RAGBRAI - History


	The History of RAGBRAI
	In the beginning, when a few friends got together for a casual bike ride across Iowa in 1973, no one imagined that a tradition would be born, let alone that it would become the longest, largest and oldest bicycle touring event in the world. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI's Beginnings & The First Year August 26-31, 1973 The Register's bicycling tradition began with an idea (a kind of a challenge) between Des Moines Register feature writer/copy editor John Karras, an avid bicyclist, and Don Kaul, author of The Des Moines Register's "Over The Coffee" column. Karras suggested to Kaul that he ride his bicycle across Iowa and write columns about what he saw from that perspective. Kaul, also an accomplished rider, lived in Washington, D.C., and wrote his column from The Register's Washington Bureau. Kaul liked the idea but issued the challenge that he would ride across Iowa if Karras rode with him. Karras agreed and the plan was approved by the managing editor. Coordination of the ride was assigned to Don Benson, public relations director, and the RAGBRAI trio was formed. Benson served as coordinator of the ride until his retirement in 1991, when Jim Green took over the duties. Kaul and Karras then invited 'a few friends' (the public) to ride along. The route was laid out on maps and readers were told that the ride would start in Sioux City on August 26 and end on August 31 in Davenport. Overnight stops were scheduled in Storm Lake, Fort Dodge, Ames, Des Moines and Williamsburg. (Year One's overnight towns had the largest average population of any RAGBRAI through RAGBRAI XXIV.) The ride was informally referred to as ' The Great Six-Day Bicycle Ride' and was scheduled to tie in with a Register and Tribune circulation sales meeting in Des Moines. Because the readers were only given six weeks notice before the late-August ride, response was light, which may have been fortunate since the route had not been driven prior to the ride and no camping arrangements had been made. Don Benson had made motel reservations for himself, Kaul and Karras, because, after all, it was their ride. Motel operators along the way and the Naval Reserve Center in Des Moines came to the rescue of the riders by letting them pitch tents on their lawns. An estimated 300 people showed up for the start of the ride in Sioux City. By actual count, 114 riders made the entire distance that first year. The number swelled to 500 riders on the stretch of the route between Ames and Des Moines. Among the many interesting people the ride attracted was Clarence Pickard of Indianola. This 83-year-old gentleman, who hadn't ridden a bicycle much in recent years, showed up for that first ride with a used ladies Schwinn and rode all the way to Davenport, including the 100 degree plus day from Des Moines to Williamsburg, a 110-mile trek. Pickard's attire for the ride was a long-sleeved shirt, trousers, woolen long underwear and a silver pith helmet. Kaul's and Karras' articles and columns about Pickard, and points of interest along the way were, perhaps, responsible for the growth of the ride. After the ride, letters and calls poured in from people excited about the ride but upset because it was held the first week of school so students and teachers couldn't go. Others were upset because the ride started on the final weekend of the Iowa State Fair. And still others wished more notice had been given so vacation arrangements could have been made. Basically, the theme was the same "please offer another opportunity to participat in the ride! So the seven-day, Second Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa "SAGBRAI" was scheduled for August 4-10, 1974. Return to the History Index SAGBRAI The Second Year August 4-10, 1974 Benson had more time to organize the ride that year, so arrangements were made to involve the Iowa State Patrol and include other services, such as medical aid, sag wagons and baggage trucks. The route was driven ahead of time and the communities on the route were contacted. The SAGBRAI route went from Council Bluffs to Dubuque with stops in Atlantic, Guthrie Center, Camp Dodge (north of Des Moines), Marshalltown, Waterloo and Monticello. Approximately 2,700 riders showed up that Sunday morning in early August. The Howard Johnson motel in Council Bluffs was packed and an adjacent golf course was filled with campers! The first two days were tough and hilly. That, plus the fact that many riders hadn't trained for the ride and it was a rainy day with head winds between Waterloo and Monticello, took a toll. An estimated 1,700 made it all the way to Eagle Point Park in Dubuque. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI III August 3-9, 1975 The overnight stay in Guthrie Center during the 1974 ride was such a pleasant experience that ride organizers were convinced that smaller towns should not be overlooked as overnight hosts. So, in 1975, the little town of Hawarden, with a population of about 2,700, was chosen as the August 3 starting point. It had become a tradition for the ride to begin on the Missouri River, so riders could dip their back wheel in its waters, and end at the Mississippi River, where they could dip their front wheel as a finale to the ride. Hawarden is on the Big Sioux, but the organizers decided it qualified because the Big Sioux is a branch of the Missouri on the South Dakota border. That year's ride spent the night in Cherokee, Lake View, Boone, Newton, Sigourney, Mount Pleasant and ended in Fort Madison on August 9. There were about 3,200 riders and probably 2,400 made it all the way. It became apparent that the ride's popularity would not allow it to end with the 1975 event, so it was given an official name "the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa" along with the acronym RAGBRAI, with the year designated in Roman numerals. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI IV August 1-7, 1976 RAGBRAI IV in 1976 began in Sidney in southwest Iowa on August 1. Riders remember the sand burrs in the campgrounds that caused the thin bicycle tires to explode, sounding like fireworks on the Fourth of July. It was a roundabout ride to Muscatine through Red Oak, Harlan, Jefferson, Nevada, Grinnell and Iowa City. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI V July 31-August 6, 1977 RAGBRAI V in 1977 began July 31 in Onawa and followed our shortest and flattest route of 400 miles through Ida Grove, Laurens, Algona, Clear Lake, New Hampton and Decorah before finally ending in Lansing on August 6. Everyone expected the hills in northeast Iowa to be killers, but the roads there were laid out in the early development of the state and followed the valleys and ridges, avoiding many of the hills. However, the roads in the remainder of the state followed the section lines over the hills. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI VI July 30-August 5, 1978 On July 30, 1978, RAGBRAI VI started in Sioux City again and closely followed the route of the first ride as far as Storm Lake. Then the ride went to Humboldt, Iowa Falls, Vinton, Mount Vernon and Maquoketa, and ended in Clinton on August 5. It was RAGBRAI's second experience on a college campus, Cornell College in Mount Vernon. (RAGBRAI had been at Luther College in Decorah the year before.) It was wonderful for the riders, the college and the town. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI VII July 29-August 4, 1979 RAGBRAI VII in 1979 started July 29 in extreme northwest Iowa at Rock Rapids on the Rock River, a branch of the Sioux River, and ended in Burlington on August 4, with stops in Spencer (where riders encountered the first major rain storm during RAGBRAI), Rockwell City, Story City, Tama-Toledo, Fairfield and Wapello. It had become a tradition to have a ' Century Day,' which was a 100-mile day between two overnight host towns. The Century Day in 1979 was between Tama-Toledo and Fairfield. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI VIII July 27-August 2, 1980 In 1980, RAGBRAI VIII returned to southwest Iowa. The ride started at Glenwood on July 27, made a repeat visit to Atlantic, then went on to Carroll, Perry, Webster City, Waverly (Wartburg College), Elkader and finished at Guttenberg on August 2. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI IX July 26-August 1, 1981 RAGBRAI IX had the distinction of having the worst weather of any year in the ride's history. The beginning campground at Missouri Valley was damp from continuous rains, and it poured off and on as the riders went up over the Loess Hills to Mapleton on Sunday. The next day between Mapleton and Lake City the temperature dropped to the upper 40s (remember, this was July!) and riders rode the hills into a strong headwind and pouring rain. Very few made it beyond Schleswig, which was the first town of the day. Farmers and townspeople pitched in to haul riders into Lake City in cattle trucks, campers, pickup trucks, etc. The campgrounds in Lake City were under water so residents came to the rescue and put the riders up in homes and garages, and even on the newly refinished gym floor at the high school. The day later was named ' Soggy Monday' and The Register marketed a patch commemorating that day. The weather then turned beautiful and stayed that way the rest of the week for the ride to Greenfield, Leon, Centerville, Keosauqua (the second smallest overnight town with just 1,000 residents) and Keokuk. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI X The 10th Ride July 25-31, 1982 The tenth ride in 1982, RAGBRAI X, was the longest ride to this point, at 523 miles. It was seven days of fantastic weather from Akron to Cherokee , Estherville, Forest City, Charles City, Independence, Tipton and Davenport. The dates were July 25-31. Since then it's been a tradition that RAGBRAI never ends in August. The ride now is always planned for the last full week in July, beginning on a Sunday and ending on a Saturday, and never creeping into August. After the 1982 ride, co-founder and co-host Donald Kaul decided he had ridden across Iowa plenty of times and quit the ride. He later also left The Register. "Iowa Boy" columnist Chuck Offenburger joined John Karras as co-host in 1983. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XI July 24-30, 1983 In the winter of 1982, Clarence Pickard was struck and killed by a car while walking across a street in Indianola, his hometown. Although he had only ridden a complete RAGBRAI the first year of the ride and on just one day the following year, he had become a legend. The 1983 event, RAGBRAI XI, was named the ' Clarence Pickard Memorial Ride' in his memory, and the commemorative patch The Register designed that year was similar to the shape of the helmet he wore. The ride started in Onawa for the second time on July 24 in 1983, and stopped along the way in Harlan, Guthrie Center, Ames, Grundy Center and Manchester before ending in Dubuque again on July 30. It was a pleasant week, bracketed by 100 degree weather and a sudden wind and rain storm in Grundy Center, which failed to dampen the riders' spirits. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XII July 22-28, 1984 Register columnist Chuck Offenburger really got into the act with RAGBRAI XII, July 22- 28, 1984. He insisted that the route include his hometown, Shenandoah, and the town went all out for him and the 7,500 riders. For a second time, RAGBRAI started in Glenwood, then rode to Shenandoah, Creston, Adel, Pella, Ottumwa and Mount Pleasant before finishing again in Burlington. Because of increasing costs and growth in the size of the ride, The Register found it necessary to charge a fee for the first time. The 1984 ride was blessed by near-perfect weather except for an early-morning rain in Pella and showers in Mount Pleasant. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XIII July 21-27, 1985 A few superstitious types wanted to change the 1985 ride to some number other than XIII, but RAGBRAI officials held out. Hawarden had been such a good starting point 10 years before that RAGBRAI went back again that year. Almost 40 communities had written, asking to be included in the RAGBRAI XIII route, so RAGBRAI officials tried to include as many of them as possible. With the gloomy farm economy, RAGBRAI provided a lift to Iowans' spirits, especially in the rural areas. The riders left Hawarden July 21 and rode to Sibley, Emmetsburg, Humboldt (which had asked Cleveland-born Karras to be its adopted native son, sort of in response to Offenburger's reception in Shenandoah the year before), Mason City, Waterloo and Monticello, ending for a second time in Clinton on July 27. The 540-mile route was the longest in RAGBRAI history. The wonderful receptions given the riders in previous years by Ames, Ottumwa, Mason City and Waterloo served to alter our belief that only the smaller communities knew how to be good hosts. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XIV July 20-26, 1986 Council Bluffs launched an intense campaign to get RAGBRAI back to their city, and officials were able to accommodate them in 1986. RAGBRAI XIV, July 20-26, started on the grounds of Lewis Central schools and the Iowa School for the Deaf, then proceeded across the state stopping at Red Oak (in recognition of State Trooper Bill Zenor and our baggage honcho, Dave England, both RAGBRAI veterans), Audubon, Perry, Eldora, Belle Plaine and Washington, ending in Muscatine. A loop through St. Anthony provided a 100-mile day. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XV July 19-25, 1987 RAGBRAI XV in 1987, July 19-25, saw the ride returning to Onawa for the third time as the starting point. The 437-mile long ride stopped overnight in Denison, Storm Lake, Fort Dodge, Forest City, Osage, West Union and ended in Guttenberg. Along the way, riders went through Worth, Howard and Mitchell counties for the first time. There was a loop through Corwith that provided a Century Day. As the riders went through Worth County, more than 200 riders volunteered to search for an 18-month-old child who had strayed into a cornfield. She was found primarily because of their efforts. The week's weather was warm and humid. Karras missed this ride with a heart attack. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XVI July 24-30, 1988 RAGBRAI officials didn't know what to expect in 1988. Iowa was in the midst of a drought as the result of temperatures near the 100-degree mark for weeks on end. Officials had also selected a route with more large communities than ever before. It was uncertain whether they could put together hospitality to match the receptions for which smaller towns had become famous. But, they did, and it was a fantastic ride. The 433-mile RAGBRAI XVI, July 24-30, started in a city park along the Missouri River in Sioux City and continued through Ida Grove, Carroll, Boone, Des Moines, Oskaloosa, Fairfield, ending in Fort Madison in Riverside Park near the newly restored fort along the Mississippi River. Ida Grove, the smallest overnight town of the week, outdid itself in hosting the riders, as did Des Moines, the largest town of the week, where riders were allowed to camp on the State Capitol lawn near downtown. A loop through Farlin provided the now-traditional Century Day. The earmark for the 1988 ride probably was a man named Malcolm Starr. During registration for the ride it was brought to the attention of RAGBRAI coordinator Don Benson that all states in the U.S. were represented except Rhode Island. Rhode Island took this as a challenge and made it their mission to find a representative to send on the ride. A drawing was held and a man named Malcolm Starr was the winner. Starr completed the ride and has not been seen on RAGBRAI since. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XVII July 22-28, 1989 RAGBRAI XVII in 1989, started July 22 in Glenwood for the third time, and 479 miles later ended in Bellevue for the first time. (The ride also ended in the rain for the first time ever.) Stops along the way included Clarinda (for the first time), Atlantic (third time), Jefferson and Story City (both for the second time), and first-time towns Cedar Falls and Dyersville. The overnight stop in Cedar Falls, with the cool comfort of the UNI-Dome and a spectacular light show at the University of Northern Iowa, was one of the highlights of the week. The Century Day loop on Day Five sent the riders through Wellsburg a second time. Because of the hills in southwest Iowa and Jackson County in the east, RAGBRAI XVII was dubbed by some to be the toughest RAGBRAI ever. But, it has also been described as one of the prettiest. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XVIII July 22-28, 1990 RAGBRAI XVIII, July 22-28, 1990, was laid out as the fourth longest at 495 miles. It began in Sioux Center in northwest Iowa for the first time. Sunday morning dawned clear and cool. It was a perfect day, with the high in the low 80s and a tailwind. The first three days from Sioux Center to Spencer and on to Algona and Hampton were among the nicest in RAGBRAI history. (It was a second time for both Spencer and Algona, the first for Hampton.) But Wednesday brought the riders a 20-plus MPH headwind, making the 86-mile day from Hampton to Oelwein one of the toughest ever. Those who rode the 16-mile Century Loop that day appreciated the short tailwind stretches. The headwind continued Thursday between Oelwein and Cedar Rapids (both first-time communities). On top of the wind, it began raining about mid-afternoon and continued most of the night, resulting in the washout of most of Cedar Rapids' wonderful plans. The wind was not as strong Friday when the riders left Cedar Rapids, and it was a pretty ride through the Lake McBride area. Iowa City welcomed the riders with open arms as they passed through on their way to Washington (RAGBRAI's second time there). Saturday dawned with more rain, which continued until about 11 a.m. The ending reception in Burlington (the third time), where the riders were given the option of riding down famous ' Snake Alley,' was again outstanding. The 1990 ride probably took the title of 'toughest' away from RAGBRAI XVII the previous year. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XIX July 21-27, 1991 In 1991, RAGBRAI XIX, began in Missouri Valley on July 21 for the third time and ended in Bellevue on July 27 for the second time. That year, riders were hosted overnight for the fourth time by Atlantic, Winterset and Knoxville (each for the first time), Grinnell for the second time and Amana and Anamosa, both first-time hosts. After the rainy ending that washed the ceremonies out in Bellevue in 1989, RAGBRAI organizers had made a concerted effort to take the ride back there in 1991. And, the weather cooperated with a beautiful day. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XX The 20th Ride July 19-25, 1992 For the fourth time in RAGBRAI history Glenwood was the setting when the 1992 ride began on July 19. The riders pedaled from Glenwood to Shenandoah for their second visit, then on to first-time overnight hosts, the tiny towns of Bedford (to this point the smallest town on RAGBRAI) and Osceola, both of which did a marvelous job of hosting the ride. After an exhausting ride in rain and headwinds when the riders left Osceola, they entered ' Emerald City,' Des Moines' nickname and theme during its second time as host of the ride. After bidding farewell to Toto, Dorothy and the Scarecrow, riders pedaled on to Oskaloosa for their second visit there, stayed in Mt. Pleasant (a town that hosts Threshers and Old Settlers Day and is used to crowds) and ended in Keokuk (for the second time) on July 25. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XXI July 25-31, 1993 In 1993, Sioux City saw the riders off (for the fourth time) on July 25 for their ride to the first-time host town of Sheldon. Then it was on to Emmetsburg, which had hosted the riders for the first time in 1985; Clarion, another second-time host; Osage, which had last seen the riders in 1987; Decorah, which had waited since 1977 to host the riders again; and Manchester, an overnight host 10 years earlier in 1983. Dubuque played ending host town for the third time and was rained out for the first time. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XXII July 24-30, 1994 The 1994 ride began in Council Bluffs for the third time on July 24 and ended in Clinton for the third time on July 30. Overnight stops were Harlan, which had hosted riders in 1976 and 1983; Carroll and Perry, which each put out the welcome mat for the riders for the third time; Marshalltown, which had not seen the riders since SAGBRAI in 1974; Marion, which hosted the riders for the first time; and Maquoketa, the beautiful eastern Iowa town which hosted the riders for the first time since 1978. Nearly everyone agrees that this RAGBRAI enjoyed some of the best weather ever "temperatures of 75-80 degrees each day with low humidity and a tailwind on most days. Riders got to enjoy 55 pass-through towns on this ride. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XXIII July 23-29, 1995 RAGBRAI XXIII took riders through several familiar stops after beginning in Onawa for the fourth time. Lake View was a pass-through town back in 1981, and with just 1,300 residents, welcomed riders as one of the smallest overnight towns ever in RAGBRAI history. Next, the riders traveled to Fort Dodge for the third time and Iowa Falls for the second time. Riders encountered their first ever 'century spur' during the leg from Iowa Falls to Tama-Toledo, which also hosted riders for the second time. The ride on to Sigourney, which hosted riders for the first time in 20 years, proved that Iowa is not flat! In fact, RAGBRAI XXIII will go down in history as producing Saggy Thursday, a day as infamous as Soggy Monday was during RAGBRAI IX. Not only did riders have to cope with a challenging terrain on the Thursday that took them from Tama-Toledo to Sigourney, they also had to withstand headwinds of up to 35 miles per hour, plus heat and humidity! After Sigourney, they had a tremendous stay in Coralville, a first-time host community which really did things up right all in one location, before ending in Muscatine, which was also the ending town in 1976 and 1986. RAGBRAI XXIII riders also were joined in their trip across Iowa by a group of about 300 cyclists making their way across the country as part of the Iowa 150 Bike Ride/ A Sesquicentennial Expedition headed up by ' Iowa Boy' Chuck Offenburger. The Iowa 150 began in Long Beach on Memorial Day and ended in Washington, D.C., on Labor Day as a prelude to Iowa's Sesquicentennial celebration. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XXIV July 21-27, 1996 One thing that set the 1996 ride apart from other years was that the hosting overnight towns were the smallest "both in physical size and population " in RAGBRAI history, with Fayette taking the title with fewer than 1,000 residents. The ride started for a second time in Sioux Center (1990) and also put in second visits to Sibley (1976), Estherville (1982) and Charles City (1982). The ride stopped for a first time in Lake Mills, Cresco and Fayette, before ending in Guttenburg for the third time (1980, 1987). The other thing that will make this ride stand out in riders' minds was the magnificent weather. With cool temperatures in the 70s and low 80s accompanied by tailwinds nearly every day, RAGBRAI XXIV was a breeze for many seasoned riders. Total mileage for the year was 437 miles, with the traditional optional 100-mile 'century loop.' But, for those looking for a real challenge, the ride offered an optional 150-mile loop in conjunction with the Iowa Sesquicentennial celebration, with nearly 1,100 riders accepting the challenge and successfully completing the mileage. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XXV The 25th Ride July 20-26, 1997 It's the general feeling of the old-timers that RAGBRAI's silver anniversary provided the most difficult ride yet. The week provided a hearty stew of heat, humidity and relentless hills that challenged even the most accomplished riders. The first day's ride of 82 miles from Missouri Valley to Red Oak provided a rise of 3,403 feet while the humidity climbed to 90 percent plus. That first day took a toll on many riders, and the sag wagons ran much later than usual. The following days were progressively less hilly, though never flat. The route covered 464 miles and rose a total of 14,493 feet -- that's more than 2.7 miles. And the humidity was relentless. Overcast skies helped early in the week, but the sun shown fiercely from Thursday through the end of the ride. Though few riders had to be hospitalized, many were ill from heat exhaustion. On the up side, the towns were marvelously prepared all across the state. The route itself was gorgeous, dipping into wooded valleys and looping around Lake Rathbun on the optional 100-mile loop. The ride began in Missouri Valley with overnights in Creston, Des Moines, Chariton, Bloomfield and Fairfield. The route went through Amish country, and the Amish were out in force providing a warm welcome and great food. RAGBRAI XXV also marked the realization of a goal the founders had in mind almost from the beginning -- to take the ride into each of Iowa's 99 counties. The last of the 99 was Lucas, and its community of Chariton was a wonderful host. Though one of the toughest ever, RAGBRAI XXV will also be one of the most memorable. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XXVI The 26th Ride July 19-25, 1998 RAGBRAI XXVI began as RAGBRAI XXV had - hot, humid and hilly - and most hearts sank at the thought of a repeat of the previous year. The first day, Hawarden to Cherokee, was continuous up and down, and the forecast was for continuing heat through Thursday. Partly compensating for the discomfort was RAGBRAI's first symphony concert ever by the Cherokee Symphony Orchestra. The second day, Cherokee to Rockwell City, was less hilly but longer (83 miles) and just as hot. A lot of the cyclists jumped into Twin Lakes and just sat there for awhile before riding the last five miles to town into a headwind. The third day dawned just as hot, but lo, about 9 a.m., a front came sweeping through bringing cool relief along with it. The rest of the week's ride was a delight. Rockwell City to Boone was basically flat except for the infamous Pilot Mound hill, which - despite new pavement - is just as steep as ever. Boone to Eldora included a century koop through the beatiful hills northeast of Marshalltown, and the next day, Eldora to Cedar Falls, was only 46 miles. The big day, Cedar Falls to Monticello, ws over 90 miles, but the weather was benign, the terrain friendly and little towns along the way rocked with food and entertainment. The las day - 67 miles to the island town of Sabula - was lovely, although there was one hill after another. All in all, a good week. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XXVII The 27th Ride July 25-31, 1999 Veteran RAGBRAIers agreed at the end of the week that the 1999 ride was the most challenging, the most difficult and the most taxing ever. No previous RAGBRAI had been as intensely hot with matching humidity. The official temperatures the first five days were in the high 90s, which meant the temperature on the road in the sun was over 100 degrees. The official temperature the sixth day was 101 degrees. On that Decorah-to-Manchester day, the stuff used to patch cracks in the road between Wadena and Arlington actually turned into liquid. Tires made splashing sounds as they went through it. The Fayette County engineer said the pavement temperatures had to be between 120 and 140 degrees to create that effect. To make matters more difficult, the days were long and the last three very hilly. By Friday, many participants had dropped out, whether going home or taking rides in vehicles. The Iowa State Patrol had estimated that 13,000 riders left Rock Rapids at week's start and only 6,000 rode into Manchester. On the plus side, all of the overnight and pass-through communities were fantastically well prepared with great quantities of food and drink, a lot of entertainment and most imaginative decorations. The Des Moines Register celebrated its 150th birthday with a light show and cupcakes on July 26 in Algona. The northeast Iowa scenery, as always, was gorgeous. The weather finally broke and cooled down to a comfortable level for Saturday's finale into Bellevue. Other host communities were Spencer, Algona, Clear Lake and Waverly. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XXVIII The 28th Ride July 23-29, 2000 Brian Duffy, the Register's political cartoonist, joined the short list of RAGBRAI co-hosts, sharing the duties with John Karras, Grampa RAGBRAI. After the hottest week of weather in RAGBRAI history the year before, the week of RAGBRAI XXVIII turned out to be balmy-high temperatures in the low 80s and partly cloudy most days. There were a couple days of headwinds and one day of rain, but on the whole a very pleasant week. But it was hilly, very hilly, Rich ketcham, who graphs the hills on RAGBRAI routes, found this one to be the fourth hilliest of all. The second day, from Harlan to Greenfield was especially hilly with no help from a headwind. There was not one totally flat day on the route. There also was more gravel than usual, but not nearly as much as was found when the route was first scouted in February. And wonder of wonders, State Route 191 out of Council Bluffs, which looked dreadful in February, had been repaved by July and was wonderful. As for the challenging days, they were, indeed, difficult, but RAGBRAI veterans were able to recall many, many days that had been more difficult. And several of the most difficult hills on the original route north of Stuart were eliminated when the route had to be changed because paving of that stretch had not been completed. The week started in Council Bluffs at Harvey's Recreation Area, and overnighted in Harlan, Greenfield, Ankeny ( a first), Knoxville, Ottumwa and Washington before ending in Burlington. The route into Burlington also was changed form the original plan and eliminated the legendary Irish Hill, but added another that is shorter but steeper as the ride entered Burlington. All of the communities were extremely well prepared for the riders. There were four that RAGBRAI had never visited: Fontanelle, Santiago, Olds and Winfield. It is fair to say that a good time was had by most. A sad note to the 28th ride was the announcement by John Karras that this was his last as co-host, although he admitted it would not be the last time he would be on the ride. He says he is looking forward to being simply a participant and not "working" on the ride. To commemorate Karras' role as one of the co-creators of RAGBRAI, the RAGBRAI Century Loop will join his name with that of the town through which it travels - the John Karras Century Loop. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XXIX The 29th Ride July 22-28, 2001 Four rainy weeks in May unexpectedly made RAGBRAI XXIX the second longest and hilliest in the history of RAGBRAI. Because of the rain, many of the highway construction projects were not completed in time. The original ride had to be re-routed many times for safety reasons in the last few weeks before the ride, which added miles to an already long route. The good news is there was no gravel on the ride this year, and any myths about Iowa being flat were dispelled. The ride offered very scenic vistas, terraced rolling hills and occasional wooded valley floors. Many riders said the high mileage days would have been manageable were it not for the head winds. No matter which direction the route turned, the wind faced the riders. RAGBRAIers left Sioux City, the starting town, in a downpour, and it continued to rain off and on all day. One of the world First time visits to the communities of Atalissa, Baxter, Mingo and Ira proved well worth the trip. Although the ride was too long, too hilly and too windy, ride organizers are thankful that it also was not too hot and too humid. Return to the History Index RAGBRAI XXX The 30th Ride July 21-27,2002 Heat and humidity greeted RAGBRAI XXX participants on Saturday afternoon in Sioux Center. As they pitched their tents, the temperature rose to 102 degrees. The host town of Sioux Center put on a memorable opening ceremony. Service personnel from all branches of the military were represented. Featured was Team Escape from New York that had been directly impacted by the September 11, 2001 tragedy of the World Trade Center and composed of firefighters and police officers from New York City. The 30th RAGBRAI became a commemorative ride for our country and a time to heal. The heat and humidity continued Sunday, but riders reveled as they traveled through Sioux County passing through the towns of Orange City and Alton, onward across flat to undulating terrain into Cherokee for the night. The heat broke with an intense storm in Cherokee in the late afternoon. Monday was the second hilliest day of the ride, with nearly 1,775 feet of climb through rolling hills. At 79 miles, it was also the longest day of the ride. Emmetsburg, which takes pride in its Irish roots was the third overnight stop. Day four was flat to gently rolling with plenty of time to stop and enjoy the prairie farming communities along the way. The day included the optional John Karras Century Loop for those who wanted to get in a 100-mile day. Coming into Forest City for the night, the route passed the factory where Winnebago motor homes are manufactured. Wednesday the riders left Forest City through an avenue lined with American flags to kick off 9/11 Remembrance Day, and riders decked themselves in patriotic attire. Charles City greeted riders with an impressive arch of water from fire trucks lining the entrance and a fly over by military fighter planes. Couples renewed their vows at the famous Little Brown Church outside of Nashua Thursday morning. Rolling country roads guided riders to the flats and into Oelwein for the night. The overnight stop in Anamosa, known for its Grant Wood legacy, is where the rain started in the middle of the night and continued through Saturday morning. Local farmers with tractors had to pull buses and the RAGBRAI baggage semi-truck from the mud. Along with the rain, riders encountered the hilliest day with a dozen hills that required granny gear. Those who rode their bicycles into Bellevue, but those who rode their bikes dipped their front wheel in the Mississippi River with a huge feeling of accomplishment. Return to the History Index In Memory of 21 There have been 19 deaths in the course of 29 runnings of the Register' s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, plus another, more than two years later from injuries suffered during the ride. Remarkably, only two of the deaths was directly related to the ride itself, and more remarkably yet, the event ran 11 years before the first deaths occurred. Those first two happened in 1984 when Mark Alfred Knief, 28, of Oelwein, Iowa, suffered a heart attack and died about 4 miles west of Corning. Later that week, Jan Newell, 30, of Merced, Calif., unexplainably drowned in the Des Moines River at Ottumwa. Both were in the medical field, he an emergency medical technician and she a pediatrics nurse. The next year, Charles Wallace Kithcart, 40, of North Liberty, Iowa, was struck and killed by an out-of-control van while walking his bicycle on a sidewalk in Emmetsburg. He was a state employee at Oakdale. The following year, 1986, Ramani Ramachandran, 29, of Madras, India, a University of Iowa doctoral candidate in computer engineering, drowned in a farm pond north of Green Mountain. In 1987, John Boyle, 19, of Rockwell City, Iowa, fell under the wheels of a flatbed trailer carrying a fiberglass swimming pool about 9 miles north of Hardy and was killed. His was the first death on RAGBRAI directly connected to cycling. The next year, Allen Gene Polikowski, 45, of Denison, Iowa, died of a heart attack in his sleep. There were no deaths in 1989 and 1990, but in the latter year Thomas Short, 26, of Wheaton, Ill., broke his neck in a mud-sliding accident in Cedar Rapids. After extensive hospital treatment and rehabilitation, he lived three years as a quadriplegic before passing away in 1993. In 1991, Darrell Fox, 46, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, suffered a heart attack and died about 6 miles west of Underwood. He was an insurance agent with no history of heart problems. There were no deaths in 1992, but in 1993, Jon Dominick, 31, of Iowa City, Iowa, was found dead at his campsite the morning the ride was to begin in Sioux City. He had a history of allergies and asthma. Two others, Shirley Mae Cottrell, 50, of Dubuque, Iowa, and her mother-in-law, June Cottrell, in her 70s, were killed later that week when their van ran a stop sign at U.S. Highway 18 and was struck by a truck. The women were accompanying a group of RAGBRAI riders. The next fatality occurred in 1995 when Madeleo Blake, 81, of Letts, Iowa, died of a heart attack while he slept in a RAGBRAI campground in Tama. He was riding his 20th RAGBRAI at the time. Three riders died during RAGBRAI XXIV (1996). Dying of heart attacks were Charles W. Lackmann, 55, of Mason City, Iowa, and Normann Dietrich, 60, of Ames, Iowa, an associate professor of landscape architecture. The third death, that of Kurt Schuchart, 25, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, was caused by complications of a rare malady called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, relating to blood vessels bursting easily. In 1997, LeRoy Curry, 61, an engineer from Windsor Locks, Connecticut, collapsed of a heart attack in northeast Union County. Mr. Curry was in excellent shape, and though his death was difficult for his family, they knew he was doing something he really loved. There were no deaths in 1998, but in 1999 an unfortunate accident took the life of Robert Thompson, 70, of Urbandale, Iowa. He had taken a ride on a golf cart in the campground in Spencer, fell when the cart took a sharp turn, and hit his head, resulting in a fatal injury. He had been on RAGBRAI before, and on this ride was participating as a support driver for his two sons, Dennis and Jerry. The second death related to the ride occurred in 2000 the day before the ride began. Carl Cutchins of Amherst, Mass., hit a concrete barrier and fell into the path of traffic while cycling on an overpass of Interstate Highway 80 in Council Bluffs. He was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Hospital in Omaha. Cutchins, a counselor, had planned to ride RAGBRAI XXVIII with his son, Doug, an administrator at Grinnell College. A heart attack claimed the life of another RAGBRAI rider in 2001. Richard Arndt, 74, of Storm Lake, Iowa, was riding with his son and daughter-in-law a few miles outside of Storm Lake, the first overnight town, when he fell from his bike. He was taken by ambulance to Buena Vista Regional Medical Center where he died. His son, Tom, said that his father was doing exactly what he wanted to be doing. Mr. Arndt was a retired meat inspector with the USDA. Heart attacks were also the cause of death for two riders in 2002 on RAGBRAI XXX. Lawrence Grable, 53, of Jenks, Oklahoma collapsed on Monday near Cherokee. Roger Horn, 62, of Clear Lake, Iowa, who was staying in the home of a host family in Rudd, died in his sleep on Wednesday night. Grable, an account rep for Cain's Coffee, was aware of a heart condition prior to joining the ride, and Horn, a former dentist, reported not feeling well before going to bed. Return to the History Index