RAGBRAI. It stands for the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.
It’s not a gnar-fest; there’s no high speeds or deep sends. What it is is a party on wheels; a great rolling celebration and an ode to modern day bicycling content creation.
The great ride across Iowa was founded in 1973 by John Karras, a writer and copy editor for the Des Moines Register, and Don Kaul, author of the Des Moines Register’s “Over the Coffee,” column.
The motivation for the pair’s original journey was to convince their employer to let them ride across Iowa and write stories about the experience. Create a rad experience and tell stories about it? Nearly fifty years later this remains the holy grail of bicycle content.
My name is Tanner.
I’m the Content Coordinator for Pivot Cycles, and a native Iowan. The siren song of John and Don’s original “Great Ride” has been calling me, and for the 49th running of RAGBRAI I convinced my employer to let me ride across Iowa and write stories about the experience.
Traditionally known as a road ride,
in 2021 optional Gravel terrain was introduced to the ride; there are 70,000 miles of gravel roads in Iowa. That’s right. Seventy-thousand. The true heart and soul of gravel riding calls the Midwest home, and is the ideal place for me to punish myself (up to now not a dropbar guy) on our award-winning Vault.
462 miles and 12,945 feet of climbing over seven days. I’m on day 4. This is my life….me and 14,999 other riders.
History of RAGBRAI
As mentioned before, RAGBRAI stands for the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, but that wasn’t always what it was called. Starting on August 26, 1973 “The Great Six-Day Bicycle Ride,” began. Nearly 300 riders joined John Karras and Don Kaul on their original journey, and since then, over 300,000 riders have completed the river-to-river journey.
The route for RAGBRAI changes year to year, alternating between the northern, central and southern parts of the state. The great ride has passed through every one of Iowa’s 99 counties and has made its way through 80% of its 947 incorporated towns.
The Ride
The enduring sentiment among RAGBRAI veterans is “it’s NOT a race, it’s a ride.” Because of this, it attracts a myriad of everyday cyclists, and an equal array of different bicycles you wouldn’t see in a normal race format; everything from tandems to unicycles make their way from one side of the state to the other.
Anyone participating in RAGBRAI has the option of doing any number of single day rides or the entire seven days. The route meanders through a host of overnight cities with meeting towns sprinkled in halfway through each day. Riders make a point to stop at each of these towns to take in the finest Iowa pork chops, pie and craft beer every evening.
The Gravel Day
Starting last year, a gravel day was introduced, and that tradition is here to stay. Another gravel day has been incorporated into the ride this year, taking place on day 2 and goes from Emmetsburg to Pocahontas, a 48-mile journey that incorporates 815 feet of climbing on multiple types of gravel roads. For completing the gravel day, a rider receives a commemorative gravel patch.
RAGBRAI is not a traditional off-road event. It’s not competitive. It’s not “core” in any way, except to the heritage of my home state. I’m excited, and already a few days deep in experiences that for many years had only been a personal aspiration. In fact, “personal aspiration” is the true, operative connection to Pivot Cycles. In coordinating content for the brand, I have a post-it note by my desk that says “What do you want to do on your bike?” It’s a reminder to look for those unique personal stories among Pivot athletes and riders. The remaining days of the ride are sure to hold much more excitement and reflection as I turn that lens on my own aspiration.
