I don’t know anything about a “karas loop”, but based on the way the route plots out on a map it appears to me that the KARRAS LOOP will run from outside of Bancroft south on County Road P44 to County Road B19 and then head back west through Burt; continuing west after Burt we will pick up County Road P30.  These two roads run together until P30 turns north; I expect we will then stay on P30 and pass through Lone Rock and continue north to rejoin the main route again where P30 meets County Road A42.

We then reride the next six miles, as this is the same road I expect we will be taking to get to Bancroft in the first place (those riders who do the loop making a second stop for Mr. Pork Chop is a strong possibility!) and then continue east on A42 to eventually pass through Crystal Lake enroute to Forest City.

-“BB”-

“Bicycle Bill”: We then reride the next six miles

Hmmmm Cannot seem to find “reride” in dictionary.?? Could mean “re-ride” ??

Uneducated virgin question: What percentage of riders extend to the KARRAS LOOP? I am planning on riding it for my own accolades; but is there any other advantage? Secret Beer Garden? Entry into an elite society?

Personal satisfaction Ak2…that is it … nothing more … plus the patch. Kinda like riding every mile of every day of RAGBRAI. You can say you did it.

RIDE RIGHT

I am another first timer who is wondering what percentage of riders will do the Karas loop.

It would be interesting to get an idea of how many people ride the loop. I’m sure the Reg has a good guestimate by how many patches they give to us registered riders. The only stat I’ve heard was for the Sesquicentennial Loop in 1996. The Register said around 1000 people rode the big loop. There were 10 of us on Team Skunk that did it. It was one of my best days on RAGBRAI.

Bicycle Bill is a real tool, I think all know it is Karras loop, rhetorical, no need for corection

I laugh when I see all the BB corrections, and remind myself with a chuckle… “Whomever stirs the shit-pot, eventually licks the spoon.”

All you veteran riders: less than 10% ride the Karras Loop? I don’t want to miss out on something awesome by taking an alternative route. But I will still plan on the extension. Was I correct in hearing hat it wasn’t a full century?

Ak2,

gmap-pedometer shows the loop at 25.43 miles. Add this to the 79.7 miles for the rest we should have 105 mile day.

I was confused on my first RAGBRAI thinking that the loop went a separate way that joined the main path farther down. Instead, in the three times I’ve done RAGBRAI, the loop was a clockwise path that does repeat a section of the main route. So, you will not miss anything by doing the loop. You will see more that most.

It’s a lot of fun and it fills out the day. you will not miss anything. It can be a challenge in the heat but if you’ve done a century before it shouldn’t be too bad. It’s supposed to be a cool ride this year, I can’t wait.

Lone Rock will be on the loop and have the patches and John Karras hopefully in attendance. We are looking forward to having RAGBRAI in our little town with the BIG rock. We were told that we could expect 6 to 7,000 or approximately 40% of the riders to come on the loop this year as the day before and day after have less miles so that more will be inclined to do the loop. They have made 6,500 patches this year. Hope everyone takes the challenge of the loop and we look forward to see everyone on Tuesday. Stop by and say hi.

This year will be my 3rd ragbrai. Did the loop for the first time last year. I totaled up 111 miles that day because I missed the shortcut to camp in the overnight town. Otherwise would have been ~104 miles that day. My riding buddy kept saying he wasn’t doing the loop because he had nothing to prove. My response ” I do”. Glad I did it at least once and Will probably do it again this year.

I think the percentage of riders that do the loop each year varies based on the route. When the route is the rolling hills of the south, fewer riders do the loop. This year, bring up north where it is relatively flat with short days on both sides, I would expect more riders to go the loop.

What I always like upon entering the turn for the loop is the almost immediate serenity. I don’t know numbers, but you’ll often have 100 yards or more (waaaay more) between riders/groups. It’s a great change of pace. The pass-through town always has an unspoken, well-earned VIP vibe ;)

Additionally, the Karras Loop changed how I continue to ride Ragbrai:
My virgin ride my team was all Up early, Burn hard, done by early afternoon-ers. They all neglected to do the Loop. The loop shot me back into the main ride about 2 hours behind where I usually would have been. To this day my favorite part of the ride is in the late afternoon/early evening. The heat is slightly less furious, and it’s just great people :D

Hey lone rocker, everytime I’ve done the loop there are wayyyyy more than a thousand riders. It would be great if the town could provide some little trinket to the riders to show that they have done the extra miles, The lei that they gave in Elk horn was well appreciated and a lot of fun