RAGBRAI LII July 19 - 26, 2025

RAGBRAI Route Inspection Pre-Ride Day 3 - Perry to Des Moines

  • 4 June, 2013
  • Jared

001A big thanks to the Perry RAGBRAI Committee for the great hospitality for the pre-riders.  Bob Wilson, Perry Chamber Director, you are the best!  Also a shout out to Lee Coons and the Raccoon River Bicycle Shop in downtown Perry.  Thanks for fiixing our bikes and the goodies.  Be sure to stop by the bike shop while you are in Perry!

The pre-riders had another fun day on the road as they left Perry in the rain.  We were joined by some riders from the Perry RAGBRAI RIDE RIGHT Committee and our good friends from the Tall Dogs Bicycle Clubs for joining us on today’s ride.

Tuesday’s ride is a great recovery day after a long ride the day before.  A mere 49.9 miles and very little climb, this will feel like a half-day, leaving plenty of time for riders to spend plenty of time in every town.

MINBURN

“Burn” is Scottish for brook or river and “Min” means small, therefore the name Minburn suited the small town located near the Raccoon River.

This small farming community is eager to showcase their agriculture heritage with local farm animals on display.  The town will roll out town several fun games the town enjoys during the Fourth of July as well as the skating rink and shack will be open.  ADM cheerleaders will greet riders to town.

Since RAGBRAIers will be hungry, Minburn will be serving pie, ice cream, cinnamon rolls, cookies, scrambled egg bowls, breakfast burritos, pancakes and ham balls on a stick.  The pre-riders were fortunate enough to sample all of the goodies this morning in Minburn!

Local musicians will entertain while riders play old-fashioned games, horseshoes, nail pounding, three-legged and gunny sack races.

The Historic Depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (which is currently being renovated as a trail head, café and museum for the Raccoon River Valley Trail) and it will be moved closer to the bike trail.  The RAGBRAI event will be a major fundraiser for this project.

Be sure to also visit the 1948 outdoor skating rink, which was home to the famous “Singing Wheels”

DALLAS CENTER

From “Tri-cycles to Tractors, that’s how we Roll” in Dallas Center!

Some activities in Dallas Center include a DJ (Jamtime DJ) , Cow Pie Bingo, and Color Wars will definitely be part of the fun.

The town will focus the attention at the five way circle on the corner of Walnut and 13th Street with approximately 25 vendors.  The vendors will be a mix of local community groups and outside vendors. They can’t reveal all of the vendors yet, but look for mini-doughnuts!

Be sure to visit the Baker’s Pantry, an old-fash­ioned family-owned country store, selling Amish, organic, and other premium quality foods pur­chased in bulk and re­pack­aged for customers. There are many interesting and unusual finds in this store.

The Dallas Center swimming pool will be open to RAGBRAI visitors.  Cool off with a quick shower and a dip in the pool.

The Longest Yard will be hosting the beer garden.   The Longest Yard is located at the central hub of activities, and backs up to the new bike trail.  Rumor has it that when the Longest Yard bought the bar in Dallas Center, the early morning coffee club was part of the deal!

The Dallas Center RAGBRAI committee is using the event to raise funds for their pool and has designated the RAGBRAI event as a kick-off to the Dallas Center Pool Fund.

VAN METER

In the town of Van Meter, “Veterans Rest at the Home of Baseball’s Best”  Van Meter is the home of the legendary Hall of Famer Bob Feller, one of the greatest Iowa athletes of all time.  Be sure to visit the Bob Feller Museum, a must for all sports fans.  Van Meter is also home of the Iowa Veteran’s Cemetery and the new Veteran’s Reception Center. The town fundraising efforts will be focused on the new Veteran’s Reception Center.

The town will feature a few live bands including the Dallas County Crew Cut Band, Exit 113 and other local entertainment.  There will also be a beer garden to enjoy.

Come hungry and leave satisfied as chicken sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs and homemade pie will be plentiful.  Be sure to pop in Fat Randi’s and try one of their famous tenderloins!

HISTORIC VALLEY JUNCTION IN WEST DES MOINES

The last stop before our overnight in Des Moines will be Historic Valley Junction in West Des Moines.  It will be a Totally Tubular Tuesday in the Junction!  The entire Historic Valley Junction (established in 1893)  will be blocked off to host the RAGBRAI party.  Be sure to visit the great shops, restaurants, pubs, art galleries and specialty shops that you’ll find in the three block Historic Valley Junction.  It’s only 4 more miles to the main campground in Des Moines, so have some fun!

Be sure to stop in the Longest Yard, G Migs, Nan’s Nummies fro some fudge!

The 80’s bands will provide the fun as Abby Normal, Faculty Lounge and Fahrenheit delight the riders.

DES MOINES

“Des Moines: Even Better in Spandex.”  See for yourself as RAGBRAIers will celebrate the event being held on Tuesday, July 23rd along the Principal River Walk which will host the RAGBRAI Event Village. Organizers will close Water Street and the Court Avenue and Walnut Street Bridges to create a festival atmosphere that will include two live music stages, a biking expo and food & beverage vendors from 11am-10:30pm.

Des Moines’ Entertainment Line-up:

Catch 90’s music acts Everclear, Live, Filter and Sponge as they perform their greatest hits as part of the Summerland 2013 Alternative Guitars Tour. This FREE concert will take place on the Court Avenue Bridge in downtown Des Moines. This is the first time RAGBRAI is coming through Des Moines in 16 years. The concert will be a part of the RAGBRAI events village along Walnut Street, Court Avenue Bridge and the Principal Riverwalk.

Also, six local and regional acts will perfrom on a second stage which will be located in front of the World Food Prize Building. These band will be announced at a later time.

EVERCLEAR

Following the success of their breakthrough hit “Santa Monica”, their debut album So Much For the Afterglow went certified double platinum. Their second single “Father of Mine” was nominated for a Grammy, and Everclear took home the American Music Award for Modern Rock Band of the Year.

The band’s relentless touring regimen and D.I.Y. promotional tactics helped to set the stage for the platinum-level breakthrough of 1995’s Sparkle and Fade, which spawned the hits “Santa Monica” and “Heroin Girl,” while establishing Everclear as a popular live attraction and frontman Art Alexakis as an engaged and articulate media presence.  The band’s ascendancy continued with 1997’s So Much for the Afterglow, which produced the radio hits “Everything to Everyone,” “I Will Buy You A New Life,” and “Father of Mine.”

Alexakis continued to explore new creative challenges on such subsequent Everclear releases as 2000’s two-part Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile (which yielded a major hit in “Wonderful”) and Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 2: Good Time for a Bad Attitude, 2003’s Slow Motion Daydream and 2006’s Welcome to the Drama ClubThe Vegas Years (2008) was a memorable set of cover tunes, while In A Different Light (2009) and Return to Santa Monica (2011) found Alexakis and company revisiting and reinterpreting items from the Everclear songbook.

For more information about Everclear, including tour dates please visit www.everclearonline.com

LIVE

Their breakthrough album ‘Throwing Copper’ sold 8 million copies in the US and 20 million worldwide.  The album was on Billboard’s 200 for 54 consecutive weeks.  It had four top 10 hits including “Selling the Drama,” “I Alone,” “All over You,” and “Lightning Crashes,” which spent 10 weeks at number 1.  In 2002 LIVE went on a world tour alongside Counting Crowes. In 2008 they headlined a US tour that also featured Blues Traveler and Collective Soul.  Last year they were featured musicians at SXSW in Austin.

For more information about Live, including tour dates please visit WWW.FREAKS4LIVE.COM

FILTER

Formed in 1993 by Nine Inch Nails guitarist Richard Patrick, Filter has released 6 major label albums including the upcoming The Sun Comes Out Tonight (June 2013). Their first album was commercially successful and included the hit single “Hey Man, Nice Shot.” In 2000, their single “Take My Picture,” became a major radio hit.  It hit #12 and spent  40 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. Filter’s music has been featured in several major motion pictures including: The Crow, The X-Files, Tomb Raider, and the upcoming Leonardo DiCaprio film, The Great Gatsby (2013).

For more information about Filter, including tour dates please visit http://officialfilter.com/

SPONGE

A Detroit-based alternative rock band, Sponge enjoyed commercial success in the mid-90s with the release of their debut album Rotting Piñata. Their singles “Plowed” and “Molly (16 Candles)” both received heavy airplay on mainstream radio and MTV.  Their music was also featured in the Kevin Smith/Ben Affleck film Chasing Amy. Sponge opened for the legendary rock band KISS during their 1996 reunion tour and played the last show ever to be held at Detroit’s iconic Tiger Stadium.

For more information about Sponge, including tour dates please visit www.spongetheband.com and www.facebook.com/spongerocks

The two stages will feature local and national entertainment and conclude with a spectacular fireworks display!

 

4 Comments

  1. Sandaltan

    A pie preview in Dallas Center!!! What could be better??? This is not a bike ride…. this is a four hundred and some mile buffet!!!

  2. Qdev

    What time does music start in Des Moines?

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