Lamoni, Centerville, Ottumwa, Mount Pleasant, Keokuk.
T.J., if your listening, I could give you all the pass through towns too. :-)

I like it Skunk! I can’t believe I am saying that because I have never even thought about a southern route.

Davy

With the “guess the route contest” officially open and the announcement party less than two weeks away, this site is pretty quiet!

Personally, I’m hoping for a southern route with lots of rollers. We’re way overdue. I would think there would be more rumors and guesses on the forum by now.

Southern. With a nice rest day of short mileage. Otherwise killer days full of rollers, nice scenery, corn, beer, pleasant natives, a good tail wind and great friends together again. That’s my prediction.

See you on the curb, Michrider. First drink’s on me. Bring a friend or two. I’ll teach you some old California ballads. :)

I entered my guesses. I think it will start in Missouri Valley and end in Burlington. I can’t reveal all my town’s_ I want to win this year!

I’ve been studying the logo and the home page for potential clues. Since I have an active imagination it is not hard to see some and invent more that may not really be there! Some observations:

The hammock seems a lot like a V, could that be a reference to RAGBRAI V which was a northern (Onawa to Lansing) route? I also saw a post here somewhere that mentioned that an official from Orange City (also in the north) had replied to a discussion about the route announcement party somewhere. Suspicious? The V is obviously a hammock and there is or has been a “hammock hang” at a state park in the NE corner of Iowa on the River. A park just south of Lansing! That pyramid-like thing in the logo could actually be a teepee and there is a teepee campground in Pocahontas. Could the “bicycle wheels” in the logo that some have described as crude actually be motorcycle wheels which would make them not so crude? There is a motorcycle museum in Anamosa which could be on a generally northern route.

On the other hand RAGBRAIs IV, XIV, XXV, and XXXIV which all tie into the V hammock and some tie into the IV of this year’s ride, XLIV, were southern routes. There are some actual pyramids in/near a cemetery outside of Ottumwa (which I would LOVE to visit!). Those potential “motorcycle” wheels could also be early sprint car wheels which could suggest another visit to Knoxville. Those three spoked and cogged wheels would not look out of place on turn of the 20th century farm equipment and might reference the annual steam thresher reunion in Mount Pleasant.

Of course those three spoked wheels could be from a lot of industrial equipment from that era too and old foundries that could have made them are scattered all over Iowa so no help there.

Another thing I notice is that tree bark and leaves are featured prominently in the logo and home page graphics. If you zoom in on the “photo corners” that hold the logo “picture” you will see that they are made from tree leaves too! So there has to be a clue there, eh? Or a massive misdirect!! How good are you at picking out a tree species from its bark and leaves? Me, not that great but online resources give some help. There are a few species that appear to be possible matches and which are also quite geographically constrained to small parts of Iowa. You guessed it, some are north and NE while others are south and SE. I can say that some of the most tightly constrained are in the extreme SE corner near Keokuk or along the river by Muscatine, Burlington, and Fort Madison.

The safe money says south and my heart says south but there is a pretty good case to be made for north too. So kudos to those who are handing out the clues this year, they plausibly seem to point in at least two directions! I have little hope of guessing the route well personally but perhaps some of these ramblings can help one of you make the correct guesses.

Sorry Princess, no Mo. Valley start this year. I can’t reveal my source, but they are very reliable. If I am wrong, I guess I owe you a beer at the kickoff party.

Here’s my random shot in the dark:

Council Bluffs
Red Oak
Greenfield
Osceola
Centerville
Ottumwa
Keosauqua
Keokuk

Last year I did really well. Zero towns. . .

Racingmom: See you on the curb, Michrider. First drink’s on me. Bring a friend or two. I’ll teach you some old California ballads.

Stacy, unfortunately, I won’t be making the trip to Iowa this summer. I’m having some nasty severe pain issues with Lefty (the knee). However, I’m currently receiving treatment (no more surgery) that is showing promise. I hope to be back with PBV in 2017! I’ll drink a few beverages in your honor!

Racingmom: See you on the curb, Michrider. First drink’s on me. Bring a friend or two. I’ll teach you some old California ballads.

Stacy, unfortunately, I won’t be making the trip to Iowa this summer. I’m having some nasty severe pain issues with Lefty (the knee). However, I’m currently receiving treatment (no more surgery) that is showing promise. I hope to be back with PBV in 2017! I’ll drink a few beverages in your honor!

Southern route, anything that takes us through Drakesville. Drakesville is way overdue for a RAGBRAI visit!

I’ve taken a stab at a South route and a North route based on historical data and the attempts to analyze this years logo. Struggle with the Logo as I am not a native Iowan and I have only been involved in this ride for 6 years. That said, I’m thinking we start north again in either Hawarden or Owana. End town with either be Bellevue or possibly NE corner in Lansing. We shall see. Last year I only got 1 town right.

If you are wrong Jake, I will find you! But I think the beer is free at the party..

The boomerang hammock shape and ‘a time to rest’. Maybe we will be in larger Cities with more accommodations? Sioux City-Des Moines-Dubuque (a boomerang shaped route???

Here’s my list I submitted for the guess the rote contest.

Missouri Valley
Denison
Coon Rapids
Ames
Newton
Ottumwa
Keosauqua
Keokuk