Seniors Participate in RAGBRAI - A Bike Ride Across Iowa
Posted by Donna Mae Scheib on July 31, 2017
Seniors Participate in RAGBRAI- A Bike Ride Across Iowa
After celebrating our country’s independence in early July, Iowans begin to prepare for the longest and oldest recreational bike riding tradition in the world called the Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI). The end of July in Iowa is not what you would call, “comfortable” weather. The corn stalks are high and it’s normally hot and sticky. However, riding a bike fifty or sixty miles a day up and down the gentle rolling farmland hills can provide a nice breeze. 2017 marks the 45th year from the humble beginnings of the bike-riding event that started in the early 1970s. Since the establishment of this recreational race, many other states and rides have followed in Iowa’s lead. On average, there are typically around 20,000 riders registered for the ride.
The race runs from west to east as participants begin near the Missouri River and traditionally dip their wheels into the Mississippi River at the completion of the seven-day event. Each year, the race committee selects various host towns in which bicyclists are welcomed into the community with food, festivities, and housing or yard space to put up their tents for the evening. As the race rotates its route every year, it provides a great opportunity for smaller towns to generate income, and also to welcome guests from all over the United States, as 70% of riders are from outside of the state of Iowa. There’s nothing quite like experiencing a small town in the heart of the Midwest for a nostalgic summer night. It’s a weeklong party across the state of Iowa and everyone is invited!
Each hosting community that participates in RAGBRAI for a given year must prepare many months in advance to accommodate for such large crowds that often quadruple their town overnight! Schools, businesses, church groups, local restaurants, senior centers, and many other organizations volunteer their time to bake treats, set up booths, and get ready for the big night as bicyclists head into town for the evening to rest from the all of the riding.
What is so great about RAGBRAI is that the relaxed environment gives the chance for people of all ages to participate, even seniors! A great organization called Adaptive Sports Iowa offers multiple active experiences throughout the year for those with physical disabilities or visual impairments from basketball to skiing. They have put together a team for RAGBRAI since 2011 and have been able to help older seniors participate in RAGBRAI through various hosting towns and team up with All Ability Cycles to use wheelchair accessible, customized platform bikes from a few European companies.
Another non-profit organization that had a team together for the 2017 ride is Apparent Plan, who helps to serve aging individuals and their caregivers. A team of riders rode together to help advocate for seniors and for the support of caregivers. Many “younger” seniors are able to ride for the whole ride or for a day or too as well!
RAGBRAI 2017 took place July 23-29 this year and the route hit many of the northern towns of Iowa.
Image courtesy of the 185th Air Refueling Wing.