A taste of the town – RAGBRAI pre-riders make stop in Charles City

The RAGBRAI pre-riders follow their escort into Charles City on South Main Street. Submitted photo

By Mitchell Hanson, mhanson@charlescitypress.com

Around 20 bicyclists came to visit Charles City Thursday as part of the RAGBRAI “pre-ride.”

Just as a group does before every RAGBRAI, these pre-riders are biking the entirety of the planned route of this year’s Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, to make sure the path is a safe one for the estimated 15,000 or so cyclists who will take part in the actual event.

They also keep the same schedule as the actual ride will follow, meaning they get to enjoy the hospitality of the towns they pass through on the way – and Thursday night is Charles City night, now and in July.

Anne Lawrie of Des Moines, who has ridden in RAGBRAI before but never been part of the pre-ride, said Charles City “is one of the best towns on the route – we love it here.”

The riders entered Charles City on Highway 14 Thursday afternoon and received a police escort as they rode. After biking from Mason City to Charles City, they stopped at Tellurian Brewing to end their day with some well-earned refreshments, followed by dinner at Hot Shots.

Lawrie was keen to point out that the pre-ride group consists of cyclists from all over, not just Iowa. “There are riders here from Utah, Montana, Colorado,” she said.

Further explaining, she said that participants on the pre-ride are meant to represent a variety of professions, in order to get a feel for each part of the route they travel. This allows the group to better gauge the route’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as the preparedness of each town that cyclists will pass through.

As such, this pre-ride group included law enforcement, AMR service people, restaurateurs and bar owners, and more.

Lawrie praised Charles City’s preparations for the coming event, and called the town “an amazing stop.” She said the whole group was excited for the overnight stay in Charles City next month.

“It’s going to be an incredible night,” she said. “Charles City has done RAGBRAI before, and every time it gets better.”

RAGBRAI makes its overnight stop in Charles City this year on Thursday, July 28.