RAGBRAI Rolling through Southern Iowa this Year? Announcement is set for Saturday

Upcoming RAGBRAI route announcement Saturday

Organizers for RAGBRAI have chosen the overnight host communities for the 2011 ride and are set to make the announcement Saturday night at 8:30 pm. The ride – which tends to alternate between northerly and southerly routes, is expected to roll through southern Iowa this year July 24-30th. That would seem to favor the communities like Knoxville which hasn’t been an overnight host community in 11 years – and Pella which was last an overnight hoster in 1984.

What’s not known is whether or not host communities are opening their doors to RAGBRAI. According to TJ Juskiewicz, RAGBRAI director, each June the organization sends out 200 letters to possible host communities asking them if they are interested in a RAGBRAI stop. We do know that Albia – which has never hosted RAGBRAI – chose not to return the questionnaire.

Here’s a list of local communities and their history on the RAGBRAI route:

TOWN HOSTS LAST HOST

OSKALOOSA 3 2003

KNOXVILLE 2 2000

CENTERVILLE 1 1981

GRINNELL 3 2001

SIGOURNEY 2 1995

OTTUMWA 3 2009

PELLA 1 1984

CHARITON 2 2009

BLOOMFIELD 2 2003

The Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa began with 130 riders in 1973 and now limits the number of riders to 10,000 each year, however it is estimated that far more participate when riders, support crews, vendors are added, the total can balloon to 20,000 or more. Oskynews.org will have the complete route and more information Saturday night when it is announced – or you can catch their twitter feed or receive texts by going to www.RAGBRAI.org.

Thanks to KIIC 96.7 Radio for their assistance with this story.