RAGBRAI's river-to-river ride kicks off in Glenwood

RAGBRAI — an Iowa summer tradition — gets ready to roll this weekend. And the community of Glenwood is the starting point this time around on Sunday morning.

“It's fun. I'm excited,” said Jennifer Uphoff, a Glenwood resident. “I'm glad they're coming back here because they haven't been here since 2016. The town loved it, and it was a good experience for everybody.”

Glenwood City Administrator and Finance Director Amber Farnan said the town of about 5,000 will more than triple in size on Saturday night.

“Bring on the bikes, we’re ready and excited,” Farnan said.

With so many cyclists and spectators, Farnan said she expects the event to bring some much-welcome business.

“It's maybe a longer-lasting economic boost, just in the fact that you get the name of these local businesses out to people who wouldn't normally know about them,” Farnan said. “Day of, I think you'll definitely see some local businesses make some money. They're not going to get rich, but they will enjoy a nice weekend.”

One of the big gathering spots in Glenwood will be the town square, where Joe Edwards owns a graphic design, apparel and advertising company.

“I have a line of shirts here called the Glenwood Bicycle Company," Edwards said. “It’s kind of a joke because there’s no such thing. They say ‘Established in 2005,’ which is when I opened the business.”

The week prior to RAGBRAI, his family worked to prep around 300 shirts, including others with the slogan, ‘Loess get it started,’ a nod to the hills that line western Iowa and could be a challenge for riders on the hilliest RAGBRAI ever.

Farnan said that even though Glenwood has held weekly meetings since January to prepare for the big event, more help is needed on the big day, especially for a smaller host city.

“We can use all the volunteers we can get!” Farnan said. “We need volunteers for a lot of different areas.”

As a Glenwood resident, Uphoff offered once again to host some cyclists as they set off on their journey across the state. She also did so back in 2016.

“We have a group of one bus with 20 people. I just know they are setting up ten tents, and then we have another bus with ten people coming to stay at our house. So yes, it'll be an exciting weekend,” Uphoff said with a laugh.

From Glenwood, overnight stops are in Red Oak, Atlantic, Winterset, Knoxville, Ottumwa and Mount Pleasant before ending in Burlington next Saturday. It’s the 51st RAGBRAI , and this year’s trek is the shortest at 434 miles, but could also be one of the most challenging, according to organizers.