RAGBRAI daily preview, Day 4: Ames to Des Moines

From Des Moines Register staff reports
·2 min read
Final map for Day 4 of RAGBRAI's 50th anniversary ride, July 26
Final map for Day 4 of RAGBRAI's 50th anniversary ride, July 26

This article has been updated.

Wednesday's ride is expected to draw the biggest crowd on record for RAGBRAI. Have fun with this history-making journey, whether you're in the pack or just watching the spectacle of a seemingly endless procession of riders streaming through downtown Des Moines and other cities along the route.

Here's what's ahead.

Wednesday's route

Ames to Des Moines

What to know

Riders roll into Des Moines during the RAGBRAI route inspection ride June 7.
Riders roll into Des Moines during the RAGBRAI route inspection ride June 7.

RAGBRAI's golden anniversary ride wouldn't be complete without a spin past the gold domes of the Iowa Capitol and through the streets of downtown Des Moines. It will be the ride's first visit to the state's chief metropolis since 2013, and is expected to draw 60,000 or more riders.

Along the way, the ride also will pass within short detouring distance of the spectacular High Trestles Trail bridge just west of pass-through town Madrid, Iowa's most-visited cycling landmark. It also will pause in Ankeny's two city centers, the revitalized, historic Uptown and the newer District at Prairie Trail. In Des Moines' Water Works Park, where riders will camp, is a sculpture that commemorates the ride's founders, late Des Moines Register journalists John Karras and Donald Kaul.

Weather: Though the temperature will peak in the upper 90s, it's an easy ride by RAGBRAI standards: 55 miles and almost flat. And in a fortunate turn of events, the National Weather Service now is forecasting a tailwind instead of the headwind it had been predicting all week. That will make it even easier.

Entertainment: Lynyrd Skynyrd will headline a free show at Water Works Park's Lauridsen Amphitheater. Opening acts are some of Iowa's best home-grown rockers, including Dave Zollo & The Body Electric, Brother Trucker and The Nadas.

Looking forward to: Celebrating all Des Moines has to offer after three days in the cornfields.

Not so great: Riding in a big crowd requires exercising continual spatial awareness and communicating constantly with the other riders around you. It's the shortest ride of the week and there's no reason to rush. Be careful and stay safe.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines leg of 50th RAGBRAI expected to draw record ridership