Cheers to the Years: Coralville will host RAGBRAI as an overnight town for the sixth time. What to know:
Chains greased, legs stretched, training done. RAGBRAI is almost here.
Nearly 25,000 registered RAGBRAI riders are expected to stay overnight in Coralville for the first time since 2015 as the 50th edition pedals into town Friday, July 28.
Here’s what to know about the Day 6 stop:
Coralville expected to host double the previous ridership
Organizers expect to host the largest number of riders in RAGBRAI history. Many riders will drop anchor in campgrounds at ST Morrison Park and around Northwest High School. A quiet campground will be available near the city’s Central Elementary.
Porta potties, showers and food will be available at the main campground along with entertainment, a beverage garden, bike repair and first aid.
The campgrounds will be open from 5-9 p.m. Thursday, July 27 for early arrivals and will open again at 7 a.m. Friday, July 28. In addition to bicyclists, only RAGBRAI-registered support vehicles will be allowed into the Coralville campgrounds.
A few spaces will also be available for RV camping at Coralville Youth Sports Park and St. Thomas Moore Church. A free shuttle bus will be available for all registered RAGBRAI participants, taking them to their desired campground or the Iowa River Landing area. The shuttle service featuring 40-foot buses will operate every 30 minutes throughout the day, beginning at 10 a.m. and running until midnight. Stops are stationed throughout Coralville with drop-offs at ST Morrison Park and Northwest Junior High.
“People are really excited about this route and being a part of the 50th-anniversary celebration,” Coralville Mayor Meghann Foster told the Press-Citizen last month. “Coralville knows how to do this. We've done this so many times, and it's just all about scale. It's all about looking at the way the community has changed since we have hosted in the past and then making those adjustments.”
Coralville is the only overnight town to fulfill all of its housing requests, Think Iowa City president Josh Schamberger told the Press-Citizen on Wednesday. The requests helped partner residents with riders, providing them with a place to stay, whether in a yard, a basement or a spare room.
More: Coralville, Amana welcome RAGBRAI inspection crew in prep for 50th ride
About 50 riders involved with the organization’s inspection ride arrived in Coralville just after 5 p.m. last month. The vast majority of the 24,000 registered riders are expected to enter Coralville between 3-6 p.m. next Friday, Schamberger said.
What roads will be closed?
Riders will enter Coralville after an 80-mile trek from Tama-Toledo on Iwv Road, which turns into Melrose Avenue. They will then make a left onto Camp Cardinal Boulevard, navigating the final descent into Coralville. The route will intersect with Highway 6 before a right onto 9th Street and one last left onto 8th Street, finishing in ST Morrison Park.
The full route from Marengo and Oxford on Friday and the voyage through Iowa City on Saturday is available online.
The City of Coralville will close several roads beginning at 6 a.m. Friday until 9 a.m. on Saturday. They are:
14th Avenue from 7th Street to 10th Street (Bus & local traffic only)
8th Street from 14th to 18th avenues
7th Street from 5th Street to 14th Avenue (includes the City Hall and Aquatic Center parking lots)
University Court from Ridgeway Drive to University Parkway
Traffic flow will be affected by the route throughout the community next weekend. Riders will heavily impact intersections like Camp Cardinal Boulevard and Highway 6 next Friday afternoon. Coralville police will direct traffic, ensuring the vehicle traffic continues, but expect delays.
Some areas will also be designated as no parking zones from 2 a.m. Friday, July 28 until 9 a.m. Saturday, July 29, which includes:
14th Ave. from 10th St. to 7th St.
10th from 25th Ave. to 12th Ave.
7th from 14th Ave. to 12th Ave.
6th from 7th St. to 5th St.
What entertainment and food will be available?
Coralville will host a full day of entertainment that begins at 10 a.m. and runs for more than 12 hours, featuring artists from Iowa City to London.
Performances will take place on three stages throughout ST Morrison Park.
The headliners, Bush, will take the main stage around 8:30 p.m. They are expected to perform for about two hours. Plush is the 7 p.m. opening act, an all-female rock band from New York. The rock group has also opened for Alice IN Chains, KISS and Evanescence. Lead vocalist, Moriah Formica, was a contestant on season 13 of The Voice on NBC.
Local artists, including Kevin BF Burt and 42 Romeo, a self-described rock group part of the 34th Army Band of the Iowa National Guard, will open the main stage. Kevin BF Burt will perform starting at 4 p.m. while 42 Romeo will take the stage at 5:30 p.m.
“The amount of free quality entertainment we’ll have performing in Coralville at RAGBRAI is outstanding,” Carrie Bopp, the Coralville RAGBRAI entertainment chair, said in a statement to the Press-Citizen in June. “This will be a festival enjoyed by locals and riders alike.”
More: Music will start at 10 a.m. July 28 on Coralville's three stages, with Bush headlining at night.
The nearby MidWestOne Bank Kids Zone will include bounce houses, face painting, and a balloon artist from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Iowa City's own Nick Stika takes the family stage at 2 p.m. ahead of The Black Donnelly's, the Irish band that attempted to perform 60 shows in all 50 states in 40 days. The two-decade-old Funk Daddies, another band from Iowa City, will perform on the family stage until 6 p.m.
ADE will take the Food Pantry stage at 2 p.m. followed by Blast Choir at 3:30 p.m. Dandelion Stompers will close out the Food Pantry stage at 5 p.m.
Hills Bank will host four movies starting at 12:30 p.m. with “Up.” The “Fast & The Furious” will hit the screen at 2:15 p.m. followed by the Chris Farley classic “Tommy Boy” at 4:15 p.m. The movie showings will conclude with “Top Gun: Maverick” at 6 p.m.
Coralville’s beverage garden will open at 3 p.m. and run until 11 p.m.
Riders expected to leave early to ride through Kinnick on Saturday
Riders will open the final 71-mile day to Davenport by riding through Kinnick Stadium on July 29. The route will bring riders into the front of the stadium, near the statue of Nile Kinnick that stands near Gate A, through the concourse, and out through Gate H before continuing into Iowa City. It will only be available to riders between 6-8:30 a.m.
Anyone hoping to ride through Kinnick after 8:30 a.m. will instead be directed to the remainder of the route, passing by Carver-Hawkeye Arena before heading toward Iowa City.
Traffic on 1st Avenue and near its intersection with Highway 6 will be heavily impacted in the early morning hours. Most riders are expected to leave early to experience a short ride through Kinnick.
Cyclists will then descend Iowa Avenue under the early morning shadow of the Old Capitol Building, up through the heart of downtown Iowa City, and eastbound for West Liberty and, eventually, Davenport to conclude their week-long journey.
Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on Twitter @ryanhansen01
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: RAGBRAI visits Coralville July 28. Here's what you need to know:
