Bix 7 & RAGBRAI: 'The more the merrier'

Sun November 11 2007
Posted Nov 11, 2007
6,507

To our esteemed Des Moines Register colleagues: Please accept our warmest invitation to end Iowa’s most famous bicycle ride next year in the same county hosting Iowa’s most famous foot race. The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa almost always ends the day of the Quad-City Times Bix 7. RAGBRAI endings have come close: Muscatine. Bellevue. But Iowa’s renowned party on wheels always seems to avoid Scott County. Perhaps RAGBRAI organizers wondered if the Quad-Cities could accommodate these two big events at the same time. Let us dispel the notions. Our community has more than enough hotel rooms to accommodate both events. Our cities and visitors’ bureau are eager to oblige with campgrounds and special events to welcome the cyclists. Those at our newspaper feel the same way. Both the Quad-City Times and the Des Moines Register have created nationally known, family events centered around fitness. Bringing them together on the same day in the same community provides a national showcase of this family fitness commitment. We’re glad to see the Quad-City Convention and Visitors Bureau actively encourage consideration of a LeClaire ending to RAGBRAI’s Iowa-wide adventure. In fact, Bix 7 race director Ed Froelich says more than a few RABGRAIers already have swapped their bicycles for running shoes and joined the Bix 7 throng in years when the ride ended near the Quad-Cities. As Froelich says: “The more the merrier.” So please consider LeClaire as the endpoint for the 2008 RAGBRAI. We believe you’ll be so impressed, you’ll consider ending the 2009 RAGBRAI in Davenport.