Route Inspection Pre-Ride Set for June 5-11

By T.J. Juskiewicz, RAGBRAI Director

There really is only one good way to inspect the selected roads for a bike event… get out and ride it on a bike!  And that is exactly what we are going to do with a team of knowledgeable cyclists thoroughly examining every mile of the RAGBRAI route on bicycles. 

For the seventh consecutive year, Jim Green and Dan McKay will lead and support a small group of cyclists who will ride the entire RAGBRAI route 50 days in advance of the event.  “Greenie”, the retired RAGBRAI director, volunteered to help the event in any way possible as he was retiring from his post back in 2004. 

Green and McKay, the State RIDE RIGHT Chairman, were appointed in 2005 to head up the Route Inspection Ride and spend an entire week inspecting the route and teaching the local RIDE RIGHT Committee what to do with the information learned during the inspection ride.  They also will be looking at traffic patterns since they will be riding the route on the same day of the week that RAGBRAI will ride on later this summer. 

In addition to riding with the group, I’ll be writing a daily blog for the web site. I’ll try to point out some places of interest along the route that you wouldn’t want to miss.  I know Dan always helps me find the best pie in each town.  We feel this is a challenging and scenic route with amazing attractions, sites and towns along the way. 

RAGBRAI works diligently with the RIDE RIGHT committees to continually inspect the roads and report potential hazards to local officials and engineers who might be able to repair the roadways.  The local RIDE RIGHT committee also alerts home owners on the route about the event and educates townspeople about bicycle safety.  Many committees will host bike rodeos or safety events for the community’s youth prior to RAGBRAI’s arrival.

For the past several years, the Route Inspection Riders have been joined daily on their trek by the local committee members as well as local bike club members and bike shop owners that are willing to help.  Charlie Harper, of Harper’s Cycling & Fitness in Muscatine and Mark Wyatt, Executive Director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, have joined the group for at least a few days each of the route inspection rides. 

For those that want to ride for a day and help with the inspection, a schedule is listed below.  You have to provide your own transportation back to the starting location and battle Dan when there is only one slice of apple pie left at the diner! 

Sunday, June 5
Ride from Glenwood to Atlantic
Silver City, Carson, Griswold & Lewis
Mileage: 63.8 Miles / Feet of Climb: 4,471 Feet of Climb
Ride leaves at 8 AM from: Glenwood High School

Monday, June 6
Ride from Atlantic to Carroll
Elk Horn, Kimballton, Manning, Templeton, Dedham & Willey
Mileage: 65.8 Miles / Feet of Climb: 4,731 Feet of Climb
Ride leaves at 8 AM from: Cass County Community Center

Tuesday, June 7
Ride from Carroll to Boone
Lidderdale, Lanesboro, Churdan, Paton, Dana (Karras Loop) & Pilot Mound
Mileage: 71.5 Miles / Feet of Climb: 1,761 Feet of Climb
Ride leaves at 8 AM from: Graham Park

Wednesday, June 8
Ride from Boone to Altoona
Luther, Slater, Sheldahl, Alleman, White Oak, Elkhart & Bondurant
Mileage: 54.9 Miles / Feet of Climb: 1,158 Feet of Climb
Ride leaves at 8 AM from: McHose Park (North Entrance)

Thursday, June 9
Ride from Altoona to Grinnell
Mitchellville, Colfax, Baxter & Rock Creek State Park
Mileage: 56.2 Miles / Feet of Climb: 3,185 Feet of Climb
Ride leaves at 8 AM from: Sam Wise Park (North Lot)

Friday, June 10
Ride from Grinnell to Coralville
Brooklyn, Victor, Ladora, Marengo, West Amana, South Amana, Homestead & Oxford
Mileage: 76.0 Miles / Feet of Climb: 2,488 Feet of Climb
Ride leaves at 8 AM from: Ahrens Park

Saturday, June 11
Ride from Coralville to Davenport
Iowa City, West Branch, Springdale, Moscow, Wilton, Durant & Walcott
Mileage: 64.6 Miles / Feet of Climb: 2,373 Feet of Climb
Ride leaves at 8 AM from: ST Morrison Park

Be sure to tune in each day for the daily updates and photos from the route inspection ride on the RAGBRAI web site and FACEBOOK. You can also follow the pre-ride adventure and learn interesting tidbits about the route by following me on TWITTER by following @TJRAGBRAI.

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