On Monday, the news finally came to Iowa's cyclists.
The cross-state bike ride has been canceled this year due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19, and the race will use the planned 2020 race course in 2021. Next year’s race is scheduled for July 25-July 31.
With events around the world getting canceled or postponed, all the way from the Olympics to last week’s cancellation of Iowa’s High School spring sports season, the news didn’t come as a surprise for North Iowa’s cycling community.
“It’s never a good thing when things get canceled, especially RAGBRAI, but you’ve got to be safe in these times right now,” Mohawk Mountain Bike Club coach Steve Bailey said. “We understand why they did it.”
The 2020 RAGBRAI was scheduled to start in Le Mars and finish in Clinton, with overnight stops in Storm Lake, Fort Dodge, Iowa Falls, Waterloo, Anamosa, and Maquoketa.