To century loop or not? Riders contemplate 100 miles on Day 6 of RAGBRAI 2024

FAIRFIELD — As fatigued RAGBRAI riders inched closer to the finish, they were confronted with a key question on Friday: To century loop or not to century loop?

The John Karras Century Loop , dedicated to the late RAGBRAI co-founder, is an optional addition to the route that allows riders to hit 100 miles for the day. People who achieve the feat are rewarded with a patch.

This year's century loop comes on Day 6 of the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa and tacks on 16 miles to an already nearly 85-mile day from Ottumwa to Mount Pleasant, the longest ride of the week.

Patty Washnok of Brandon, South Dakota, said no to the century loop this year.

"Even though I have an e-bike, I'm not (that) crazy," Washnok, 61, laughed. "It is a lot of extra work."

"Yeah, we're not," her husband Grant Washnok, 58, chimed in, adding he had done a century loop in the past. The two were taking a break at a Casey's in Eldon.

"And I have no desire to do it," Patty Washnok added. "I'm just lucky to get done."

Still, she said the weather this year has been more manageable than the previous year when temperatures reached record highs for RAGBRAI.

"There's air moving around ... Last year, it was just stagnant," she said.

Mark and Carol Laughery of Yale are on their seventh RAGBRAI and planned to face the loop head on. They, too, were taking a quick rest in Libertyville.

Every day of the ride is about preparation, Mark Laughery said.

"Whether it's 80 miles or whatever, extreme hills. Like today, knowing we're going to do this extra loop, we're not pushing as hard, like trying to fly up the hills," he said.

"Just having that badge, it's a little bit of (a) bragging right," Carol Laughery said.

More: Man 'ruffing' RAGBRAI by carrying canine friend on back on hilliest-ever route

And overall, the pair have been enthused about this week's challenges on the hilliest RAGBRAI ever.

"It has been a beautiful week," Carol Laughery said. "Loved the hills."

Charles Anderson of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Stanley Burnett of Washington, D.C., declined to do the extra challenge.

"Resounding no," Anderson said of the loop, though he said he'd completed the challenge before. "The century loop, as much as I respect the tradition, I just can't get over that mental hump that it's like 'Oh, I could've been done 20 miles ago.'"

Burnett, who is originally from Winchester, Tennessee, quipped: "And for me it's, so being from Tennessee, my hometown is far from Nashville and if I was to bike 100 miles it would be passing Nashville from my house."

Burnett, whom Anderson was convinced to ride RAGBRAI for the first time this year, said despite the challenging ride, he's enjoyed the camaraderie.

"I am really proud of myself," he said.

It's been 21 years since Meghan Arthur of Guilford, Vermont, participated in RAGBRAI. She didn't do the century loop last time, but said she planned to complete it this year.

"Today the conditions are great. My legs feel good. It's not too hilly, so," Arthur, 43, said as she walked her bike through pass-through town Libertyville.

She said she put in 1,066 miles of riding time to train for this week.

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com . Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2 .

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: To century loop or not? Riders contemplate 100 miles on Day 6 of RAGBRAI 2024