Saturday, January 26, 2013
Find out what the overnight towns are for the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, or RAGBRAI XLI.
Updated: RAGBRAI 2013 will travel through central and southern parts of Iowa and Iowa's largest city. It's also the second shortest ride in the 41 year history of the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. "Last year was such a difficult ride," RAGBRAI director T.J. Juskiewicz said during the RAGBRAI overnight town announcement party on Saturday in Des Moines. "On paper, it shouldn't have been, but with the heat and the headwind, it was pretty tough. We thought, let's put together a fun route with great towns, make it a little shorter and make it fun each day." On paper, it looks like it will be. The ride kicks of in Council Bluffs and then on to Harlan, Perry, Des Moines, Knoxville, Oskaloosa and Fairfield before wrapping up in…
Friday, August 10, 2012
RAGBRAI may be over, but for many of us it takes a few weeks to recover. Now's a good time to look back on another great year.
RAGBRAI is over until next year, but the memories will linger on. Check out some of coverage from the week that was: Who better to provide coverage of RAGBRAI than the riders of RAGBRAI? Attached to this article are photos from throughout the week submitted by riders. If you have any photos from the week, add them to the gallery by emailing them to riders@patch.com or clicking the 'Upload Photos and Videos' button. For more of our RAGBRAI 2012 coverage follow these links: Did you run into any of us Patchfolk out on the road? Leave a hello in comments. See you again next year.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Also, a Johnston school board member charges state campaign laws were violated and Waukee authorities ask residents to conserve water as Drought 2012 drags on.
Why nine? Because the Patch community includes nine sites in Iowa: Ankeny, Ames, Cedar Falls, Iowa City, Johnston, Marion, Urbandale, Waukee and West Des Moines. 9. After spending a year of military service in Afghanistan, Luke Jensen of Ames was treated for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The symptoms were so debilitating that after a night of drinking he swallowed all the medication he had. Now he's shared his story at a seminar for Iowa veterans and their families affected by PTSD. 8. Summer basketball kept Hawkeye fans entertained in Iowa City recently. Anthony Clemmons scored 30 points on a big second half, propelling his team to a 113-102 victory in the Primetime League Championship last week. 7. Urbandale authorities take door-to-…
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Weird anti-Hawkeyes complaint, weird exposure, weird weeklong trek add up to Weird Iowa.
So, what are the odds a Cyclone fan was behind the complaint that nearly cost an Iowa Hawkeyes fan her license plate? After 23 years, a Johnston woman's personalized Iowa Hawkeye license plate was going to be revoked by the Iowa Department of Transportation, which told Julie Boyles to turn in her 'GIVMHEL' license plates or lose her title and license. The letter was prompted by another driver who filed a complaint against the plates. But, when Boyles talked to the "The Murph and Andy Show" on KXNO radio, Hawkeye fans were outraged. When it was mentioned on WHO-TV's "SoundOFF' show, DOT director Mark Lowe heard the story and said Boyles can keep her plates. There was a full moon last week, but only in Johnston. A Johnston man called …
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Some riders seek respite in a church; for others, it's cooling ice; and one West Des Moines businessman is questioning why he didn't bring a wading pool to the bike ride across Iowa.
The pictures say it all. When Charlie Hines of Marion stopped by the Patch.com RV, which is rolling across Iowa with RAGBRAI this week, he couldn’t cool his body. Hines said he had been training, riding 50-plus miles a day since Memorial Day, and he’d already endured some of the worst in hot, steamy weather that Iowa has dished out in decades. The National Wather Service calls the heat "dangerous," and issued an excessive heat warning along the RAGBRAI route and most of central Iowa through Wednesday. Hines was ready. Or so he thought. All that rigorous training hadn’t prepared him for the searing heat that burned all the way to his core on the 54-mile ride from Sioux Center, where RAGBRAI began Sunday, to Cherokee. The air was heavy with …
Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald warns of RAGBRAI riders entering the county Wednesday.
Hundreds of RAGBRAI riders will pass through Story County while heading from Webster City to Marshalltown on Wednesday. They will enter Story County north of Story City on County Road R61 or 555th Avenue and will ride south to County Road E18 or 130th Street and head east. The sheriff's office recommends avoiding R61 and E18 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday. SEE MORE ON PATCH
Saturday, July 21, 2012
FIind your neighbors on Patch as we take our neighborhoods on tour.
If you're riding on RAGBRAI – and Patchy people are – contribute your photos to our online photo gallery on Patch.com Iowa websites. How? ● Option 1: Email photos from your smartphone to riders@patch.com. ● Option 2: Stop by the Patch RV to upload the pictures from your camera or phone at our upload station (you can also grab a cold drink, grab a snack, charge your electronics and say ‘hi’ to the Patch team). Post as many pictures as you want. Need help or just want to meet us? Look for the Patch RV wrapped in green. During the day, it will be parked in the designated meeting town from about 10:30 to 1:30p. At night, we are connecting different bike clubs at their campground and we are staffing a booth at the RAGBRAI Expo in Sioux Center …
A transplant to Iowa wonders what to expect over the next week.
RAGBRAI has me a bit wringed out, and the first revolution of the sprockets hasn't even begun. For a few months now, I've been involved in planning the Patch Presence at the ride, working with our readers, vendors and others to prepare for the feeding, watering and charging (electronics) of riders along the route. What has hindered my participation is this: I moved to Iowa from Ohio a year ago and have never been on RAGBRAI. Want to see your RAGBRAI 2012 photos on Patch.com? Email them to riders@patch.com. Contrary to what I tell people, Iowa is not Ohio mispelled, not the same place, different location. Iowa has RAGBRAI. And although I think I know what I'm in for, everybody I talk to tells me I'll never really know until I'm there. The …
Friday, July 20, 2012
Patch will be along for the 40th anniversary of RAGBRAI. The ride across Iowa starts in Sioux Center and hits Cherokee, Lake View, Webster City, Marshalltown, Cedar Rapids, Anamosa and ends in Clinton.
It's two days from the start of RAGBRAI, and the same thoughts trickle through my head now as every other year: What did I get myself into? If you are unfamiliar, the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, dubbed RAGBRAI, is a seven-day group bike ride with 10,000-plus people a day biking from one side of the state to the other. Sunday will kick off the 40th anniversary of the ride. I should have trained more and people who probably shouldn't be allowed on a bike will be passing me by. But, it's not the riding that concerns me. I enjoy spending the week on the bike. Plus, I stop a lot. No. The issue is I am a glutton for punishment. Unlike most other participants who will use vacation, I write my way across the state. Want to …
Saturday, July 7, 2012
The RAGBRAI route map has been released.
B.A. Morelli
2:28 pm on Sunday, February 17, 2013
Steve. Thousands of Iowans and I would love to offer tips if you need any. You and your friend will have a blast. more ›