GLENWOOD, Iowa — It's time for RAGBRAI 51.
The first cyclists trickled into Glenwood Friday afternoon as RAGBRAI staff members set up tents for the annual RAGBRAI bike expo. The 51st edition of the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa will run from July 21-27 from Glenwood to Burlington. Along the way riders will overnight in Atlantic, Red Oak, Winterset, Knoxville, Ottumwa and Mount Pleasant. This week towns along the route are expecting about 20,000 to 30,000 cyclists.
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On Friday morning RAGBRAI Director Matt Phippen got his staff ready for the week by saying this will be the biggest event Iowa will hold all year. About 18,000 riders are registered this year. For the historic 50th anniversary last year about 30,000 weeklong and single-day riders registered. But the figures from this year are in line with 2022 , when about 18,000 weeklong and single-day riders registered.
Jennie Davis, executive director of the Mills County Chamber of Commerce, said that Glenwood, with a population of 5,073 in the 2020, is preparing for 20,000 to 30,000 people. At least some riders are expected to come from Council Bluffs and nearby Omaha, Nebraska, Davis said.
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RAGBRAI will pass through the Des Moines metro area for the second straight year as it overnights in Winterset Tuesday and will pass through Indianola Wednesday. Indianola plans to honor Clarence Pickard, a longtime Indianola resident who popularized the event during the first edition in 1973.
RAGBRAI 51 festivities kick off Saturday with the RAGBRAI Bike Expo on the Glenwood Town Square. The expo will run from noon to 9 p.m. On Friday afternoon the first cyclists to arrive poked around the Glenwood town square where the main stage and festivities will be.
Philip Joens is riding his 19th RAGBRAI. He has completed the river-to-river trek seven times. He covers retail and real estate for the Des Moines Register and can be reached at 515-284-8184 at pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: First riders arrive in Glenwood on Friday ahead of RAGBRAI 51
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