The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa has a new director.
Matt Phippen, an active member of the Iowa cycling community and a longtime Scheels manager, assumes his new duties Monday.
Phippenhas workedat Scheels stores inCoralvilleand Cedar Fallssince 1999 and ran the Iowa City store's bike section for several years. He replacesDieter Drake, the ride's director since December 2019, who has been promoted to events operation director of the cycling division at Ventures Endurance Events.
Ventures is a division of Gannett Co., which also owns RAGBRAI and the Des Moines Register. Itrecently acquired Ride the Rockies, a similar weeklong ride in Colorado, whichDrake, a longtime resident of that state, will manage.
Phippen said his experience with RAGBRAI dates back to when he was10 years oldin 1990 and riders camped overnight outsidehis parents' Oelwein home. He said they turnedthe spacious yard"into a city"of tents, and that henever forgot the feelings that day stoked in him.