RAGBRAI’s ‘century loop’ planned between Brighton and Wayland

MT. PLEASANT — With the release of the full RAGBRAI LI route Thursday, April 4, Mt. Pleasant received additional information about the sixth overnight stop in town.

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“As of last week, RAGBRAI was bringing in 12,000 registered riders plus support staff and then the Renegade riders,” Henry County Sheriff Rich McNamee stated at a Board of Supervisors meeting Thursday morning.

McNamee defined these Renegade riders as individuals that don’t register, but still ride along. He informed the board he would give additional information to the public at the upcoming town hall set for Monday, April 8.

RAGBRAI stated in a news release with the full route that it anticipates 20,000-plus registered riders by the time they take off from Glenwood on Sunday, July 21.

According to McNamee, riders will come into the county at Coppock, then go through Wayland and Trenton before making their way into Mt. Pleasant past the Mt. Pleasant Golf and Country Club on Friday, April 26.

The day six route ending in Mt. Pleasant will specifically take riders from Ottumwa through Agency, Eldon, Selma and Libertyville before hitting Fairfield, which will act as the day’s meeting town. RAGBRAI states that designated meeting towns provide a place for support staff and rides to meet and “enjoy the hospitality of the local residents.”

From Fairfield, riders will pass through Pleasant Plain then Brighton before hitting Henry County and setting up camp in Mt. Pleasant for the night.

According to McNamee, after enjoying an overnight stay in Mt. Pleasant, riders will then leave Mt. Pleasant the following morning via Winfield Avenue/220th Street to Racine Avenue as they make their way to Mediapolis, Kingston and finally Burlington. This day seven ride will consist of 46.5 miles from Mt. Pleasant to Burlington where cyclists will dip their tires in the Mississippi River to conclude the weeklong ride.

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The day six route is the longest ride day of RAGBRAI LI with 84.8 of the total 434 miles. The route also will feature the optional Karras Loop between Brighton and Wayland. This option will add 15.2 miles to the standard distance of the day six route.

“Each year, RAGBRAI features one day when riders have the option of riding a century (100 miles) instead of the standard distance for that day,” the RAGBRAI website explains.

Why would someone want to add miles to an already lengthy ride? According to RAGBRAI, completing a century ride is a cyclist’s version of what a marathon is to a runner.

“It is a significant distance milestone that many cyclists aspire to achieve,” RAGBRAI information explains. “It’s one of the ultimate accomplishments for a cyclist.”

According to RAGBRAI, the century loop was renamed the Karras Loop in 2001 to honor RAGBRAI Co-Founder John Karras who was commonly found on the century loop greeting riders. Riders that complete the Karras Loop will receive a patch to commemorate their accomplishment.

Whether cyclists choose to take on the additional challenge of the century loop or not, the Mt. Pleasant RAGBRAI committee hopes they make themselves at home during their stay.

While many additional details are still to come for RAGBRAI Mt. Pleasant, the group did recently announce musical acts for the overnight stay activities. Country band Blake Jack and South 35 will get the party started July 26 at 6 p.m. as they open for 80s cover band The Spazmatics, who will take the stage at 8 p.m.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com