RAGBRAI will feature a twist this year. Instead of arriving at the Mississippi on the final day of the week-long ride across Iowa, cyclists will have the chance to dip their wheels in the river on Friday night in Burlington, before following the river the next day to the ride’s final destination, Keokuk.
It’s the first time in RAGBRAI’s 47-year history that riders will overnight in a city on the Mississippi River, before the final day of the ride.
The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa will take a southerly route across the state this year. Starting in Council Bluffs on Saturday, July 20, riders will make overnight stops in Atlantic, Winterset, Indianola, Centerville, Fairfield and Burlington, before finishing in Keokuk on Saturday, July 27. The route is 427 miles and riders will climb 14,735 feet as they pedal from the Missouri River to the Mississippi.
“It is the sixth-shortest RAGBRAI in history,” RAGBRAI Director T.J. Juskiewicz said, at the route reveal party in Des Moines on Saturday. “It is the eighth-flattest route in history. And it is the eighth easiest route in RAGBRAI history.”
The easiest day will Tuesday, July 23, as riders cover the 39 miles from Winterset to Indianola. In addition to being the shortest leg of RAGBRAI, that day also has the smallest climb, 1,443 feet. The following day will be the hardest — the route to Centerville is 78 miles, and features 2,977 feet of climb.
Riders wanting to sign up for the entire week’s ride must do so by April 1. The fee for the full week is $175. Daily wristbands are available for $30 per day. Registration for those wristbands closes on June 1.
Details about registration for RAGBRAI XLVII are available on its official site.
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