Waukon and Lansing to be final stops for RAGBRAI 2017 …
Members of the RAGBRAI Reveal Team hold the signs that officially mark the announcement made Saturday evening, January 21 by RAGBRAI officials that the annual seven-day bike ride across the state of Iowa will be making its way through Allamakee County, with Lansing as its final destination for the event's famous "dipping of the tire" in the Mississippi River to bring the ride to a close. Furthermore, Allamakee County will be receiving a double dose of RAGBRAI excitement, as Waukon was also named as a final overnight stop for this year's event. Those announcements were made at the RAGBRAI Announcement Party held January 21 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.
Craig White, Director of Main Street Lansing and the initiator of the application process for Allamakee County to be included as a RAGBRAI destination this year, commented on Saturday's RAGBRAI announcement and emphasized the point that this selection is a celebration for all of Allamakee County. "This is a countywide celebration that will impact every single community in the county," White said. "This is something the entire county can be a part of, and it will take contributions from all across the county to make this RAGBRAI visit a wonderful experience for all involved. It's been 40 years since RAGBRAI has been to Allamakee County, and this is a fantastic opportunity for us to highlight our county and show everyone what we have to offer here."
RAGBRAI, which stands for the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, is a non-competitive bicycle ride first organized by The Des Moines Register in 1973. This year's 45th annual edition of the ride will take place July 23-29, beginning in Orange City and ultimately making its way across the northern portion of the state of Iowa before reaching Cresco for an overnight stop Thursday, July 27 and its final overnight stop in Waukon Friday, July 28 before officially ending in Lansing Saturday, July 29. Lansing had previously been a final destination of RAGBRAI 40 years ago, in 1977, but this is Waukon's first-ever designation as an overnight stop. The actual road route that this year's RAGBRAI event will travel is expected to be finalized and released sometime in March of this year.
Local officials and volunteers will now be spending the next six months laying out the welcome mat for an anticipated 10,000-plus registered riders, with that number knowing to have doubled in the past with others joining the event at points along the way. Local organizational and volunteer opportunities will abound as details are worked out. Additional details will be published in The Standard and at www.waukonstandard.com as they become available, and local RAGBRAI information will also be posted consistently to a newly-created website, www.allamakeeragbrai.com.
White says volunteer specifics will be ironed out over time now that the beginning, overnight and ending destinations for this year have been announced, but that volunteer names and contact information are being taken now. Anyone wishing to offer their volunteer efforts to the Allamakee County RAGBRAI event is asked to contact Craig White at 563-538-9229 or by email at director@lansingmatters.com, Allamakee County Economic Development Director Val Reinke at 563-568-2624 or by email at aced@mchsi.com, or Waukon Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Stephanie Dugan at 563-568-4110 or by email at waukoncc@mchsi.com. Submitted photo.
