Cover of video documenting the 25th annual RAGBRAI (1997) |
RAGBRAI
The seed for the Register Annual Great Bike Ride
Across Iowa (RAGBRAI), sponsored by The Des Moines
Register, began as an inspiration of touring cyclists John
Karras and his childhood friend Donald Kaul who wanted to recapture
the spirit of adventure by riding their 10-speed bikes across the
state. Their one-day ride from Des Moines to Iowa City in 1971 -- a
distance 125 miles -- convinced them such a ride might be
possible.
Sponsored by the Iowa Register and
accompanied by 250 riders, in August 1973 they began in Des Moines
and finished in Davenport with 115 riders six days later. The star
of that first ride was Clarence Pickard of Indianola, a retired
farmer, county agent, assistant Dean of Iowa State College, and
Peace Corps recruit, who happened to be 83 years old! His success
encouraged hordes of other riders, so that over 2,000 signed up to
ride the next year. The number of cyclists has grown ever since --
from 2,000 in 1974 to around 6,000 in 1978, topping out at 10,000 a
year after 1985.
Karras notes: "On the whole, the ride continues to go
well, thanks to the organizing skills of Jim Green [RAGBRAI
Coordinator], the cooperation of every level of government
(especially the Iowa State Patrol), the incredibly generous
hospitality of Iowans and the state's splendid secondary road
system that allows us to put upward of 10,000 bikes on the road
from one border to the other every year in the last full week of
July."
An Iowa Public Television video of the 25th RAGBRAI
(1997), from Missouri Valley to Fort Madison, documents the
project.
Originally submitted by: Tom Harkin, Senator.
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