RAGBRAI 2025 is leaving Iowa — if only for a few miles. Here's why:
Philip Joens- For the first time in its 52-year history, RAGBRAI will cross state lines, entering Minnesota on its second day.
- Cyclists will ride 15 miles in Minnesota, enjoying the scenery of the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
- The route will require collaboration with Minnesota authorities, including the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, to manage traffic.
- The decision to venture into Minnesota was inspired by the Tour de France's recent international starts and aims to offer riders a unique experience.
RAGBRAI will become RAGBRAIM for 15 miles on July 21.
The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa with an 'M' added. Why?
Because as the full route for the 52nd edition of RAGBRAI is announced Thursday, RAGBRAI is revealing that the ride will venture beyond Iowa's borders for the first time in its 52-year history.
Departing overnight town Milford bound for Estherville on Day 2 (July 21) riders will head north past the Iowa Great Lakes — and then cross the Minnesota border into the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Pedaling north on Highway 86 and past the intersection with a gravel road that marks the actual state line, cyclists will be greeted by a "Welcome to Minnesota" sign a few hundred feet further up the road.
The spot no doubt will be a popular photo opportunity for riders, who will then turn east on Minnesota Highway 4 to reach a stop at Brown Park, a 15-acre oasis between Pearl and Loon lakes in Jackson County, Minnesota.
In all, the riders will travel 15 miles in Minnesota between the Iowa towns of Wahpeton and Superior, spending more than one-third of the day's 41.2-mile journey outside Iowa.
After leaving the park, they will turn south on Minnesota 25 to re-enter Iowa.
Why a Minnesota excursion?
RAGBRAI Director Matt Phippen said it is only 18 miles by a direct route from Milford to Estherville, and he wanted the second day's ride on what already was going to be one of the shortest RAGBRAIs on record to be longer than that meager distance.
The initial plan was to travel on an Iowa road parallel to the Minnesota border, Phippen said. But inspired by the Tour de France starting the last three years in Denmark, Spain and Italy, he decided to try for something more exotic.
Entering Minnesota, "You cross that road and you feel like the scenery changes, the road color changes," he said. "I hope that riders look at this and get super excited that we're trying something different. And it gives the riders in Minnesota something to be proud of, that we're bringing the ride to them."
While venturing briefly into Minnesota is one small section of the ride, it's a giant leap for the organizers. Chief among the challenges is that Iowa State Patrol troopers direct traffic for the ride, but lack jurisdiction in Minnesota. So when the ride crosses the border, deputies from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office will be in charge, Phippen said.
"The sheriff has two turns (to manage) for us," he said. "They'll help us with the riders going across the state. Then they'll turn us back down and (the Iowa State Patrol) will pick them back up in Iowa."
Of course, Minnesota, unlike most of Iowa, has no experience with 20,000-plus cyclists from throughout the world traversing its countryside.
"They've never seen RAGBRAI before. They don't know what's going on," Phippen said.
But he's confident all will go smoothly.
"For these new agencies to get these toes wet, this is a pretty easy lift for them, with a couple turns and a straight shot across," he said of the trans-Minnesota routing.
RAGBRAI likes to mix it up
The Minnesota ride will be emblematic of RAGBRAI's efforts over the last several years to provide cyclists some standout experiences, in addition to spending a week as part of the world's largest annual bicycle tour.
In 2018, as the ride reached Ames, Iowa State University opened up Jack Trice Stadium and let cyclists ride on the track around the football field. Iowa State also opened the stadium to riders in 2023 when RAGBRAI passed through Ames again on its 50th anniversary edition.
When the riders reached Iowa City, the University of Iowa reciprocated, letting cyclists pedal through the concourse of its Kinnick Stadium.
On last year's ride, in addition to its being the hilliest ever, riders had a chance for the first time to visit a true Iowa icon, the "American Gothic" house featured in artist Grant Wood's most famous painting.
RAGBRAI cyclists also have had the chance to ride their bikes on the track at Iowa Speedway in Newton and the warning track at the Quad City River Bandits' Modern Woodman Park in Davenport.
"This ride, because of the scale, has the ability to do a lot of cool things," Phippen said.
At Brown Park, RAGBRAI will set up an outpost with food vendors, water and tents selling bike gear and providing repairs, as it's done in the past on other long stretches between towns, he said. The Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota may also be involved in some way, he said.
The park will receive the same funding as the pass-through towns along the route in Iowa, he said.
"The park is massive," Phippen said. "The goal is to build an oasis that riders can spend time there. With only having three stops that day and only 40 miles, if it is a beautiful day, riders will have plenty of time to get (from) Point A to Point B. The goal will be to get to that spot, relax and have fun."
Is RAGBRAI staking a claim for Iowa?
Some might see an ulterior motive in routing the ride through Minnesota. This year, the Iowa Legislature — briefly — considered a tongue-in-cheek bill that proposed to buy nine rural southern Minnesota counties, including Jackson County, that are seen as being more in sync with red Iowa than blue Minnesota. But a hearing was never held and the bill died in March.
Phippen firmly disavowed any desire to stake an Iowa claim in Minnesota.
"We don't play politics with RAGBRAI," he said. "I stay as far away from it as possible. It was something we never thought about until after the fact. It was an experience for our riders that was (not) based around anything political."
Could RAGBRAI go to other neighboring states?
In the past RAGBRAI organizers have considered how to get RAGBRAI to Carter Lake, an oddball Iowa town that as the result of the Missouri River's shifting course and an 1877 flood ended up on the river's west bank, surrounded by Omaha. In fact, the only way from Iowa to reach the town, named for the oxbow lake that marks the river's former course, is to cross into Nebraska.
But taking RABGRAI through Carter Lake would require a Herculean effort because it is only accessible via some of the busiest highways in Omaha, and the main access road also is the main road used by travelers going to Omaha's Eppley Airfield.
Still, said Phippen, like RAGBRAI's first out-of-state excursion, it could happen — some day.
"It's logistics," he said. "I don't know that there's anything off the table as far as a bicycle route. It's just getting the right people in the room to figure out how you make it work."
This experiment in Minnesota may open the door to going to Iowa's other neighboring states, he said.
"It will teach us what we don't know," he said. "They're either going to tell us they loved it or they hated it."
Staff writer Philip Joens has ridden parts of 19 RAGBRAIs and has completed the river-to-river trek eight times. He covers retail and real estate for the Register and can be reached at 515-284-8184 or at pjoens@registermedia.com.
This story was updated to add a gallery.