OSKALOOSA —
This past Saturday, the 2013 route for RAGBRAI was announced at the Route Announcement Party in Des Moines. The route will include Oskaloosa.
Beginning in Council Bluffs July 21, the route will include an overnight stop in Oskaloosa July 25. Other cities on the route include Harlan, Perry, Des Moines, Knoxville, Fairfield and Fort Madison.
Jon Sullivan, executive director of the Oskaloosa Area Chamber and Development Group, said the RAGBRAI stop in Oskaloosa will be an opportunity to show off the community and what it has to offer. He noted that a lot of changes have happened in Oskaloosa since the last time the city was a RAGBRAI stop back in 2003. Sullivan said it will be an opportunity to show off Oskaloosa’s quality of life and cited things like the golf courses, swimming pool and Lacey Recreation Complex.
Of course, there is still a lot of planning yet to be done in preparation for the RAGBRAI stop in Oskaloosa. Sullivan said there is a lot of committee work that will need to take place.
“Our community is full of good volunteers,” said Sullivan. “We will be calling on a lot of people.”
Anyone interested in volunteering can contact the OACDG at 672-2591, said Sullivan.
Sullivan said the fact that Oskaloosa is an overnight RAGBRAI stop will mean a “boom” for the local economy. Riders are expected to spend money at restaurants and other businesses, he added.
“We really need to take advantage of that,” Sullivan said, adding that he would like to make Oskaloosa a memorable stop for riders.
Jeff Wilford, co-owner of Bobzilla’s Bicycle Werks in Oskaloosa, has a few RAGBRAI memories of his own. This year will be the 16th time he’s ridden on RAGBRAI.
Wilford was at this past weekend’s Route Announcement Party in Des Moines and said he was nervously optimistic that Oskaloosa would be picked as an overnight stop.
Wilford said RAGBRAI week is the only time he takes vacation during the year. He also noted that the stop will be significant for the local economy.
Bobzilla’s Bicycle Werks will be open July 25 when RAGBRAI stops in Oskaloosa, Wilford added.
Wilford also said RAGBRAI riders include people of all ages, shapes and sizes.
“There’s a RAGBRAI for everyone,” said Wilford.
Community News Network
Planning for RAGBRAI begins
- Community News Network
-
-
Kia Optima is a hit with the buying public
When it comes to midsized family sedans, the Kia Optima ranks high on my list for its good looks, economy and value.
-
The story behind the viral deer on a bus video
The way bus driver John Porter tells it, some of his co-workers now call him “John Deer.”
-
Identity-theft victim jailed on culprit’s warrant
Kurt Millard spent most of last weekend in jail, locked up on another man’s arrest warrant. The 26-year-old resident of Joplin, Mo. could not convince his jailers they had the wrong guy.
-
SLIDESHOW: Texas storms damage homes, uproot trees
After a series of tornadoes touched down outside Dallas, residents of many Texas communities are cleaning up.
-
VIDEO: Man hands out Abercrombie clothes on Skid Row in bid to shame brand
Anger has mounted online against clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch due to comments made by its chief executive and its strategy of not making women's clothing in any size above large.
-
Feces contaminates 58 percent of public swimming pools
Human feces taints more than half of public swimming pools, a finding U.S. health officials are using to urge better personal hygiene as the summer months approach.
-
VIDEO: Bombing suspect allegedly wrote confession in boat
Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev allegedly penned a note inside the boat where he was found hiding from authorities, explaining his rationale for his part in the deadly explosion.
-
MAP: Tornadoes carve across North Texas communities
As many as 10 tornadoes touched down soouthwest of Dallas, Texas on Wednesday.
-
Editorial: Seizure of AP phone records insult to independent press
This amounts to spying on an American news organization -- common practice in dictatorships but scary conduct in a democratic system that prizes the public value of an independent watchdog press.
-
VIDEO: Texas tornadoes damage homes, businesses
The Dallas Morning News has the latest on the tornadoes that tore through the region Wednesday night.
- More Community News Network Headlines
-
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
Raw: School Bus Crash Injures Five Children
Quick Response Saved Baby on Phila. Train Tracks
One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
