Des Moines, Iowa — The route has been announced for the new bicycle ride across Iowa, and it will come right through the heart of northwest Iowa.
Organizers of what has been dubbed “Iowa’s Ride” say the ride will run the opposite direction of RAGBRAI. The new ride will start in eastern Iowa and end in western Iowa — specifically, in our area, the third-to-the-last city will be Emmetsburg, the second-to-the-last city will be Sheldon, and the ride will end in Rock Rapids.
Iowa’s Ride officials say the ride will be approximately 416 miles traveling from Dubuque to Rock Rapids with 10,549 feet of climb for the week. After Dubuque, the ride will overnight in towns with populations in the 5,000s or less.
The entire route is Dubuque, Monticello, Vinton, Eldora, Clarion, Emmetsburg, Sheldon, and Rock Rapids. It will start in Dubuque on Sunday, July 12th, and end in Rock Rapids on Saturday, July 18th. They’ll spend the night in Sheldon on Friday night, July 17th.
Sunday, 7/12 Dubuque to Monticello (48 Miles/2,174 FOC)
Monday, 7/13 Monticello to Vinton (50 Miles/1,698 FOC)
Tuesday, 7/14 Vinton to Eldora (68 Miles/1,798 FOC)
Wednesday, 7/15 Eldora to Clarion (64 Miles/1,471 FOC)
Thursday, 7/16 Clarion to Emmetsburg (75 Miles/999 FOC)
Friday, 7/17 Emmetsburg to Sheldon (78 Miles/1,730 FOC)
Saturday, 7/18 Sheldon to Rock Rapids (33 Miles/779 FOC)
Registration for Iowa’s Ride is now open at iowasride.com.
Iowa’s Ride was started by the staff of the RAGBRAI ride after they all resigned in protest of being told they couldn’t respond publicly to the Des Moines Register‘s handling of the Carson King story. The RAGBRAI ride will happen as well, going the other direction, the next week — starting on Sunday, July 19th. The route for that ride is always announced in January, and this time the route announcement party is scheduled for Saturday, January 25, 2020.
