The hometown of the man who set the world record for the longest hiccups. The National Hobo Museum. A Catholic shrine that claims to be the largest cave in the world (nine of them, in fact). A rural village, billing itself as the “hometown of the world”, where Hasidic rabbis mingle with immigrants from around the world.
These are among the only wonders of Iowa among the newly announced passing and meeting towns along the route of the 49th Annual Great Register Bike Ride through Iowa.
Unveiled on Sunday, they join the departure, arrival and night cities RAGBRAI XLIX announced in January: Sergeant Bluff, Ida Grove, Pocahontas, Emmetsburg, Mason City, Charles City, West Union and Lansing.
How long is the RAGBRAI course in 2022?
The 462-mile route, July 24-30, with 12,945 feet of climbing, will be the first since 1984 to feature a 100-mile Century Day, in lieu of an optional extra-mileage loop.
The RAGBRAI course is still subject to review pending an inspection by RAGBRAI officials and guests in June. Detailed road maps will be published in June or July.
Here is an overview of each day.
Continued:What to know about RAGBRAI 2022 cities, from Sergeant Bluff to Lansing
RAGBRAI route map, details, night and passing cities
Day 1, Sunday July 24: Sergeant Bluff at Ida Grove
Miles: 53.2
Climbing feet: 2,545
Themes: Air Force 75th Anniversary Celebration, Mile of Silence
Cities of passage
City of appointment:
Day 2, Monday July 25: Ida Grove to Pocahontas
Miles: 71.2 miles
Climbing feet: 1,694
Themes: Varsity Jersey Day, PeopleforBikes Day
Cities of passage
- galvanized
- Schaller
- Nemaha
- founded
Dating city
Day 3, Tuesday July 26: Pocahontas in Emmetsburg
Miles: 56.4
Climbing feet: 756
Theme: 25th anniversary of the dream team
Cities of passage
Dating city
Continued:New to RAGBRAI? Here’s everything newbies need to know before crossing Iowa
Day 4, Wednesday July 27: Emmetsburg to Mason City
Miles: 105
Climbing feet: 1,699
Themes: John Karras Day, Jersey RAGBRAI Day
Cities of passage
- Whittemore
- Algone
- Wesley
- Klemma
Dating city
Day 5-Thursday July 28: Mason City to Charles City
Miles: 47.9
Climbing feet: 1,260
Themes: Charlie Harper Day, Crazy Socks Day
City of passage
Dating city
Day 6-Friday July 29: Charles City to West Union
Miles: 63
Climbing feet: 2,025
Theme: Iowa State Patrol Appreciation Day
Cities of passage
- Ionia
- New Hampton
- Wacoma
- Hawk Eye
Dating city
Day 7 – Saturday July 30: West Union to Lansing
Miles: 65.4
Climbing feet: 2,966
Theme: Tire Dip in the Mississippi River.
Cities of passage
Dating city
Strong points
Day 1 : The home of the hiccup record holder
Day 1 will look a bit like 2006. RAGBRAI will pass through the same passing towns as that year, when the day also started in Sergeant Bluff and ended in Ida Grove.
The passing town of Anthon was home to Charles Osborne, who held the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous hiccup attack, which lasted 68 years. Osborne started hiccuping in 1922 while trying to weigh a pig before slaughtering it, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. He never found a cure, but led a normal life, married twice and fathered eight children. Osborne’s hiccups finally disappeared in 1990, a year before he died at age 97.
Continued:Paul Hassman, Iowa wrestling champ, RAGBRAI rider, dies at 108
Day 2: Drive through the “popcorn capital of the world”
Look closely at the cornfields around Schaller and you might see the stuff of buttery popcorn. Schaller is the self-proclaimed “popcorn capital of the world”, and the popcorn brands Bango and Jolly Time had facilities there. Jolly Time Popcorn is headquartered in nearby Sioux City and still has producers in the Schaller region. Schaller celebrates magical poppable corn with its Popcorn Days festival every July.
Day 3: Take a peek at the Cave of Redemption Sanctuary in West Bend
Rolfe is the westernmost point of the Three Rivers Trail, a 32-mile gravel railroad connecting Rolfe to Eagle Grove.
For the third time in the past 12 years, RAGBRAI will pass the Cave of Redemption Sanctuary in West Bend. Reverend Paul Matthias Dobberstein began building the Roman Catholic shrine in 1912. He died in 1954 and never lived to see its completion in 1964. The nine caves depict scenes from the life of Jesus.
Each year, 50,000 people visit the shrine in the town of less than 700 inhabitants. The cave also has a non-religious appeal. Countless rock types and more than 250 types of semi-precious stones – from amethysts to drusy quartz – cover the caves.
“There is nothing like it in the world”, Andy Milam, Marketing Director told the Des Moines Register last year. “You can find a small cave built into the side of a church, but not the size of a city block.”
Day 4: Visit the first towns of RAGBRAI, visit the Hobo Museum
On the road are Whittemore and Klemme, members of the ever-smaller fraternity of RAGBRAI’s passing towns for the first time. Algona was a night town in 1977, 1990, 1999, 2005, 2010 and 2017, but was never a transit town.
Britt is home to the National Hobo Museum, which preserves history, artifacts and wandering stories in the historic Chief Cinema on Main Street. The museum was assembled in the 1970s and 1980s and is now run by the Britt Hobo Days Association, a non-profit organization that hosts the National Hobo Convention and the Hobo Days Festival each August.
It will be the Day of the Century, and the RAGBRAI route, usually open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., will be open for an additional hour, until 7 p.m.
RAGBRAI is working on plans to help runners who cannot run the full distance. Organizers anticipate that more riders will use the SAG (support and equipment) wagons on Day 4 than on typical days.
“We know we’re probably going to have a lot of sag that day,” said RAGBRAI manager Matt Phippen. said in January. “But it’s a tribute to (co-founder John) Karras. There are people who want it back.”
Continued:RECAP: Watch the RAGBRAI 2022 route announcement broadcast
Day 5: Look for fossils west of Rockford
Fossil-hunting tourists can search for 365-million-year-old fossils just west of Rockford. During the Devonian Period, warm, shallow seas covered Iowa. Most of the fossils found in the Fossil and Grassland Preserve are from marine invertebrates like brachiopods, gastropods, corals, crinoids, bryozoans, and cephalopods.
Day 6: Visit Hawkeye on RAGBRAI for the second time in history
This will be RAGBRAI’s second trip to Hawkeye. The only other visit was when it was a passing town in 1996.
Day 7: See you in the “hometown of the world”
Postville, “The Hometown of the World,” is known for its diverse population, with migrants from a dozen countries drawn to jobs at its two meatpacking plants. The Agri Star factory is one of the largest kosher meatpacking plants in the world, and among the city’s registries is an cadre of Hasidic rabbis who certify its products.
Philip Joens covers breaking news and RAGBRAI for the Des Moines Register. He rode parts of 16 RAGBRAI and completed the trek from river to river five times. He can be reached at 515-443-3347 at [email protected] or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.
