DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa's biggest biking event has unveiled its 2024 route and overnight towns.
RAGBRAI LI's route starts in Glenwood on Saturday, July 20, and ends in Burlington on Saturday, July 27, 2024.
Between those cities, riders will pass through dozens of communities as they trek the 424-mile distance across the southern half of the state.
They'll stay overnight in seven cities along the way.
- Red Oak
- Atlantic
- Winterset
- Knoxville
- Ottumwa
- Mt. Pleasant
- Burlington
"This will be our eighth shortest route but hilliest ever RAGBRAI, 434 miles and 18,741 feet of climb," RAGBRAI shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The route will bring cyclists through rural Iowa and its communities, offering opportunities for participants and residents to mingle, entertain each other and share some "Iowa Nice" pleasantries.
“For us here in Iowa, it’s part of a person of who we are. Very welcoming, very inclusive, you know, going to a small town," said Luke Hoffman, the Iowa Bicycle Coalition executive director.
“There’s not a bad spot in Iowa to go. It’s all great spots to go. We just gotta get ‘em there. So some spots are easier to ride, some spots are harder. If you train, you’ll be fine," RAGBRAI director Matt Phippen told Local 5.
Last year, the ride's 50th anniversary took 30,000 registered riders from Sioux City to Davenport, a roughly 500-mile ride through the center of Iowa.
“We’re expecting numbers we can handle, and not be stressed to the max. You know last year challenged our teams and you know our state a lot. It was hard. It was hot," Phippen said. "There was longer days. We had riders that weren’t truly prepared to ride in that type of conditions."
Registration for the race will keep rolling through May 15, though it'll cost more than standard ($250) or early ($225) registration. For more information about registration deadlines for RAGBRAI LI, click here.