eople across Iowa naturally know all about RAGBRAI, Iowa's annual cross-state trek shared by thousands of people.
RAGBRAI Ride Director Matt Phippen has had a lifelong obsession with the race. From his childhood, Phippen was intrigued by the community of people undertaking the journey.
When he finally got to ride, he had mixed feelings. Phippen says his first RAGBRAI was "probably the worst experience" of his life. Nonetheless, he was hooked.
Fewer people, however, know that Iowa's obsession with two-wheeled transportation dates back over a century prior to the inaugural RAGBRAI in 1973, in the early days of Iowa's statehood.
State Curator Leo Landis says the first "velocipedes," a bicycle forerunner similar to a child's scooter, arrived sometime in the 1850s, before the Civil War.