RAGBRAI’s “Great Iowa Fall Ride” Canceled

They canceled RAGBRAI itself, after holding out hope to carry on with it as long as they could. Then, the organizers found a way to put together a scaled-back version. KWWL says, neither will happen now. There was also a new event called "Iowa's Ride" set up by former RAGBRAI organizers to run around the same time. Also canceled.

"The Great Iowa Fall Ride" was a backup plan of sorts, designed by RAGBRAI organizers, to run through Iowa Falls the weekend of October 2-4.

Organizers of popular annual events in Iowa are coming up with creative plans to have the show go on as best they can and as safely as possible, but it was not meant to be for RAGBRAI or "The Great Iowa Fall Ride". It was a cool attempt to have a scaled-back version the annual event featuring food, entertainment, and of course, riding go on in some form but director Dieter Drake said what we're all thinking, "it’s really unfortunate that we’re having to do this again but it’s just the right thing to do. 2020 is just not a great time for events."

Opportunities for 2020 RAGBRAI riders to receive refunds have come and gone, but according to Drake, it is set full-throttle to go on from July 25-31, 2021 on the same route that was planned this year. Those registrations will now be forwarded to next year's RAGBRAI.

The RAGBRAI virtual ride, allowing participants to ride the course of the now-canceled full race at their own pace, has been underway since July 18. More info on that here.

There was also a new event called "Iowa's Ride" set up by former RAGBRAI organizers to run around the same time. Also canceled.

See the official announcement about the cancelation of "The Great Iowa Fall Ride" here.