Riders line-up to bike through the Bridges of Madison County on RAGBRAI 2024

WINTERSET — The Bridges of Madison County were off the regular RAGBRAI route Wednesday, but riders found them anyway.

On the fourth day of the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa , riders sought out two bridges just off the beaten path — a sample of Madison County’s six historic covered bridges that are linchpins of local tourism. The bridges were made famous by the novel "The Bridges of Madison County" and the 1995 movie of the same name.

"I missed the gravel turn off. I went six miles out of my way just to see the bridge," said rider Margaret Reissenauer. "It was one of the things I was most excited about on this ride, to see the bridge from the movie."

The Holliwell Covered Bridge, the longest remaining covered bridge in the county at 110 feet, sat on Wednesday's optional 9.5-mile gravel section. It's one of two covered bridges featured in the romantic drama starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.

A draw for wedding parties, a myriad of lovers' initials are etched on the inside of the bridge.

"I'm a huge fan of rom-coms and a huge fan of bicycling. You can't beat them both," Reissenauer said.

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In "The Bridges of Madison County," Eastwood's character Robert Kincaid is a photographer on an assignment shooting the historic bridges. He meets Streep's Francesca Johnson, a housewife he falls for over four days.

Parts of the film were shot in Winterset and Adel. Directed by Eastwood, it was the romance movie of the summer of 1995, grossing about $70 million at the box office and earning a nomination for the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture. Streep got an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

According to Madison County's Tourism Manager Teddi Yaeger, the bridges draw tourists to the area year-round. She recently hosted a Australian tourist who had a bucket list of places to visit while she was in the United States. On her list was Graceland, the Grand Canyon, New York City and, of course, Winterset. She was holding her dog-eared copy of the "Bridges of Madison County" novel in her hand when she saw the Holliwell Covered Bridge.

"We know it's our No. 1 draw, and then people see all the other things we have," Yaeger said. "When people think of Iowa, they think of the Field of Dreams and the Bridges of Madison County."

Nineteen covered bridges were built in Madison County in the 1800s. Covered bridges were designed to protect wooden bridge framework from snow, rain and other weathering elements. Today, only six covered bridges remain in Madison County.

The Holliwell Covered Bridge, built in 1880, crosses the Middle River two miles southeast of Winterset. It carried vehicular traffic until 1986, according to Madison County Tourism.

In 1995, the bridge was renovated for $225,000. Its original construction cost was just $1,180.

RAGBRAI riders visit Imes Covered Bridge later in the day

The second bridge on RAGBRAI's route, the Imes Covered Bridge, sat only a few feet off the road in a park ½ mile east of Saint Charles on Wednesday morning. The oldest remaining covered bridge, it is one of two in Madison County that sits on asphalt roads.

Volunteers directed riders onto a sidewalk where they could ride over the Imes Covered Bridge. As the morning wore on, thousands of riders rode one-by-one down the narrow sidewalk and over the bridge, about 100 feet away from the regular route on a road above the park.

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Built in 1870, the bridge was originally located in Union Township over the Middle River near Patterson. Seventeen years later, the bridge moved to Clanton Creek near Hanley where, in 1959, a semi-trailer carrying 18-tons of corn crashed through the floor of the bridge. It was repaired within a week.

The Imes Covered Bridge would make one more move — this time to a small depression in the park near Saint Charles, where it is the centerpiece.

Tim Willis, of Corvallis, Oregon, grew up in Lake City and is on his third RAGBRAI. He stopped to take a picture of the bridge with a friend.

“We were hoping we’d get to ride through it,” Willis said. “This is nice to get to do the detour and come down and do this.”

Willis remembers the movie well.

“It’s a little soapy, but it’s an all right movie,” Willis joked.

Philip Joens is riding his 19th RAGBRAI. He has completed the river-to-river trek seven times. He covers retail, real estate and RAGBRAI for the Des Moines Register and can be reached at 515-284-8184 at pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.

Addison Lathers covers growth and development for the Des Moines metro. Reach her at 608-931-1761 or alathers@registermedia.com, and follow her on X at @addisonlathers.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Riders line-up to bike through the Bridges of Madison County on RAGBRAI 2024