Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Hartley served as pass-through town in 2017
RAGBRAI riders sign the graffiti wall in downtown Hartley in 2017.
RAGBRAI riders make their way down Central Avenue in Hartley in 2017 on their way to Spencer.
RAGBRAI will start in Orange City and culminate in Guttenberg.
The biggest party on two wheels will ramble through northwest Iowa this summer.
RAGBRAI organizers on Saturday unveiled this year's route, which will begin in Orange City on July 19 and culminate seven days later in Guttenberg. Overnight stops along the way include Milford, Estherville, Forest City, Iowa Falls, Cedar Falls and Oelwein.
This will be RAGBRAI's second shortest route and sixth flattest ever, tallying 406 miles and 10,487 feet of climb. Just two days will be longer than 70 miles, with the longest being 74.1 miles on July 22 from Estherville to Forest City.
Local communities were put on notice following the route announcement, as many are in the mix to serve as pass-through towns. Hartley most recently served as one in 2017 while Melvin greeted riders in 2014.
RAGBRAI officials won't release the final route until early April, when meeting and pass-through towns will be announced.
