After three days of riding across Iowa, bicyclists may have the week’s routine down.
But if they want a glimpse into the entire history of Iowa cycling
leading up to the moment they dipped their back tires in the Missouri
River, they can stop by the State Historical Museum in Des Moines to
check out a new exhibit, “Riding Through History.” The exhibit tells the
story of the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa and
bicycling in the state.
The exhibit opens July 19. RAGBRAI comes to town July 23.
Though the exhibit was designed around last year’s 40th annual
RAGBRAI event, it actually starts about 143 years before that, with a
blue 1869 Pickering velocipede — thought to be the second bicycle in the
state — in a case in the lobby.
With its wrought iron and brass frame and 80-pound heft, it’s not a bike most would choose for traversing the state today.
Next to it, in the same case, is an 1880s high-wheeled bike, and RAGBRAI founder John Karras’ 1977 RAGBRAI bike.
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