A tale of two bike rides across Iowa

Iowa's Ride announced on Tuesday that it will go from a statewide ride held the week before RAGBRAI to a weekend event in Eldora.

The state of play: TJ Juskiewicz, the organizer of the ride, told Axios that COVID-19 hampered his efforts, since overnight towns are still wary of the pandemic.

• "What kept coming back was the safety of it," Juskiewicz said, citing severe weather concerns if riders couldn't have shelter.

Meanwhile, RAGBRAI is still going "full-steam ahead," according to Dieter Drake, the ride's new executive director.

• To date, 10,000 riders have registered and day passes will be available soon.
• "There's no slowing us down," Dieter added. "We're in full RAGBRAI-mode at this point."

How we got here: It's a really long story, but it involved a RAGBRAI staff revolt led by Juskiewicz over the Des Moines Register's reporting on Carson King.

• From that debacle came Iowa's Ride, a statewide ride eerily similar to the Register's namesake RAGBRAI.

Riding across the state two weeks in a row is inconceivable for most, forcing riders to choose one ride over the other.

• When asked whether Iowa's Ride was divisive to the state's bicycling community, Juskiewicz said, "RAGBRAI is a great event. ... It's a great tradition that should go on for many, many years."

What's next: Juskiewicz said he plans on continuing Iowa's Ride in Eldora for years to come.

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