(Radio Iowa) – This year’s near-400 mile RAGBRAI will conclude in the Mississippi River town of Dubuque, where planning has been underway for months to accommodate the battalions of bicyclists. The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa last ended in Dubuque in 2010, and Mayor Brad Cavanagh says they learned many valuable lessons 16 years ago and they’re now in even better shape to handle the deluge of pedal-powered visitors.
Saturday’s route is a short one, just under 35 miles from Dyersville to Dubuque, and the mayor expects the first cyclists to start arriving relatively early in the morning. He’s urging residents to settle in and enjoy the rolling show.
In addition to a full force of police officers, Dubuque County sheriff’s deputies and state troopers, Cavanagh says hundreds of volunteers will be in place to help keep the cyclists happily moving along. In 2010, he says there was a massive bottleneck at the river front’s North Port area as many hundreds of cyclists lined up to dip their front tires in the Mississippi, so this time around, the long ride will conclude in a different spot for that tradition.
It can be inconvenient for the locals to have so many key roads closed all day and to see such a huge influx of traffic and visitors, but the mayor says it’s all a matter of having the right attitude.
The inaugural RAGBRAI was held in August of 1973, going from Sioux City to Davenport. While about 300 riders started the ride, only 114 cyclists completed the full route.
