'Fun Route' RAGBRAI 2013 Overnight Towns Announced

Updated:

RAGBRAI 2013 will travel through central and southern parts of Iowa and Iowa's largest city.

It's also the second shortest ride in the 41 year history of the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.

"Last year was such a difficult ride," RAGBRAI director T.J. Juskiewicz said during the RAGBRAI overnight town announcement party on Saturday in Des Moines. "On paper, it shouldn't have been, but with the heat and the headwind, it was pretty tough. We thought, let's put together a fun route with great towns, make it a little shorter and make it fun each day."

On paper, it looks like it will be.

The ride kicks of in Council Bluffs and then on to Harlan, Perry, Des Moines, Knoxville, Oskaloosa and Fairfield before wrapping up in Fort Madison in south eastern Iowa.

The route clocks in at 406.6 miles and 17,410 feet of climb. That's the second shortest route, the 15th flattest and seventh easiest in the history of RAGBRAI.

The announcement of Des Moines perhaps most delighted the crowd of more than 1,000 people who attended the announcement party at the Iowa Events Center in the state's capital. RAGBRAI hasn't stopped in Des Moines since 1997.

The ride into and out of Des Moines are 50-mile days, which are short by RAGBRAI standards, so participation on those days should be extremely high with people who just want to check it out for a day or two. 

Juskiewicz said they hope to bring RAGBRAI through the heart of downtown Des Moines. Juskiewicz said there's been so many changes in recent years to Des Moines - beautification of the skylines, architecture, new buildings, revamp of the east side and Court Avenue district - that many people have not seen.

"We'll bring people to the capital city so they can enjoy the changes that have happened," he said.

Juskiewicz said they will likely incorporate Lake Red Rock, one of Iowa's biggest lakes, when RAGBRAI passes through Knoxville. A water hole should please many RAGBRAIers.

The route offers an eclectic mix of towns from the German routes of Harlan to the artsy Fairfield.

Lee Coons, of Perry, was on hand for the announcement.

Coons is set to open a new bike shop this Friday - Raccoon River Valley Bicycle Co. in Perry. That's the day before the BRR Ride (Bike Ride to Rippey), an annual cold weather ride.

Having RAGBRAI come through town should be a nice shot in the arm to the start up.

"My heart skipped for a second," said Coons, who's ridden on 20 RAGBRAIs.

Here are the specs:

• Council Bluffs to Harlan

56.8 miles and 2,476 feet of climb.

• Harlan to Perry

83 miles and 4,239 feet of climb

• Perry to Des Moines

49.9 miles and 1,308 feet of climb

• Des Moines to Knoxville

49.9 miles and 2,920 feet of climb

• Knoxville to Oskaloosa

52 miles and 2,808 feet of climb

• Oskaloosa to Fairfield

52 miles and 1,222 feet of climb

• Fairfield to Fort Madison

63 miles and 2,427 feet of climb

Previous coverage:

Overnight towns that will anchor RAGBRAI 2013 will be announced tonight during the RAGBRAI announcement party in Des Moines.

Follow Patch's liveblog from the party to keep track as the towns are announced. It should pick up around 8 p.m.

RAGBRAI XLI is July 21-27, 2013.

The party starts at 8 p.m. central. and features live music from the Johnny Holm Band. Last year, the RAGBRAI towns weren't announced until around 9 p.m.

Join in the conversation by adding your own thoughts to the liveblog or the comment section of this article. What do you think the route will be?

Last year, RAGBRAI was a north-central route, starting in Sioux Center and ending in Clinton. Many will remember the 40th anniversary RAGBRAI ride for its blistering heat.

Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa is entering its 41st year. The non-competitive bike ride draws more than 10,000 people each day and has participants from all 50 states and around the world.

Prior to the party, bike enthusiasts gathered for the Iowa Bicycle Summit & Expo. Enjoy some of the pictures from the expo, attached to this article.

For our RAGBRAI 2012 coverage follow these links:

• RAGBRAI 2012 Rewind: Does RAGBRAI Get Old? - Photos
  
• Iowa Patch editor Brian Morelli is a veteran of biking RAGBRAI and of covering it at the same time. His Internet connection was a little bit spotty, but he still managed to get some nice posts up.
• Speaking of nice posts, local photographer Justin Torner uploaded more than 150 photos from his own RAGBRAI experience. Be sure to check it out.
• If you wanted to remember how hot you were on RAGBRAI (and why would you ever want to forget that?) our West Des Moines Patch editor Beth Dalbey captured the essence of the heat in one memorable photo to go with her story on the subject.
• Patch blogger Maria Houser Conzemius was also on RAGBRAI, and wrote of her experiences here, here, and here.