RAGBRAI 2024 Day 4 preview: Riders leave Winterset en route to Knoxville

RAGBRAI’s 50th anniversary edition in 2023 drew so many riders on some days that it could be bit overwhelming — especially on Day 4, when it rolled from Ames to Des Moines with up to 60,000 people in tow.

This year’s 51st ride through hilly and sparsely populated southern Iowa has been a return to normal — until Wednesday, that is. For the second time in two years, it will be passing through metro Des Moines as it makes its way from Winterset to Indianola before turning south as part of the journey to Knoxville. And that’s an invitation for thousands of registered and unregistered day riders from the 750,000-population metro to join in. A similar route in 2019 drew an estimated 40,000 riders.

Wednesday’s RAGBRAI route

Winterset to Knoxville.

What to know

We noted Tuesday that Winterset is the county seat of Madison County — the setting of the hit 1995 movie “The Bridges of Madison County,” starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep, and the novel it was based on. The county has six covered bridges, most of them on remote backroads. But when riders reach St. Charles, the breakfast stop, they’ll encounter one of the most accessible of them, the Imes Covered Bridge in a city park right next to the road.

Gravel riders will get an extra treat: a visit to the Holliwell Covered Bridge that actually was used in the movie.

St. Charles too crowded? Push on to St. Mary’s, where the vendors include Immaculate Conception Catholic Church offering a “Holy” homemade breakfast burrito and baked goods.

Indianola urges you to “just look up” on your way into the meeting town. The National Balloon Classic, an annual weeklong hot air balloon competition and festival, begins there Saturday. In most years when RAGBRAI has visited, there are some early arrivals on hand to inspire those who raise their eyes from the road.

Milo is trying to put its own twist on RAGBRAI with the theme “Milo-Ritaville” and Porta-Potties (kybos in RAGBRAI parlance) decorated in tropical themes.

At Lacona, the fire department will be soothing hot riders with watermelon, pickles and bottles of water with electrolyte packets.

After a last stop in Melcher-Dallas, riders will take the checkered flag at the overnight town of Knoxville. As anyone will tell you, RAGBRAI is not a race. But Knoxville’s claim to fame is that it’s the home of the Knoxville National Raceway, where sprint cars — tiny vehicles packing 900-hp V-8s and massive, forward-canted wings to keep them from going airborne — race around a dirt oval.

It may sound rustic, but the grandstand has luxury boxes and the purse for the annual Knoxville Nationals championship races tops $1 million. It’s also a steppingstone to NASCAR and the home of the lovingly curated National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum. Visit for a tour and then hit the Rib Shack in a track-owned building next door for some tasty Iowa barbecue.

Weather

Sunny, with a high near 84 degrees. North wind around 6 mph.

Entertainment

RAGBRAI mainstay Hairball takes the stage in Knoxville at 9 p.m. The ’80s arena rock tribute band is known for its costumes and pyrotechnics.

Looking forward to

… Borrowing a gravel bike (or maybe a sprint car?) for a lap around the Knoxville National dirt track.

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