Tami Stark
May 19,2015

Just 3 years ago, Vinton had the honor and pleasure to host the thousands of RAGBRAI riders for some much needed rest and relaxation as they stopped for lunch on their way through to Cedar Rapids for their overnight stay.  It was a hot and sunny afternoon ~ perfect for parking bikes downtown and taking full advantage of the many things that we had planned in order to make their brief stay as enjoyable as possible!   And enjoyable, it must have been, because those 10,000 (+) RAGBRAI riders are coming back to see us again this July 23rd!

The route for our guests will be much like it was in 2012.  It will bring the bicycles into town from the north off HWY 218, once in town; the route will turn left (east) on 4th Street and bring the riders right to our downtown, where they’ll rest & refresh before resuming the ride past the courthouse, east on 4th Street to 8th Avenue, where they will turn right (south) and make their way east on 13th St, to County Home Rd and on to Shellsburg and eventually Hiawatha for their overnight stay.

The RAGBRAI committee is working towards ensuring that the riders once again have a memorable trip through Vinton, and to do that, everyone’s help is going to be needed.  Each of us should consider ourselves as hosts for this event, and as hosts, we get to show off our hospitality.  For an event such as this one, hospitality includes patience.   You are encouraged to venture downtown on Thursday, July 23rd to see and experience the excitement as the riders roll through town; however, please keep in mind that again, much of downtown will be closed to auto traffic most of the day on the 23rd of July.  Making your way downtown will require a bit of planning before heading out, but the trip downtown will be worth it!

Between now and July 23rd, some important dates to be aware of are: May 27th  at 6:30 – meeting w/ BlackHawk Health Dept. regarding vendor regulation, followed immediately by a meeting of the RAGBRAI committee June 4th will be the RAGBRAI’s organizational pre-ride through Vinton June 30th is the deadline for all vendor registration and JULY 23rd is the arrival of our RAGBRAI riders into town!

If you or your organization has any questions regarding RAGBRAI or any other Vinton event, do not hesitate to call your Vinton Unlimited office @ 319-472-3955