Des Moines, Iowa — In a move that was not too surprising, the RAGBRAI bike ride organizers have chosen a route for the 2018 ride that is not in northwest Iowa.
Last year, the ride started in the heart of northwest Iowa. The first town on the route was Orange City. Riders drove through Alton, Granville, Paullina, and Primghar, where they could meet up with support vehicles if they needed to. From there, some riders took a gravel loop through Sutherland before they and the others visited Hartley and then stopped for the night in the Sunday overnight town, Spencer.
But this year the closest the ride will get to Sheldon is 80 miles away, as the crow files — the starting town is Onawa. The other overnight towns in order will be Denison, Jefferson, Ames, Newton, Sigourney, Iowa City, and the ride will end in Davenport.
This year’s RAGBRAI starts on July 22nd.
Organizers made the announcement of the overnight towns in a ceremony on Saturday night.
