Mt. Pleasant named overnight town for RAGBRAI

MT. PLEASANT — With an announcement Saturday evening that Mt. Pleasant will be one of the eight overnight stops for RAGBRAI LI (No. 51), many community members expressed excitement as they shared their fond memories of the oldest, largest, and longest multi-day bicycle touring event in the world.

With a reported generated economic impact of $25 million for host communities in 2022, snagging a spot as an overnight town is highly sought after across the state. According to RAGBRAI Ride Director Matt Phippen, over 200 Iowa communities express desires to become one of these coveted overnight stops, and this year, Mt. Pleasant is one of the select few.

This will be the first time since 2009 that Mt. Pleasant has hosted this event. Riders will stop in the town for an overnight stay their sixth night, Friday, July 26.

Starting in Glenwood Saturday, July 20, riders will make their way along the first southern route in the last five years of the tour. They will then head to Red Oak, Atlantic, Winterset, Knoxville, and Ottumwa before staying over in Mt. Pleasant and completing the eight-day ride in Burlington Saturday, July 27.

Over the last 51 years of RAGBRAI, Mt. Pleasant served as an overnight host town five times: 1975 which started in Hawarden and ended in Fort Madison, 1984 which started in Glenwood and ended in Burlington, 1992 which started in Glenwood and ended in Keokuk, 2003 which started in Glenwood and ended in Fort Madison, and 2009 which started in Council Bluffs and ended in Burlington.

Haleigh Cowan shared some of her memories of the race coming through Mt. Pleasant in 2009.

“I was young, 15 or 16,” she said. “I worked at subway at the time, and we had special hours to where we stayed open all night to serve the riders and we stayed so busy all evening! The square was full of energy and life and the riders were all so respectful! I’m looking forward to the town having the riders come through, it’s such a great opportunity for small businesses and for locals to welcome the riders to our town and host people if they wish!”

Mt. Pleasant resident Russell Allen compared the energy to the Old Threshers Midwest Reunion which draws large crowds to the small town of Mt. Pleasant every summer. According to Allen, RAGBRAI had its own aura as the town filled with music tents, beer gardens, and an overall fun energy when he experienced it in 2009, also.

“We got to talk to people from around the world and they asked us questions and we asked back like a cultural exchange,” he said. “It was an awesome experience!”

Current Mt. Pleasant resident Ryan Mordick remembers his family hosting riders in 2005 as they made their way through Sheldon.

“I remember being in school and feeling the excitement in the air,” he recalled. “Kids were talking about the riders arriving in town, who they knew that were hosting riders, and talking about riding their own bikes around town that night to see all the different RAGBRAI participants.”

Modrick described the evening the riders, buses, and vehicles of RAGBRAI made their way into his childhood town as “a sight to behold!”

“I remember anxiously waiting, even as a child, for our guests to arrive,” he said. “We had a bonfire, listened to the riders share stories, and everywhere you looked that evening, RAGBRAI could be seen. Every block in town had at least one family hosting camping riders in their yard. It truly brought a sense of unity and servant leadership to the community. Strangers bonding with other strangers, sharing meals, opening homes, swapping stories, having bonfires, and really soaking in the good times!”

While Modrick was only in middle school when his family hosted riders, he says he would encourage others to consider hosting as RAGBRAI makes its way through Mt. Pleasant this July.

“I would definitely encourage hosting,” he said. “Although I was quite a bit younger when my family did so, the memories have lived on in my mind since. I'm looking forward to Mt. Pleasant being a stop because I know this community has a heart for serving other people and making folks feel welcome!”

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com