Essay: RAGBRAI’s one-note music lineup is an insult to riders

Source: <a id="MainContent_MainColumnContentPlaceHolder_hlSource" href="https://littlevillagemag.com/essay-ragbrais-one-note-music-lineup-is-an-insult-to-riders/" target="_blank">Little Village Magazine
Author: Kent Williams
Posted By: <a id="MainContent_MainColumnContentPlaceHolder_hlPostedBy" href="/Profile/bikeiowa">bikeiowa

Kent Williams
Wed July 19 2023
Posted Aug 6, 2023
1,318

This is the 50th anniversary of the RAGBRAI, the yearly summer bike ride from the Missouri to the Mississippi. I remember the first one happened when I was in high school. Between being a fan of Donald Kaul and John Karras’ writing in the Des Moines Register and hanging out at the local hippie bike shop, RAGBRAI seemed revolutionary at the time. Bicycle touring events were rare, and unheard of in the Midwest. It was a crazy idea that became sane because people showed up. Kaul and Karras built it, and they came.