RAGBRAI is the longest running bike ride across Iowa and was set to begin on July 19th and end on July 25th. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the ride was canceled back in April and was adjusted to a socially distanced, virtual ride instead.
The bike ride typically brings people from all over the world to Iowa. Now, these RAGBRAI participants can still share in the fun by registering for the virtual ride. This gives each member a daily challenge of how far they should bike around their local city or trail nearby.
Anne Lowrie, the marketing director of RAGBRAI, explained that, "Out goal was just to create a balance of activities and fun for people so that they didn't feel like they were missing out too much. Obviously they're not here and that itself is a loss, but we got a lot of people riding with their teams socially distance who are still connecting".
Event organizers are asking riders to use #virtuallythebest to show others how they are joining from a distance this year.