Happy 80th Birthday Grampa RAGBRAI!

We wish the happiest of birthdays to RAGBRAI co-founder, John Karras.  Karras, along with Donald Kaul, founded the bicycle adventure that is known today as RAGBRAI.  John still rides RAGBRAI each summer and plans to ride RAGBRAI XXXVIII as an octogenarian. 

The Register’s bicycling tradition began with an idea (a kind of a challenge) between Des Moines Register feature writer/copy editor Karras and Kaul, author of The Des Moines Register’s “Over The Coffee” column.  Karras suggested to Kaul that he ride his bicycle across Iowa and write columns about what he saw from that perspective. Kaul lived in Washington, D.C., and wrote his column from The Register’s Washington Bureau.  Kaul liked the idea but issued the challenge that he would ride across Iowa if Karras rode with him. Karras agreed and 38 years later, their challenge ride became the event that is now recognized as the oldest, longest and largest recreational bicycle touring event in the world. 

John and his wife Ann retired to the mountains of Colorado, but get back to Iowa a few times a year.  Karras is a regular at spin classes throughout the winter, staying in shape so he can attempt the Karras Loop on RAGBRAI. 

Happy 80th Birthday, Grampa RAGBRAI!  We will see you in July!

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