RAGBRAI postponed to 2021; Iowa's Ride canceled

Organizers for the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) announced that the 2020 running of the event would be postponed to 2021 due to concerns with the coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

The host towns and route planned for the 48th running of RAGBRAI will not change for 2021. The route included overnight stops in Iowa Falls and Waterloo; Parkersburg is considered a lunch-time stop along the route.

“After deep consideration and collaboration with the eight overnight town executive committees, government agencies, the public health department, and official business partners of RAGBRAI, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone,” states a letter on RAGBRAI’s official website.

“RAGBRAI takes months of planning and preparation. Based on the extreme disruption COVID-19 has had and will have on the planning, we didn’t feel it was responsible to move forward and put the safety of our riders, crew, communities, or residents of Iowa at risk."

Iowa’s Ride, which runs the week before RAGBRAI’s originally scheduled date, posted on Facebook that it has also decided to cancel its inaugural run.

"After evaluating the current situation," the group said on Facebook, "it will not be safe or feasible to host the inaugural Iowa's Ride."

Iowa’s Ride was established by former RAGBRAI organizers who resigned in response to a Des Moines Register profile of University of Iowa’s Children Hospital fundraiser Carson King. The event was initially scheduled for the same week as RAGBRAI but moved to a week ahead.