Locals react to RAGBRAI cancellation

It's an event many bike riders look forward to every year, especially in Iowa, but it won't happen in 2020. The ever popular 'RAGBRAI” bike ride will no longer be taking place this summer.

The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, which began in 1973, will be taking a year hiatus due to the COVID-19 outbreak, just the latest in a line of cancellations this spring.

RAGBRAI officials made the announcement last week that the 2020 ride, scheduled for the week of July 19-July 25, would be axed, and that the already planned out 2020 ride would be bumped back to one year.

'A few weeks ago, around the end of March, my bike team was having a monthly meeting and someone brought up the idea of RAGBRAI (potentially) being canceled,” said Tabbi Schimmelpfennig from Mt. Pleasant. 'I guess I was so wrapped up in the idea of school not being in session that I hadn't thought ahead to summer plans. The moment my team member mentioned it, I knew it would be unlikely we would have RAGBRAI.”

The ride was scheduled to begin in Northwest Iowa, going through Le Mars, Storm Lake, Ft. Dodge, Iowa Falls, Waterloo, Anamosa, Maquoketa and Clinton. RAGBRAI went through southern Iowa in 2019, hitting Fairfield along the way.

Kelly Burgmeier of Mt. Pleasant has been riding since 2011. She credits Thorne for getting her started and says she looks forward to RAGBRAI every year.

'I look forward to it for many reasons,” Burgmeier says. 'First of all, it's like training for a marathon. It's the carrot at the end of the race. It's what keeps me riding my bike all winter long, and getting out when it's hot, or when it's cold for that matter. It's choosing the route with the biggest hills so I can go once again ride every mile of RAGBRAI, because as Dorothy says, if you do this, you'll be ready for RAGBRAI.”

Although riders were disappointed with the announcement, most say the risk would have been too great to hold the ride in 2020.

'I hoped things would calm down, but when you think about all those people traveling together through all those small towns, there was no way to keep everyone safe,” said Dorothy Thorne of Mt. Pleasant. 'Without immunization, festivals of this size could potentially activate a new breakout.”

Jenny Morgan of Washington says she began worrying about the annual ride being canceled when her husband mentioned the possibility in March. This would have been her ninth RAGBRAI.

'I believe most people are going to think about germs and personal space a little bit more now and use caution,” Morgan says. 'I was always the girl with the antibacterial wipes in my bike pouch. We can't live scared forever, but until they have a vaccine or cure, I think it's best to play it safe. Many more summers will come, and more RAGBRAI's will be ridden.”

The COVID-19 fallout has taken no prisoners when it comes to canceling or postponing sporting events and public gatherings in general. Sam Garchik of Fairfield says he hopes other bike rides will figure out a way to manage, and that he's glad he can at least still take solo rides.

'We are lucky that the kind of restrictions that are in place in Italy or Spain, where cyclists are being ticketed for riding outside even by themselves, aren't in place here in Iowa,” Garchik says. 'I've never had a problem riding alone, and I've found that drivers in this state generally share the road with cyclists. Iowa remains a great place to ride, and should always be in the future.”

It's been a roller coaster of a year for the RAGBRAI organization. The Des Moines Register took quite a bit of heat back in September of 2019 due to their handling of the Carson King-Busch Light saga, and that led to many of the RAGBRAI organizers leaving to start their new yearly ride, deemed 'Iowa's Ride,” which still is on for now.

'Iowa's Ride” is set to run from Dubuque to Rock Rapids, going east-to-west instead of RAGBRAI's traditional west-to-east routes. Iowa's Ride released a statement on April 20, that casts doubt on the ride scheduled for July 12-18. The 2020 ride is set to be the first in 'Iowa's Ride” history.

'Our priority is to keep everyone safe. A bike ride is never that important,” says the update. 'We also know that the start of Iowa's Ride still is close to three months away, so it still is (too) early to decide at this point.”

Area riders aren't sure if they'll take part in 'Iowa's Ride” if it weathers the COVID-19 storm. Burgmeier says she's doubtful that the ride could maintain social distancing measures, but says she'll follow her every-year crew if they choose to partake.

'I'll do whatever Dorothy tells us,” Burgmeier says. 'She hasn't let us astray yet.”

Schimmelpfennig says she was planning on participating in both Iowa's Ride and RAGBRAI, which were to be held on two separate weeks.

'It sounded like a great challenge, and I was excited to attempt it,” Schimmelpfennig says. 'I'm contemplating what I will do if Iowa's Ride takes place. A lot of people are uncertain what will be available if they are comfortable participating.”

Along with 'Iowa's Ride,” there are a handful of other bike rides in the state still planned for the near future, but it certainly won't be a typical summer for bike riders in the state of Iowa, who join a growing list of athletes who have been sidelined by the outbreak. And although the ride is scheduled to pick up in 2021, riders must face a disappointing result after a winter of preparation.

'It's actually the highlight of my summer, maybe even my entire year,” says Schimmelpfennig. 'The people I ride with are some of my best friends, and I have met so many incredible people through cycling and from attending RAGBRAI.”