(Radio Iowa) — RAGBRAI 2020 is being called off due to COVID-19. Organizers say it’s being postponed to 2021. The seven-day bike ride across Iowa usually draws 10K participants in late July. Event organizers said on the official RAGBRAI website, “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 (48) to July 25-31, 2021.”

Because RAGBRAI takes months of planning and preparation, officials said “Based on the extreme disruption COVID-19 has had and will have on the planning, we didn’t feel it was responsible to move forward and put the safety of our riders, crew, communities, or residents of Iowa at risk.” The RAGBRAI XLVIII route will remain the same for 2021. The towns along the route have already put a substantial amount of work and resource into planning and will have the opportunity to showcase their communities in 2021.

The full route with meeting and pass-through towns will be announced at a later date.

REGISTRATION REFUND OPTIONS:

All riders who have registered and paid for 2020, will have three options.

1. Transfer their 2020 registration to the 2021 ride. Any rider who chooses this option is not subject to the lottery and will receive their wristband and bike band in 2021. In addition, they will receive a $15 merchandise voucher good through Dec. 31, 2020.
2. Request a full refund of their 2020 registration.
3. Donate their registration to Iowa Bicycle Coalition. The non-profit works 365-days a year to advocate, educate, and enhance bicycle laws and safety in the state. Their work goes a long way in making Iowa safe and fun for cyclists.

All riders will be required to fill out a request form by June 01, 2020, to be eligible for a full refund. Riders who do not fill out a form by June 01, 2020, will automatically be transferred to the 2021 ride. To view a detailed FAQ or to fill our your REQUEST FORM, please visit RAGBRAI.com/registration.