Will RAGBRAI pass through Storm Lake this summer?

A number of people have asked us that in recent weeks, including some cyclists from out of state who are already scoping out the Hawkeye State for overnight stops.

Storm Lake was supposed to have been a stop in 2020, but the pandemic scratched that event. The same communities were going to be on the route last year, but Storm Lake asked to be bypassed because of lingering covid concerns. Sac City took our place.

The City Beautiful, through Storm Lake United, applied to be a host this year, but the route won’t be disclosed by the sponsoring Des Moines Register until Jan. 28, 2023. The RAGBRAI route and the Iowa Poll are the Register’s two state secrets.

I’m not a betting man, but if I were, I’d wager Storm Lake will be on the route this July 22-29 for a couple reasons.

1. Visitors really like Storm Lake. In what is probably the most picturesque setting for cyclists in Iowa, our lakeshore parks and Buena Vista University can comfortably accommodate a crowd of 20,000.

2. This will be the 50th anniversary of RAGBRAI, so it makes sense for the route to retrace its steps from its first run in 1973, when Storm Lake was the first overnight stop after Sioux City.

I know. I was there.