Several Le Mars bicyclists watch the RAGBRAI Announcement Party hoping for Le Mars to be selected as an overnight host community for the annual bike ride.
(Le Mars) — More than 30 people representing the Plymouth County Bicyclists Club, city and chamber officials, and other interested on-lookers gathered Saturday evening at the S N S Bar-b-que restaurant in Le Mars to watch the
announcement of the 45th annual RAGBRAI route, including the selection of the over-night host towns. RAGBRAI, sponsored by the Des Moines Register, is a bicycle ride across the state of Iowa. Its journey is the last full week of July, and it always begins in the western portion of Iowa and crossing the state
heading east, riding by thousands of acres of cornfields, hundreds of farms, and passing through many of Iowa’s small towns.
Not since 2005 has Le Mars, the “ice cream capital of the world”, hosted the cross-state bicycle ride that attracts 20,000 plus participants. Many locals had thought this may in fact be the year Le Mars would be chosen, since the ride would originate in the northern portion of the state. The gathering was eagerly
watching a large screen television set, waiting and hoping for a favorable announcement. The Des Moines Register was steaming live, via the internet, the announcement party. After several award presentations were given, RAGBRAI officials finally got down to the business at hand of announcing the overnight host communities. A collective moan of disappointment was heard at the S N S Bar-b-que, when it was announced that our neighbors to the north, Orange City, would be the starting point for this year’s bicycle ride. The Sioux County community known for its Dutch heritage, tulips, and old fashion windmills, can now add RAGBRAI to its list of tourists attractions for 2017.
This year’s XLV RAGBRAI route begins in Orange City, then travels to Spencer, Algona, Clear Lake, Charles City, Cresco, Waukon, and finishes at the Mississippi River at Lansing. The entire route is 411 miles. This marks Orange City’s first opportunity to host the annual bike ride. In the coming days and weeks, KLEM radio will visit with Orange City officials to learn their chosen theme for RAGBRAI, and what they will do to prepare for the annual bike ride across Iowa.
