Des Moines, Iowa — One of the two bike rides planned to cross the state this summer — has been canceled. Or, as they put it — postponed until next year.
The RAGBRAI ride folks tell us that due to COVID-19, there will not be a RAGBRAI ride this year.
In their statement, RAGBRAI officials say, “As we’ve watched the impact COVID-19 is having on the world, we’ve continued to plan and adjust our timelines, hold key conversations with our trusted partners, and determine the best course of action for all parties involved. After deep consideration and collaboration with the eight overnight town executive committees, government agencies, the public health department, and official business partners of RAGBRAI, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone RAGBRAI XLVIII to July 25-31, 2021.”
Organizers say that the safety of the riders has always been the most important focus for the RAGBRAI team and they feel the decision to postpone to July 25 -31, 2021 is the right one. They tell us they strongly feel that this is in everyone’s best interest.
The RAGBRAI ride was scheduled to start this year (and presumably will now start next year) in Le Mars and travel east toward the Mississippi.
The new bicycle ride, which is to cross the state the opposite way — from east to west — is still scheduled at this point for July 12-18, according to Iowa’s Ride Director TJ Juskiewicz. That ride is scheduled to stop in Sheldon on Friday, July 17th and wrap up in Rock Rapids on Friday, July 18th. Juskiewicz says, “We will remain hopeful that the health risks will subside towards the end of summer.”
