Hills, hills and more hills.
RAGBRAI 2024 will have the most elevation gain in the ride's 51 years as it makes its way across southern Iowa.
Announced Saturday night during a party attended by 1,200 cycling fans at the Iowa Events Center, the route for the 51st Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa should come as no surprise to RAGBRAI veterans. Most surmised that after three straight years of starting in northwest Iowa and ending in Davenport or points north, it would veer south for a change.
The starting point will be Glenwood on Keg Creek, a Missouri River tributary, and the end will be in Burlington on the banks of the Mississippi. Overnight stops will be in Red Oak, Atlantic, Winterset, Knoxville, Ottumwa and Mount Pleasant.
Perhaps to compensate for its steepness, the route, at 424 miles, will be among the shortest on record, about 75 miles less than the 2023 edition.