RAGBRAI, short for Register Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa''', is a non-competitive bicycle tour across the U.S. state of Iowa from its western to eastern border. First held in 1973, RAGBRAI is the largest bike-touring event in the world.
Description Each year's route begins at a community near Iowa's western border and ends at a community near the eastern border, with stops in towns across the state. The ride is one week long and ends on the last Saturday of July each year. The earliest possible starting date is July 19, and the latest is July 25.
While formerly a lottery was held to select participants, registration is now on a first-come-first-serve basis. Iowa bicycle clubs and charters, as well as teams and groups, many of whom are from out of state, also receive a number of passes for which members apply through those organizations. Despite the official limits, unregistered riders have on many days swelled the actual number of riders to well over the registered number count.
The length of the entire week's route over RAGBRAI's first 40 years from 1973 through 2012, not including the Century Loop, averaged ; the average daily distance between host communities is . Eight "host communities" are selected each year, one each for the beginning and end points, the other six serving as overnight stops from Sunday through Friday for the bicyclists. At the beginning of the ride, participants traditionally dip the rear wheels of their bikes in either the Missouri River or the Big Sioux River; at the end, riders dip their front wheels in the Mississippi River.
Overnight stops
The ride has passed through all 99 of Iowa's counties in its history. Fourteen different communities have served as the starting point, while 12 have hosted the finish. 108 other communities have been overnight hosts during the week of the ride.
An event known as the RAGBRAI Route Announcement Party is held the last part of January to release the names of the overnight towns. The route is fleshed out in the following weeks and is announced in the Des Moines Register and on the RAGBRAI website in early March.
History The Great Six-Day Bicycle Ride (1973) RAGBRAI began in 1973, when Des Moines Register feature writers John Karras and Donald Kaul decided to go on a bicycle ride across Iowa; both men were avid cyclists. Karras challenged Kaul to do the ride and write articles about what he experienced. Kaul agreed to do it, but only if Karras also did the ride. Karras then agreed to ride, as well.
The newspaper's management approved of the plan. Don Benson, a public-relations director at the Register, was assigned to coordinate the event. Upon the suggestion of Ed Heins, the managing editor, the writers invited the public to accompany them.
The ride was planned to start on Sunday, August 26 in Sioux City and end in Davenport on Friday, August 31. The overnight stops were Storm Lake, Fort Dodge, Ames, Des Moines, and Williamsburg. The Register informed readers of the event and the planned route. The ride was informally referred to as "the Great Six-Day Bicycle Ride".
Some 300 cyclists began the ride in Sioux City; 114 of them rode the entire route. A number of other people rode part of the route. Attendance was light the first year. The ride was announced with only six weeks' notice and it conflicted with both the first week of school and the final weekend of the Iowa State Fair.
After the ride was over, Kaul and Karras wrote numerous articles that captured the imaginations of many readers. Among those who completed the 1973 ride was 83-year-old Clarence Pickard of Indianola. He rode a used ladies Schwinn and wore a long-sleeved shirt, trousers, woolen long underwear, and a silver pith helmet. He said that the underwear blocked out the sun and kept his skin cool. The newspaper received many calls and letters from people who wanted to go on the ride, but were unable to for various reasons. Because of this public response and demand, a second ride was scheduled for August 4–10, 1974, before the Iowa State Fair.
Second year: SAGBRAI, August 4–10, 1974 The 1974 ride, known as the Second Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (or SAGBRAI), was more carefully planned. For example, each morning, the official start time was 7:30 am; however, by Wednesday, the start time was dropped so that riders could depart at any time that was appropriate for the rider. The Iowa State Patrol was involved for the first time to control traffic and assure safety, and arrangements were made to have medical services available for riders. For the first time, the route was driven in advance for inspection purposes. The start of the ride was in Council Bluffs, had overnight stops in Atlantic, Guthrie Center, Camp Dodge (near Des Moines), Marshalltown, Waterloo, and Monticello, and finished in the riverfront city of Dubuque.Alternate archive with image and image #15 The ride occurred in the same week as the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon. The high point of the trip for many of the riders was the second overnight stop, where a sign greeted the riders outside of the designated overnight town, Guthrie Center. It read, "Please be kind. You outnumber us two to one." About a half hour in length, SAGBRAI – the Second Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa is a black and white documentary film about the 1974 ride. OHP Marketing Services of Webster City, Iowa, converted the 16-mm film to a digital format in 2012, and the digital format was screened in Webster City on Monday July 13, 2015.
As RAGBRAI annual event After the second year, the ride continued to grow in popularity. Michael Gartner, then the editor of the Register, directed John Karras to include the word "Register" in the ride title; thus the RAGBRAI name, with Roman numerals following it, was adopted for RAGBRAI III in 1975 (the 2012 ride was RAGBRAI XL). RAGBRAI V, from Onawa to Lansing, was the shortest in RAGBRAI history at until 2026. Until 2014, it also had the fewest feet in vertical hill climbing. Beginning in 1978, RAGBRAI included an optional 100-mile century ride to offer a greater challenge. The second day of RAGBRAI IX came to be known as "Soggy Monday" and is generally regarded as the worst weather day in RAGBRAI history. To commemorate it, the Register marketed a bicycle patch. Beginning with RAGBRAI X, the dates were moved to the last full week in July, starting on Sunday and ending on Saturday. This ride was also the last for Donald Kaul as co-host; he had ridden with John Karras on the first ten rides. Chuck Offenburger, writer of the Registers "Iowa Boy" column, joined Karras as co-host in 1983.
With XIV, RAGBRAI introduced a Century Loop. While the day's ride might be shorter, a loop was included on the route for cyclists who wanted to ride . This ride went from Council Bluffs to Muscatine, and the optional loop was on the day between Perry and Eldora. The loop was renamed the "Karras Loop" in 2001, in honor of John Karras. On the XXIII ride, the day from Tama-Toledo to Sigourney featured a strong south headwind, much heat and humidity, and many hills. The day came to be known as "Saggy Thursday". After the XXV ride, which passed through Lucas County, RAGBRAI in its history had gone through all of Iowa's 99 counties. John Karras retired as co-host after RAGBRAI XXVIII in 2000, which began at Council Bluffs and ended at Burlington. He died November 10th, 2021, and the 2022 ride (XLIX) featured a 100-mile plus day instead of the Karras Loop.
RAGBRAI XLIII in 2015 was the first to feature an optional gravel loop. The loop was in honor of Steve Hed, the Minnesotan founder of HED Cycling Products and wheel innovator, who had died the previous November. The first gravel loop was part of the second-day ride from Storm Lake to Fort Dodge. Also, the 43rd ride was the first since the initial ride in 1973 to start in Sioux City and end in Davenport. In 2016, the "Mile of Silence", which remembers the riders who have been lost throughout the years, was started.
Organizational Changes and rebirth In late 2019, following a controversy with reporting by the Des Moines Register newsroom ride director T.J. Juskiewicz and his staff abruptly resigned and attempted to start their own rival ride, Iowa's Ride. https://www.kcci.com/article/exclusive-ragbrai-organizers-split-from-dm-register-start-iowa-s-ride/29476940 In 2020, both RAGBRAI XLVIII and Iowa's Ride was postponed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Iowa's Ride never advanced past initial planning and Juskiewicz is no longer in Iowa. https://www.kcci.com/article/director-of-iowas-ride-leaves-for-arizona-before-inaugural-ride/32843706
In 2020, as part of the reorganization of the larger Gannett company following its acquisition by New Media, RAGBRAI was moved from being a part of the Des Moines Register to part of its Ventures Endurance division. New leadership used the time given to them by the pandemic to properly organize a new ride.
The rescheduled ride began on July 25, 2021, in Le Mars and ended July 31 in Clinton. The route stopped in Sac City, Fort Dodge, Iowa Falls, Waterloo, Anamosa, and DeWitt. The planned 2020 route had included overnight stops in Storm Lake and Maquoketa, but were replaced by Sac City and DeWitt, respectively, for the 2021 route.
Following the 2022 ride, RAGBRAI further distanced itself from the Des Moines Register by moving into its own office and warehouse building in Des Moines' East Village.
Since the move to Venture's Endurance leadership, the ride no longer has a cap of 10,000 riders. Additionally, RAGBRAI now contributes $50,000 to each overnight town and $10,000 to each pass through town to help with expenses. RAGBRAI Gives also fundraises for a charity with Iowa ties every year. https://ragbrai.com/gives/
50th Ride and Beyond
The 50th ride, RAGBRAI L, took place from July 23-29, 2023, and retraced much of the first year's route. Carroll replaced Fort Dodge and the much larger town/area of Coralville-Iowa City replaced the small town of Williamsburg. The ride from Ames to Des Moines had over 60,000 riders, the most riders of any stop in the history of the event.
In 2024, the tour would travel through Greenfield, a city that had been devastated by an EF4 tornado two months prior. This included damaged areas of the city, with debris cleanup being done by volunteers before the event.
The 2025 ride featured the first time the ride left Iowa. The ride went into Southern Minnesota for a 15 mile stretch, including a stop at Brown Park. https://ragbrai.com/ragbrai-minnesota/
Event Organization RAGBRAI currently has a full time staff of seven plus several part time employees, contractors, and other volunteers who help put on the ride each year known as the RAGBRAI Crew. https://ragbrai.com/about-ragbrai/#staff
Planning for each year's ride begins in September with tours across the state, meetings with the Iowa State Patrol, and with the Iowa Department of Transportation to determine the route. Staff will cross the state 20 times or more over the course of the year plotting, planning, and executing the route. The overnight towns for the route are publicly announced at the route announcement party in late January.https://ragbrai.com/january-2026-town-hall/
In February, staff begin meeting with the overnight towns while finalizing pass through towns. The pass through towns are formally announced in early April with meetings with those towns occurring in April and May.https://ragbrai.com/march-town-hall/